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Small Beauties: The Journey of Darcy Heart O'Hara
"One day this child shall hold the very heart of our family in the palm of her hand," predicts Granny on the day Darcy Heart O'Hara is born in a cottage on Derry Lane, in the town of Pobble O'Keefe, in County Kerry, Ireland.
Darcy grows up to be a noticer, delighting in the small beauties all around a dew-covered spider web, castles in the clouds, a shiny wooden rosary bead. Life is simple but sweet in Pobble O'Keefe, with her family gathered round the hearth in the evenings while Granddad's voice fills the small room with stories. But in 1845, a blight strikes the land, the potatoes turn rotten, and Darcy and her family must leave Ireland forever. How will Darcy ever find a way to to bring the small beauties of home across the sea to America? Elvira Woodruff's story of emigration, heartbreak, and hope is vividly illustrated with the warm, evocative oil paintings of Adam Rex.
Darcy grows up to be a noticer, delighting in the small beauties all around a dew-covered spider web, castles in the clouds, a shiny wooden rosary bead. Life is simple but sweet in Pobble O'Keefe, with her family gathered round the hearth in the evenings while Granddad's voice fills the small room with stories. But in 1845, a blight strikes the land, the potatoes turn rotten, and Darcy and her family must leave Ireland forever. How will Darcy ever find a way to to bring the small beauties of home across the sea to America? Elvira Woodruff's story of emigration, heartbreak, and hope is vividly illustrated with the warm, evocative oil paintings of Adam Rex.
40 pages, Hardcover
First published September 12, 2006
3 people are currently reading
142 people want to read
About the author
Elvira Woodruff
32 books86 followersElvira Woodruff is an American children's author known for blending fantasy and history in her stories. Born in Somerville, New Jersey, she studied English literature at Adelphi and Boston University. Before becoming a writer, she worked a variety of jobs and later found inspiration while working as a librarian in Easton, Pennsylvania. Woodruff has published numerous children's books, including George Washington's Socks, The Memory Coat, and Dear Levi. Her work has been praised for its engaging storytelling and historical depth. Throughout her career, she has created imaginative, heartfelt stories that continue to captivate young readers.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
May 10, 2011
This story deeply touched me. It’s of a young girl and her family who must emigrate from Ireland to America during the potato blight of the 1840s. This is a historical fiction story, though there is an author’s note at the end that gives a true account of a much shorter episode of a similar story of a famous American.
Darcy is wonderful! Very likeable! Her small beauties can remind all readers that they can look for solace in the smallest things.
The story is both incredibly sad and wonderfully uplifting.
The illustrations here are magnificent. I loved the styles of them all, and particularly liked the dog and the many pictures with Darcy, the scenery in Ireland, and the small beauties. There’s a map on the inside covers that shows the sea voyage route from Ireland to New York in the United States.
This is a terrific immigration story and historical fiction story. I’ll be remembering Darcy and her family for some time, I think.
Darcy is wonderful! Very likeable! Her small beauties can remind all readers that they can look for solace in the smallest things.
The story is both incredibly sad and wonderfully uplifting.
The illustrations here are magnificent. I loved the styles of them all, and particularly liked the dog and the many pictures with Darcy, the scenery in Ireland, and the small beauties. There’s a map on the inside covers that shows the sea voyage route from Ireland to New York in the United States.
This is a terrific immigration story and historical fiction story. I’ll be remembering Darcy and her family for some time, I think.
April 3, 2020
Darcy Heart O'Hara - so named because of her Granny's prophecy that she would one day hold her family's heart in the palm of her hands - wasn't like the other children in her small Irish village of Pobble O'Keefe. She was a "noticer," someone with an eye for the small beauties around her, and although her family were sometimes impatient with her dreamy inattention to practical matters - gathering the eggs, milking the cow - it was a quality that would stand her (and them) in good stead, when the terrible events of the Great Famine overtook them. The failure of multiple potato crops, the resultant hunger that the O'Haras and all their neighbors experienced, the violent forced eviction from their home, and the long journey to America, were ugly, heart-breaking realities. Could Darcy's "small beauties" - the many little objects she has sewn into the hem of her dress, over the years - remind them of the beauty of their abandoned homeland?
