Schoolroom in the Parlor

Fairchild Family Stories #4

by Rebecca Caudill, Decie Merwin (Illustrator)

School in the Kentucky hills goes from August to the last Friday before Christmas. After that the snows are too high, and later, the thawing rivers too full, for the Fairchild children, and their neighbors, the Wattersons, the Sawyers, and the Huffs to make it safely to the little school house in the woods. Now that Althy is fourteen, Mr. Fairchild has other plans for the long winter months. Learn, along with Bonnie, Debbie, Chris and Emmy, what it is like to have school at home in the early 1900's. The fourth and final book in the Fairchild Family series. Illustrated.

Ages 8 and up

Genres: Historical Fiction, Childrens, Fiction, Audiobook, Historical, Chapter Books, Literature

145 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1959

About the author

American's children writer, as well as teacher and editor, known for her Appalachian fiction. Caudill graduated from Wesleyan College and, in 1922, received her master's degree from Vanderbilt University. She taught English in high school and college, and worked briefly as an editor. She moved to Urbana, Illinois, when she married James Ayars in 1931.

Caudill's book, Tree of Freedom, was a Newbery Honor Book in 1950. A Pocketful of Cricket was a Caldecott Honor Book.

The schoolchildren of her adopted state of Illinois vote each year on their favorite book. The winning book is given the Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award (RCYRBA) named in honor of Caudill and her contributions to Appalachian literature.

Reviews

[Luisa Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished the fourth and last book in the series and just wanted to let off a happy little sigh right here ... awwww!

The series is so quaint, so charming and has such darling characters. I really love them to pieces, and would rank them side-by-side with The Moffats series, The Children of Noisy Village and the Betsy-Tacy series. If you're a fan of those children, with their sweet and memorable antics, then I'll guarantee you'll adore these too.

In the fourth book (the one I just finished), the oldest daughter, Althy, must teach the younger children at home during winter and spring because the snow is too high and the rain too heavy to make it to the little schoohouse in the woods. Together, the siblings learn all kinds of fun things together, imagining what Arabia and Greenland must be like by looking at the pictures in the geography book, memorizing great thoughts and reciting them to their parents ... and at the end of the school year, each of them have a surprise for Althy to thank her for the wonderful job she performed for them.

Rebecca Caudill really does an exceptional job with her writing. She writes just how a little child would think or talk; which makes it comical for the adults reading the book and relatable and engaging for the children listening to it.

The stories she tells are memorable and worth having a discussion over with your little ones as they are common situations your kids will run into. And the characters - I really, really like them! Needless to say, I highly recommend these books!

And the illustrations - there's a lot of them - are such delightful eye-candy!

Ages: 4 - 10

Cleanliness: the word "shucks" is used a few times.

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[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Rebecca Caudill's Fairchild Family series! This is another beautiful ode to family, nature, and learning. The schoolhouse in the woods is only open in the autumn and early winter months but Althy, the oldest of the Fairchild children, and Mother and Father decide that going from Christmas until August without school is too long. They have about four months from new year until Father needs their help with the farming and Althy is going to be their schoolteacher and they will hold school in the parlor from 8:00 to noon each weekday morning. The afternoons will be free for all their favorite pastimes (much to brother Chris's relief) such as skating and sledding. I love this glimpse of homeschooling in days gone by! Most of the chapters revolve around the schoolroom in the parlor, such as learning their "great thoughts" for the month and finding out who will memorize the most and win the coveted prize Father brings home (I love the wisdom of the parents that the prize ends up being something that the winner can be proud of but can also be enjoyed by everyone). The children also enjoy taking care of an injured goose they save when he is left behind during the migration.

