Dusty and the Fiddlers

by Miska Miles, Erik Blegvad (Illustrator)

Dusty Hopkins was worried because it looked like he wouldn't be able to attend the Old-timer's picnic, all because of an argument his Pa and Mr. Folly had about who played the best fiddle. "No Hopkins shall set foot on Folly land and no Folly shall set foot on Hopkins land. That's the way it is" declared Dusty's Pa. DUSTY AND THE FIDDLERS is the delightful Miska Miles children's tale of little Dusty Hopkins, his friend Viola Folly and how they manage to resolve a silly feud involving the pride of their families and neighbors. This is the WEEKLY READER CHILDREN'S BOOK CLUB EDITION

Genres: Childrens

52 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1962

About the author

Patricia Miles Martin aka Miska Miles

Award winning American author. Born in Kansas in 1899. Worked as a teacher before becoming a writer. Apparently she became a writer by accident when she inadvertently found herself in a creative writing class at a local college when her own class was full up. Her first book was actually written whilst attending the course! Her career became very successful. One of her books (Annie and the Old One) was made into a film and received a Newbery Honour award.

She used her experiences of living on a farm and a Navajo reservation and her many travels, to colour her children's fictional stories, most of which were about animals, nature and different cultures. Quite a few of her novels were horse stories. She also wrote non-fiction, including a number of biographies.

She wrote under her own name, as Patricia A. Miles, and also under two other pseudonyms: Miska Miles and Jerry Lane. Her pony books were written under her own name and that of the Miska Miles pseudonym. I don't think she wrote any horse-related stories under her other pen names.

Sources: The De Grummond Collection.

Reviews

[Josiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

What comes to mind when one thinks of the books of Miska Miles? For most readers, it's probably her 1972 Newbery Honor book Annie and the Old One, a classic on the subject of handling the death of a loved one. Miska Miles's sensitivity on such a difficult topic is nearly legendary among literates and teachers, making Annie and the Old One an oft-used resource for jumpstarting conversations about death with even the earliest elementary school students. Dusty & the Fiddlers? To the majority of readers, this book isn't as familiar as Annie and the Old One, but as an individual who vividly recalls the emotions of having that classic picture book read to him in early grade school, Dusty & the Fiddlers was definitely a story I wanted to try.

"Boys and men...fighting seems to come natural to them. What a waste of good time!"

—Dusty's grandmother, Dusty & the Fiddlers, P. 17

Dusty Hopkins is in a bit of a spot as the story opens. His own father and the family's neighbor, Mr. Folly, have had a severe quarrel over which of them is the finer fiddle player, and parting words spoken in great anger indicated that neither family was allowed to have anything to do with the other anymore. Now it looks as if Dusty is going to miss out on the wonderful annual Old-timers picnic, held on the Follys' land down by the river. Everyone loves going to that picnic, old-timers and young-timers getting together and having a heap of fun. What's not to love? Yet because of the silly spat between his father and Mr. Folly, Dusty is going to miss out on the excitement.

How is a boy Dusty's age to patch a rift between two grownups? He could ask for help from his grandmother, who isn't accountable to his father the way Dusty is. Or he could try casually persuading his father that there's no legitimate reason for the quarrel to continue, but the old man can be mighty stubborn, same as Mr. Folly. Perhaps it might simply be a serendipity of fate that grants Dusty his best chance to reconcile the feuding neighbors in time for the picnic, after a family of professional fiddlers misses their train out of town. When Dusty offers them a place to stay at his house in exchange for a special concert that evening to be attended by everyone from around the area (including, most notably, Mr. Hopkins and Mr. Folly), that's an awful lot of fiddle skill to have gathered in one place. Could this be what Mr. Hopkins and Mr. Folly need to put an end to their tiff? Dusty sure hopes to attend that Old-timers picnic, and feuds have a funny way of slowing down and just kind of dissolving right in front of one's eyes when the parties' attention is called to a more positive place. Dusty may yet have his Old-timers picnic to celebrate, and plenty of lively fiddle playing to accompany it, to boot.

Miska Miles's language in this book is expressively rendered, especially for such a brief story. Dusty & the Fiddlers falls somewhere between being a picture book and a standard juvenile novel, containing no chapters and plenty of illustrations. The narrative moves briskly and is always entertaining, and it's no surprise that young Dusty is the reasonable voice amidst two men standing on the wobbly perch of pride, bound to eventually take a headlong tumble should no one help them down. Adults like that need a kid to set them straight, and that's exactly what we get in Dusty. Without ever disrespecting Mr. Folly or his own father in word, thought or action, he determines to find a way to make it to the Old-timer's picnic, and isn't going to give up on it. Dusty & the Fiddlers is a nice, old-fashioned story that captures the feeling of small-town life, and there's a good chance I would give it the full two stars.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eek! I love it when I take a chance on buying a book and then love it!

Dusty loves music and he loves picnics with their scrumptious portions of fried chicken and homemade potato salad. That's why he loves the Old Timers annual picnic so much - food and foot-stomping music abound. But this year he can't go. His father has gotten into a fight with the neighbor and they've sworn to never set foot on each other's land. So it's up to Dusty to save the day!

I completely adore the illustrations!!

Ages: 5 - 10
Note: this book is more like a chapter book than a picture book.

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[Stephanie Sheaffer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Published in 1962, I was immediately drawn to the adorable, vintage illustrations on the cover and scattered throughout the text. The premise of the story is somewhat silly, however. Dusty's father is having a feud with a neighbor about who plays the fiddle the best. When professional fiddlers come to town, the quarrel is diminished and there is a happy ending for all.

* Read-aloud for ages 6-10
* Reading Independently: 2nd-6th grade

[Sydney Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I should be bothered by grown men fightin’, but I’m not. 😅 I enjoyed the writing, the well-mannered boy, and the upbeat tone of the whole book. The silly quarrel gave it just the right flavor. Fun little story based in the state I was born in (Kansas).