An Gorta Mór (the "great hunger"), or the Great Famine, as it is known in English, was one of the defining events of modern Irish history, killing more than a million people outright, and sending more than a million more into exile, all in the course of seven years. More than simply the tragic and inevitable result of the potato blight which had struck all of Europe, it was a catastrophe that was caused by deliberate British policy (hence Tony Blair's apology to the Irish people, a few years back), and lingers on in the folk memory of the Irish, both at home and in the diaspora. Elvira Woodruff's Small Beauties: The Journey of Darcy Heart O'Hara is a moving introduction to this difficult topic, one ideally suited for younger readers. While it doesn't completely gloss over some of the more horrific aspects of this tragedy - the O'Hara's home is set alight by those evicting them, while they are still inside - it also doesn't concentrate on the atrocities. Instead, the narrative focuses on the love shared by the O'Hara family - the storytelling sessions with Granddad, the tearful goodbyes when the O'Hara grandparents decide they are too old to make the journey to America - as they struggle to survive a terrible time. The accompanying illustrations by Adam Rex, whose work is usually more in the comic vein, are simply beautiful, capturing the emotional register of each scene flawlessly.
I had tears in my eyes, as I finished this book, and I heartily recommend it to anyone looking for children's stories that address the Great Famine in Ireland, the experiences of the Irish in the diaspora, or the immigrant experience in general.
An Gorta Mór (the "great hunger"), or the Great Famine, as it is known in English, was one of the defining events of modern Irish history, killing more than a million people outright, and sending more than a million more into exile, all in the course of seven years. More than simply the tragic and inevitable result of the potato blight which had struck all of Europe, it was a catastrophe that was caused by deliberate British policy (hence Tony Blair's apology to the Irish people, a few years back), and lingers on in the folk memory of the Irish, both at home and in the diaspora. Elvira Woodruff's Small Beauties: The Journey of Darcy Heart O'Hara is a moving introduction to this difficult topic, one ideally suited for younger readers. While it doesn't completely gloss over some of the more horrific aspects of this tragedy - the O'Hara's home is set alight by those evicting them, while they are still inside - it also doesn't concentrate on the atrocities. Instead, the narrative focuses on the love shared by the O'Hara family - the storytelling sessions with Granddad, the tearful goodbyes when the O'Hara grandparents decide they are too old to make the journey to America - as they struggle to survive a terrible time. The accompanying illustrations by Adam Rex, whose work is usually more in the comic vein, are simply beautiful, capturing the emotional register of each scene flawlessly.
I had tears in my eyes, as I finished this book, and I heartily recommend it to anyone looking for children's stories that address the Great Famine in Ireland, the experiences of the Irish in the diaspora, or the immigrant experience in general.
April 7, 2009
An Irish family is evicted from their home during the potato famine and forced to emigrate to America. It's a sad story, but with a message of hope that they might be able to create a new life for themselves. Through it all Darcy reminds them of the small beauties, like little seeds of hope, around them, and she surprises them with something special from home once they reach America. The illustrations are beautiful, and the story is charming despite its depressing subject. Recommended, especially for those of Irish ancestry.
May 29, 2021
This is part of my 365 Kids Books challenge. For an explanation see my review for 101 Amazing Facts about Australia You can see all the books on their own shelf.
Not my cuppa. I don't much care for an earnest message in children's picture books. The art illustrates the story in a warm sepia tint of nostalgia, with the small beauties standing out in bold color. The author's note at the end connects this work of fiction with a bit of nostalgia on the part of Henry Ford, which seems random.
Library copy
Not my cuppa. I don't much care for an earnest message in children's picture books. The art illustrates the story in a warm sepia tint of nostalgia, with the small beauties standing out in bold color. The author's note at the end connects this work of fiction with a bit of nostalgia on the part of Henry Ford, which seems random.
Library copy
March 10, 2012
Darcy O'Hara is an 8 year girl living in a idealized Irish family life complete with a loving sibling, father, and grandmother in a wooden and stone farm house in the village of Pobble O'Keefe, and Darcy enjoys many pastoral joys of wandering in the cow pastures of a small farm. On her adventures, she collects butterfly wings, a pebble, and flowers, and puts them in hem of her dress for safekeeping. That life is soon imperiled when in 1848 excessive rains puts a blight on the family's potato crop. Soon the the crop is rotted, and the English Crown's agent comes demanding rent. Darcy's father sells off the cows, horse, and wagon, but even that compensation is not enough. In an act of inhuman cruelty, the agent returns with a gang of men to evict the O'Hara from the home and land, and the agent's men torch the family home to the ground. Desolate, homeless, and seeming hopeless, a decision is made to take the Crown's offer to relocate to America. Granny and Grandpa remain in Ireland. Before departing, Grandma and Darcy take one last look at their ancestral land. After a tearful parting, grandmother reminds Darcy to tell her granddaughter to tell not only the sad journey but the beauty that remains in Ireland. Upon her family's arrival in New York City, Darcy's family reunites, and she tells her father of the “small beauties” she has secured upon the transatlantic voyage: a moss covered pebble from their home, a magpie's feather, flowers, and a bead from Granny's rosary. Darcy now tells the tale of sorrow and joy to her family keeping her promise to her grandmother in the new world.