I must warn that this book does contain a chapter called "Cherokee Joe" in which the children are hearing "Indian stories." One of the stories is about some women and children who are "stolen" by the "Indians" and take away while the men were away from the settlement. One of the women tears pieces off her skirt and ties them to bushes to make a trail so the men can follow them to the Indian camp. The men follow the trail to the camp, kill some of the Indians, and save the captives. Bonnie asks if that is a true story. Her brother replies, "Of course it is... The Indians in those days were mean." Nothing too surprising here, alas. What does (pleasantly) surprise me is big sister Althy's reply, "That's because white men were mean to the Indians... When the white men treated the Indians kindly, the Indians were kind and helpful to them." Bonnie replies that she doesn't like Chris's story. "Aw, Bonnie! They happened a long time ago. Indians don't act like that now!" Chris replies. "There aren't any Indians now," says Bonnie. "Yes, there are, in some places," Althy replies. That bit leaves off with Chris wishing he could meet an Indian. Later that day, a "real Indian" does come -- Cherokee Joe. He comes across the mountains to sell baskets. Bonnie and Debby are frightened of him and hide under the bed while he is there but the parents welcome him graciously and Mother remembers him coming years ago when she was young. They buy some baskets from him and he gives the older girls some sweetgrass as a gift. He also leaves two little baskets "for the littlest girls" -- how did he know Bonnie and Debby were there!? "Indians have sharp eyes." Chris isn't there for any of this because he is goofing off taking longer with his errands than he was supposed to. He is so upset he missed seeing a real Indian. Father didn't have to punish him for being late because he was punished enough in the circumstances. It's also mentioned earlier about the Indians and white men fighting. So, yes, this is not exactly the most PC chapter involving Native Americans and is certainly a product of its time and a good talking point with children today. However, I do feel that the portrayal is more sensitive than some other books of the time, such as with Althy's reply that the white men were mean to the Indians, and that Mother and Father welcome Cherokee Joe graciously in their home and that he is a kind person who leaves gifts for the children who were afraid of him.

[Heather Hyndman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, a very sweet series.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

We love this Fairchild family. The parents believe in their children and provide them with opportunities to continue to grow and learn. Honestly and attention to duty is required as love is abundant. It never feels trite, it always feel true which I attribute to it being based on the author's own experience growing up in Kentucky.

Who wouldn't want to attend Miss Althy's school? She is inspiring and firm - in ways that make me wish I was in her schoolroom in the parlor. I can usually predict an ending but I was surprised and delighted with this one.

We are sad we've finished this series. Thankfully, I bought the books so they can be revisited again - and not only when we're listening to them as performed by one of our favorite narrators, Mary Sarah.

[Tirzah · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Review is for all 4 books in Fairchild Family Series*

Rebecca Caudill is perhaps best known for the children's book award named in her honor. Quite a few worthy books have won the Caudill award over the years. This is my first time reading one of her published works. It is a charming tale of a close-knit family in early 1900s America, similar to Anne Pellowski's Latsch Valley Series and Hilda van Stockum's Bantry Bay Series. As always, it's fun to read how kids lived back then before the ubiquitous technology. The books make for good family read alouds.

[Becca Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sweetest!!! This book reminds me of The Year of Miss Agnes by Kirkpatrick Hill. Set in Kentucky, it is the story of a family living in the hills and it describes a school year between January and April when the weather is too hazardous for attending the traditional one room schoolhouse. They make do with having school in their very own parlor with the oldest daughter teaching them. It is the most precious story and although this is the last book in the series, it stands alone just fine. I will definitely look up more books by this author.

[Thady · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've skipped the third book because I wanted to read in summer. I'm really looking forward to it, and I don't know whether I'll be able to wait until summer.
I loved this one just as much as the second book. However, the chapter with the Indian somewhat soured the book for me. While it is not quite as offensive as the depiction of Indians in the Little House series it still is not easy to read.

[Mrs R · Rating 5 out of 5]

When their community schoolhouse is closed for the winter, the oldest Fairchild daughter teaches her siblings in the parlor of their home. All the kids are excited about this situation, except Chris. However, he eventually comes around and does well in this "parlor school". This is a sweet book and maybe my favorite in the Fairchild Family series.

[Andra Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cute, feel good story of family and making life fun. The Fairchild family lives in an area where it is hard for them to keep up going to school, so they decide to hold their own family school in their parlor.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lately I've been wanting to reread a book from my childhood every now and again. This one is not a favorite, but I still enjoy reading what was already old-fashioned when I was a kid in the 60s. And of course the fun thing with books for 8–12-year-olds is that you can read them in one night.

[carrietracy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This isn't recommended because there is a whole racist chapter about "Cherokee Joe" that I just skipped when reading it to my kids. So anything else in it is sort of irrelevant.