Elvira Woodruff's story brings this sad but promising immigrant story of loss and regeneration to life. Readers feel compelled to pull for this poor Cork county Irish family and our protagonist Darcy. Although the characters are fictional, Woodruff points out that the story's origins about fleeing Ireland for America in 1847 are based in fact. The family left Cork for Canada, and they eventually relocated to Michigan. One son, William gave birth to Henry Ford famous for his founding of the Ford Motor Company. Henry Ford decided upon visiting Ireland to return one hearth stone from his family's humble village in Cork. Illustrator Alex Rex's depictions of Irish family life, rural scenes, and the troubled days of the mass Irish exodus after the potato famine animate the readers to imagine and empathize with the O'hara's entire experience. Woodruff's retelling keeps to the facts, but she humanizes the characters without making them seem too saccharine. We see Darcy's simple joy in collecting small items around the farm, and the grandmother and Darcy's exchange before the granddaughter leaves Ireland forever comes across as genuine and legitimately sad. Woodruff's tale of woe and immigrant's overcoming obstacles is a familiar one to Americans, but what makes this story work for readers is the honesty with which she conveys the endearing charm of Darcy and her family's experience in overcoming such humble beginnings.
"Small Beauties" by Elvira Woodruff would be a useful start for teachers looking to begin a unit with students about the immigrant experience in America. The book seems to best suited for upper elementary grades of 3rd through 5th grade. Teachers should look for other historical fiction books to bring this period in American History alive for students. Comparisons and contrasts with Chinese, Japanese, Latino, German, Slavic, Italian, and Jewish immigration experiences through these books would illustrate for students how each group adapted and shared common methods of surviving and flourishing in the United States. Other picture and chapter books to compare immigrant experiences would be “Brothers” by Yin paintings by Chris Soentpiet about Chinese and Irish cultural exchanges in San Francisco in 1869, “The Keeping Quilt” about Slavic families traditions in America, and “Tom and Sofia Start School” by Henriette Bartow and Priscilla Lamont concerning Italian-American school experiences.
Elvira Woodruff's story brings this sad but promising immigrant story of loss and regeneration to life. Readers feel compelled to pull for this poor Cork county Irish family and our protagonist Darcy. Although the characters are fictional, Woodruff points out that the story's origins about fleeing Ireland for America in 1847 are based in fact. The family left Cork for Canada, and they eventually relocated to Michigan. One son, William gave birth to Henry Ford famous for his founding of the Ford Motor Company. Henry Ford decided upon visiting Ireland to return one hearth stone from his family's humble village in Cork. Illustrator Alex Rex's depictions of Irish family life, rural scenes, and the troubled days of the mass Irish exodus after the potato famine animate the readers to imagine and empathize with the O'hara's entire experience. Woodruff's retelling keeps to the facts, but she humanizes the characters without making them seem too saccharine. We see Darcy's simple joy in collecting small items around the farm, and the grandmother and Darcy's exchange before the granddaughter leaves Ireland forever comes across as genuine and legitimately sad. Woodruff's tale of woe and immigrant's overcoming obstacles is a familiar one to Americans, but what makes this story work for readers is the honesty with which she conveys the endearing charm of Darcy and her family's experience in overcoming such humble beginnings.
"Small Beauties" by Elvira Woodruff would be a useful start for teachers looking to begin a unit with students about the immigrant experience in America. The book seems to best suited for upper elementary grades of 3rd through 5th grade. Teachers should look for other historical fiction books to bring this period in American History alive for students. Comparisons and contrasts with Chinese, Japanese, Latino, German, Slavic, Italian, and Jewish immigration experiences through these books would illustrate for students how each group adapted and shared common methods of surviving and flourishing in the United States. Other picture and chapter books to compare immigrant experiences would be “Brothers” by Yin paintings by Chris Soentpiet about Chinese and Irish cultural exchanges in San Francisco in 1869, “The Keeping Quilt” about Slavic families traditions in America, and “Tom and Sofia Start School” by Henriette Bartow and Priscilla Lamont concerning Italian-American school experiences.
March 17, 2020
I liked a lot of this, especially the second half in America. I had some problems, however, mostly with the Irish half. The name "Darcy Heart O'Hara" was just dumb and contrived and did not at all ring true with an Irish (presumably Catholic, seeing as how Granny has a rosary) family of the mid-19th century. I would think a saint's name would be expected, if not as the first then at least as the middle. The "Heart" is completely inessential to the story. It is used for the purpose of having three names with which irate parents call her, and there is this weak "prophecy" about how she will "hold the very heart of our family in the palm of her hand," which could just as easily have happened without having a dumb name. As for the Darcy, it doesn't make sense, as it comes from the Irish dorcha, which means dark or dark-haired, and this girl appears to be a redhead.
The character of Darcy seemed more a thin caricature - hackneyed examples of daydreaming, etc. Even in a short picture book this felt lazy.
Speaking of that rosary, it is depicted as basically a necklace of beads with a Celtic cross. There is no evidence of the features that make a rosary functional (differentiated beads and other indicators that tell when certain prayers are to be said). And there is no evidence of Catholicism other than this one hint - we get an Irish family of nine (plus Granny and Granddad) that preserves old stories of fairies and heroes, but does not attend Mass or pray (even in very hard times). We see nothing of the parish priest or church. It's a thoroughly secular family (hey - like many of the present day, including many potential readers) - an anachronism that jars.
I liked most of the illustrations, but I felt there were sometimes too many (particularly the little ones where we got 2, 3, 4, even 7 separate images).
The inspiration of the story is the history of Henry Ford, but there are no real similarities (the Ford child who emigrated was a 21-year-old boy who eventually became Henry's father). I'm not sure if the book is improved by tacking on this page or if it would be better to let it stand on its own as fictional story set around historical events.
The character of Darcy seemed more a thin caricature - hackneyed examples of daydreaming, etc. Even in a short picture book this felt lazy.
Speaking of that rosary, it is depicted as basically a necklace of beads with a Celtic cross. There is no evidence of the features that make a rosary functional (differentiated beads and other indicators that tell when certain prayers are to be said). And there is no evidence of Catholicism other than this one hint - we get an Irish family of nine (plus Granny and Granddad) that preserves old stories of fairies and heroes, but does not attend Mass or pray (even in very hard times). We see nothing of the parish priest or church. It's a thoroughly secular family (hey - like many of the present day, including many potential readers) - an anachronism that jars.
I liked most of the illustrations, but I felt there were sometimes too many (particularly the little ones where we got 2, 3, 4, even 7 separate images).
The inspiration of the story is the history of Henry Ford, but there are no real similarities (the Ford child who emigrated was a 21-year-old boy who eventually became Henry's father). I'm not sure if the book is improved by tacking on this page or if it would be better to let it stand on its own as fictional story set around historical events.
January 10, 2023
Oh my word. Never have I unexpectedly erupted into sobs while reading a picture book. I am ruined. Also it was beautiful.
Excellent writing. Stunning illustrations. Also I am ruined. 😭
Excellent writing. Stunning illustrations. Also I am ruined. 😭
February 3, 2017
On the night Darcy O'Hara was born, her father danced a jig in the firelight of their small cottage. Very few kids ever think about what people were doing when they were born.
Now children were as plentiful in Pobble O'Keefe as the chickens that roosted in the thatched roofs ... But Darcy was different. She was a noticer. She stopped to notice small beauties wherever she went.
As soon as I read that, I knew the story had promise. I respect and value people who are observant, who notice things around them ... and, who seem to hone in on what is right and good. That's a gift I would wish to all children if only my wishes were magic enough to come true.
According to the Author's Note, this story was inspired by Henry Ford, whose father was born in Ireland, and who happened to notice one small item that he wanted as a souvenir of his father's birthplace.
Overall, I like the art, but some of the faces are rather awkward. (And, one day young Darcy was observing a magpie. I believe the image is showing the American magpie, not the European one.)