[Linnea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another charming, wholesome story with the Fairchild family.

[Nichole · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a very old copy of this and I chose to read it because it's by Rebecca Caudill.

[Lori Hatch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple and sweet ending to the series

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

First sentence: On the afternoon of New Year's Day, the long narrow valley where the Fairchilds lived lay gray and frozen and stilled.

Premise/plot: In this final book of the series, the Fairchild family homeschools. Althy, the oldest daughter, homeschools her siblings: Chris, Emma, Debby, and Bonnie. This school semester will last from January to mid April. Normally the children only have one semester per year: August to December. Miss Cora comes to teach the community children each year. But this year, the learning can continue each morning! No one is as excited as Bonnie!

My thoughts: I liked this one. Each month holds another treat. January is for memorizing great thoughts. February is a read aloud of Under the Lilacs. March is for telling 'scary' Indian stories. April is all about surprising their teacher with gifts.

The "Cherokee Joe" chapter was disappointing. Every offensive phrase/word from a checklist of words to avoid at all costs can be found. I am guessing "real live Indian" which is used at least twice is the worst. The family does meet a friendly Native selling baskets door to door. The children eventually come out from cowering under the bed or table. They do like him once they talk to him. This is disappointing but not surprising. At least it does not say the only good Indian is a dead Indian like Little House On the Prairie does.

Bonnie remains my favorite character. Her parents are lovely.

[Piper · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and found it really refreshing to read. Although the children could be naughty and bicker at times, for the most part they were well behaved and really thoughtful. I really enjoyed this book.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

With Lanie. Well, I just love this book. If I had read it in childhood, I'm pretty sure I would have reread it many times. As an adult, it's a great treat to see how much the methods of education we are using with our children show up in these pages, complete with poetry and scripture in morning time, recitations, and read-alouds in a place of prominence. It was especially fun to read with Lanie, since these descriptions will serve as an introduction for her to a lot of things we'll be doing in the upcoming year.

"'It says that all the beautiful things we see in the sky - the stars, the sun and the moon, the clouds - tell us about God.'
'Is that what it says?' asked Bonnie. 'Then why does it use such big words?'
'Using the same old words all the time,' said Mother, 'is like wearing the same old pair of shoes all the time. I like a new pair of shoes once in a while. Don't you?'
Bonnie laughed. 'Yes, I do,' she said" (22).

"The cats purred, and the dog snored. The fire crackled merrily. Outside, silently, the big snowflakes flew and twisted, fell and drifted. And the wintry wind moaned in the chimney.
Father opened Emmy's book at Chapter One and began to read" (34).

"'Know what's the best thing in the world, Miss Althy?' asked Bonnie.
'What?' asked Althy.
'To be snowbound with Emmy's book to read,' said Bonnie" (40).

[Books Kids Like · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the Fairchild children- Althy, Chris, Emmy, Debby, and Bonnie- school ends just before Christmas and doesn't resume until the first of August. The winter snows, and, then, the spring planting keeps the children home. Usually the schoolbooks are put away and forgotten, but this year is different. Their parents decide that fourteen-year-old Althy will teach school in the parlor. After the first of the year, the children gather in the parlor by 8 a.m. and study their lessons until the lunch bell sounds at noon. For the first month, they memorize one great thought each day. At the end of the month, the one who can recite the greatest number of thoughts wins the book Under the Lilacs by Louisa May Alcott. After that, a little bit of school time is spent reading the book aloud. They also go on journeys in their geography books and tell stories about Indians. Even though they are skeptical at first, the children all agree that having school throughout the winter is a fine way to spend the long snowbound days.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, like the previous three in the series, is so sweet. It tells about a family who lives off the land and was not afraid of hard work. Simple things were a big deal. My children loved hearing these books, and I enjoyed reading them aloud.

[CLM · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part of a series about the Fairchild family, set in 1900s Kentucky.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful series of books that I recently found in my library. Great family stories.

[Rachel L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great family story...enjoyed this. Caudill is a wonderful children's author.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The kids loved how the Fairchild family decided to homeschool during the winter months when the schoolers closed because weather prevented local children from being able to travel there.

[Eunice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice. Little House-ish. My 9 year old enjoyed it too.