Now children were as plentiful in Pobble O'Keefe as the chickens that roosted in the thatched roofs ... But Darcy was different. She was a noticer. She stopped to notice small beauties wherever she went.
As soon as I read that, I knew the story had promise. I respect and value people who are observant, who notice things around them ... and, who seem to hone in on what is right and good. That's a gift I would wish to all children if only my wishes were magic enough to come true.
According to the Author's Note, this story was inspired by Henry Ford, whose father was born in Ireland, and who happened to notice one small item that he wanted as a souvenir of his father's birthplace.
Overall, I like the art, but some of the faces are rather awkward. (And, one day young Darcy was observing a magpie. I believe the image is showing the American magpie, not the European one.)
August 11, 2009
Such a beautiful book! It is about a family in Ireland in 1845 who struggle through the potato famine, Darcy Heart O'Hara is taught to recognize and appreciate "small beauties" in life. I won't give much more info because the ending is so touching I would not want to spoil it.
There is also an Author's note at the end that talks about how this story was based on a real family...which just happened to be Henry Ford's family (yes the auto maker)
Great read for children and adults!!!!
There is also an Author's note at the end that talks about how this story was based on a real family...which just happened to be Henry Ford's family (yes the auto maker)
Great read for children and adults!!!!
March 15, 2011
This fiction everybody book is loosley based on the Henry Ford's family's immigration story. A beautifully written story has detailed and touching illustrations. A real tearjerker that explains how one family was affected by the Irish potato famine. Great read aloud for older students, especially those with a little bit of background knowledge.
December 6, 2020
Darcy lived with her family in Ireland, but she was much different from them. She loved the small beauties in the world that most people overlooked, and she would stop constantly to appreciate them and take notice. When a famine strikes and the family soon loses everything, they are forced to move to America. While they leave all, they have and are forced to make and find a new home, Darcy has a keepsake that will help them feel at home and see the beauty in the situation they are in.
The famine that struck Ireland devastated and destroyed the lives of many people living there during the time. While the O’Hara family in the story is fictional, the story is very realistic and was most likely like a lot of other family’s stories there. Darcy’s passion for finding the good in all the bad is something that we can all do, even today, when faced or experiencing things that we feel we can never come back from. The story gives background and knowledge to how hard the famine struck the people of Ireland, but also teaches a lesson that can be carried over in the reader’s ever day lives. I think it is a story that everyone can find a way to relate to in some aspect.
The famine that struck Ireland devastated and destroyed the lives of many people living there during the time. While the O’Hara family in the story is fictional, the story is very realistic and was most likely like a lot of other family’s stories there. Darcy’s passion for finding the good in all the bad is something that we can all do, even today, when faced or experiencing things that we feel we can never come back from. The story gives background and knowledge to how hard the famine struck the people of Ireland, but also teaches a lesson that can be carried over in the reader’s ever day lives. I think it is a story that everyone can find a way to relate to in some aspect.
March 13, 2021
My friend recently moved back to Cape Breton after living in Toronto for about 20 years. As I was gushing over her newly renovated home with a glorious view of the Bras d'Or Lakes, she told me that home is a feeling, not a place. I couldn't help thinking of her words while reading this charming, but heartbreaking, story of an Irish family who are forced to flee to America during the Potato Famine -- leaving everything behind, including their grandparents. The beautiful pictures just added to the sentiment and feeling.
November 21, 2017
This book was heartbreaking yet heartwarming.
November 15, 2018
أتمني اقرأ كتب أطفال بنفس الجمال ده عن مصر .
March 13, 2019
Beautiful illustrations. This story tells about a little girl who notices the little beautiful things in life and when her family has to move to America, it helps ease the pain.
November 14, 2021
A lovely story about a little girl who is a “noticer”, though it’s clear to me that she’s actually an introvert.
March 7, 2024
Beautiful illustrations and story.
October 27, 2012
This historical, yet fictiional work features a young girl named Darcy. She is an imaginative little girl growing up in Ireland. After the famine hits, she is forced to move to America with her family. Before she leaves her homeland, she collects tiny trinkets to have as keepsakes of her home. Upon reaching America, she feels out of place in this strange land. She pulls out her collectibles and allows her family to share in the memories of home. These trinkets- stones, feathers, parts of a hearth, etc., would ordinarily appear insignificant. However, they give incite to the imaginative way in which children view the world. Though the author, Elvira Woodruff, is not a member of the Irish culture, she describes the hardships the Irish encounter as if she were. The illustrator, Adam Rex, provides engrossing, brilliant pictures to follow the text. I believe this portrayal of one family of emigrants provides great incite to the hardships many emigrants face when leaving their homes. Though rich in culture, the text is not to advanced to introduce to a classroom and Darcy's imagination is vivid and congruent with most children's. If presented to a classroom, the students could share in her imaginative view of the world and learn of Ireland's history as well.
January 30, 2015
Darcy Heart O' Hara is a young girl growing up in Ireland during the time of the potato famine. Darcy has a special gift - she is able to see the "small beauties" in her homeland, the little things like a special pebble or a flower, and the bigger things, like they way her family is happiest when they are gathered around the hearth, listening to their grandfather tell stories. When Darcy's family must leave for America, it is Darcy who holds the memories of their life in Ireland and brings them across the sea with her.
I loved this book for a number of reasons, first, the illustrations are so warm and soft and the simple touches, like the Celtic knots, added to them. The story itself was heartwarming, and based, in part, on the true story of Henry Ford shipping one of his hearthstones to America from Ireland.
A great book to introduce the potato famine or discuss immigration, I would read this to a class and also talk about the person-against-society conflict and the way the setting changes through the book, not just when the family moves to America, but the way the mood of the book grows darker as the family learns that they must leave.
I loved this book for a number of reasons, first, the illustrations are so warm and soft and the simple touches, like the Celtic knots, added to them. The story itself was heartwarming, and based, in part, on the true story of Henry Ford shipping one of his hearthstones to America from Ireland.
A great book to introduce the potato famine or discuss immigration, I would read this to a class and also talk about the person-against-society conflict and the way the setting changes through the book, not just when the family moves to America, but the way the mood of the book grows darker as the family learns that they must leave.
February 24, 2015
Personal Response: This book was very interesting even as an adult. The inside look of an immigrant girl from Ireland and her life is very detailed and gives children a view into life as an immigrant. I personally enjoyed the different illustrations and even learning a few things about Ireland.
Purpose:1-4
- Read aloud for a lesson or enrichment
- This would be great book to read for students who are learning about immigration or other countries. It could give a different outlook on family relationships with grandparents and parents. This Irish family goes through some tough and happy times and ends up immigrating to America where they can hopefully lead happy lives. The vocabulary in this book is very rich and full of different types of sentences which leaves the teacher many options when it comes to questions and vocabulary review. The characters in this book are well rounded and the author puts several different levels of characters in the book as well. I found the illustrations and colors of the book to represent the feelings and settings very well along with the art work which is beautiful.
Purpose:1-4
- Read aloud for a lesson or enrichment
- This would be great book to read for students who are learning about immigration or other countries. It could give a different outlook on family relationships with grandparents and parents. This Irish family goes through some tough and happy times and ends up immigrating to America where they can hopefully lead happy lives. The vocabulary in this book is very rich and full of different types of sentences which leaves the teacher many options when it comes to questions and vocabulary review. The characters in this book are well rounded and the author puts several different levels of characters in the book as well. I found the illustrations and colors of the book to represent the feelings and settings very well along with the art work which is beautiful.
October 24, 2012
Darcy Heart O'Hara is an eight year old little girl filled with imagination. Darcy grows up in Ireland and grows accustomed to collecting various items that she finds interesting throughout her home. But due to an excess amount of rain her family's potato crops are gone to waste and are forced to move to America or face famine. As her family becomes aware of their new surroundings and start to become homesick, Darcy brings out her trinkets, allowing them to reminisce of their old life. "Small Beauties..." was written by Elvira Woodruff and illustrated by Adam Rex. Woodruff's recollection of the struggle Irish immigrants have during their trip, it's hard to believe she is not Irish herself. The pictures illustrated by Rex are captivating in detail and go along perfectly with the story. The process of immigration is not an easy task and the faces on the characters depict that very well. The book is great for introducing a different perspective of immigration but I do not know if I would be able to use it in an advanced classroom because of the simplicity in words.
April 6, 2013
A class unit a few years ago was a study of immigration and I took my class to New York City to visit the places there that would give them direct insight into that experience, like the Tenement Museum and of course, Ellis Island. I wish I could have had this beautiful book at that time, to be an inspiration in our research. This is the story woven around a young Irish girl who saw her ‘small beauties’ in the everyday things like a round stone or part of a butterfly wing and castles in the clouds. It speaks of stories from her grandfather at the fire’s hearth, and the sadness of the potato famine, taking away the small livelihood available and causing families to lose everything, forcing them to leave their beloved Ireland. The story is both sad and heartwarming, and the back matter given by the author is highly interesting. The illustrations are both full page and smaller additions to the story’s action in gorgeous acrylic.
April 10, 2014
This is such a lovely, yet heartbreaking tale - it's hard to put our reaction into words. I love the way that Elvira Woodruff and Adam Rex rendered that period in history, with all of the hardship, poverty and privation that the Irish experienced during the Great Famine.
The narrative is so emotionally engaging and draws the reader into the story. And the illustrations are simply amazing. The author's note explains the origins and inspiration for this story, which is fictional. We really appreciated reading this story together.
None of us really had ever learned much about the Great Famine and the subsequent emigration of at least a million people. This story brings one family's experience to life and we are grateful to have read it.
The narrative is so emotionally engaging and draws the reader into the story. And the illustrations are simply amazing. The author's note explains the origins and inspiration for this story, which is fictional. We really appreciated reading this story together.
None of us really had ever learned much about the Great Famine and the subsequent emigration of at least a million people. This story brings one family's experience to life and we are grateful to have read it.
January 12, 2009
Darcy enjoys the small beauties all around her from the castles in the clouds to a shiny wooden bead. Life is about to change when the potatoes turn bad in Pobble O’Keefe, Ireland. Darcy and her family must leave Ireland forever. On their journey to America Darcy is able to comfort her family with the small beauties of home that she has saved and collected in her pockets. This moving story is illustrated with beautiful, realistic oil paints by Adam Rex and is sure to please the eye of those who appreciate the beautiful world around us.
August 30, 2013
Writing Lesson - topic selection
After reading this picture book, students could write about an object of importance to them. Students could also write about what "not everything worth keeping has to be useful" means to them.
Reading Connection - This picture book would make a nice companion story for the chapter book Rules by Cynthia Rylant. The heading for one of the chapters in Rules is "Not everything worth keeping has to be useful." This so relates to all of the little "beauties" Darcy collected in the town of Pobble O' Keefe.
After reading this picture book, students could write about an object of importance to them. Students could also write about what "not everything worth keeping has to be useful" means to them.
Reading Connection - This picture book would make a nice companion story for the chapter book Rules by Cynthia Rylant. The heading for one of the chapters in Rules is "Not everything worth keeping has to be useful." This so relates to all of the little "beauties" Darcy collected in the town of Pobble O' Keefe.
October 31, 2013
Genre: Historical Fiction
Grade Level: K-2
Awards: None
How to use in a classroom:
This book is about a little girl who's family's crops are washed out by the rain and is forced to move to America or her family will face famine. When the family begins to feel homesick, she brings out her collection of small things she had collected back home, this small items help the family reconnect emotionally with their old home. As a follow-up activity, I would have the students bring a few small items from home they would take with them if they had to move away.
Grade Level: K-2
Awards: None
How to use in a classroom:
This book is about a little girl who's family's crops are washed out by the rain and is forced to move to America or her family will face famine. When the family begins to feel homesick, she brings out her collection of small things she had collected back home, this small items help the family reconnect emotionally with their old home. As a follow-up activity, I would have the students bring a few small items from home they would take with them if they had to move away.
February 3, 2011
This is a fiction book that was inspired by the true story of Henry Ford and his family. It's about an Irish family who immigrated to the United States. The little girl finds small beauties wherever she goes and at the end, those beauties are what kept the family strong together. This would be a great book for a lesson on Ireland or maybe even Henry Ford (taking a break from cars).
February 11, 2013
This was a charming story of a girl observing the best things in life while the potato famine and her family's forced immigration to America. She collects small tokens of her homeland and they bring her family close together in the end. It as has simply lovely illustrations that bring the story to life.
February 10, 2016
I've been a fan of Ms. Woodruff for years and I grab up as many books on Irish history as I can. This story was heartbreaking yet so touching. The power of beauty and memories as seen through the eyes of young Darcy will warm the hearts of readers. A great story to spark discussion of Irish immigration.
April 3, 2008
Lovely drawings and a moving story about Irish immigrants. This book is a good reminder that not everyone looks at the world the same way... and that other views, even when we don't understand them, are very important.
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