 Rufus M. | |
| Author | Eleanor Estes |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Louis Slobodkin |
| Series | The Moffats |
| Genre | Children's Novel |
| Publisher | Harcourt, Brace & World |
Publication date | 1943 |
| ISBN | 9780152025779 |
| Preceded by | The Middle Moffat |
| Followed by | The Moffat Museum |
Rufus M. by Eleanor Estes is the third novel in the children's series known as The Moffats. Published in 1943, it was a Newbery Honor book. The title character is the youngest of four children growing up in a small town in Connecticut in 1918.
Each chapter in this book tells another story about Rufus and his family. Rufus has a great imagination. He uses it to create interesting friends for himself. For example, a flying horse named Jimmy and an invisible piano player who lives in the Saybolts. He decides to create a best friend, Cardboard Boy, who is also Rufus's enemy. He and his friend even ride around town on a bicycle.
Rufus is also quite persistent. He wants a library card, even though he can't read yet, so he works hard to learn to write his name. Things are tight for his family; it's not easy for Rufus' mother to earn enough to feed four children. So Rufus plants some special "Rufus beans". Unfortunately he can't resist digging them up every day to see if they are growing.
World War I is in its final year, and Rufus M. shows its effect on the family, with shortages of some food and coal. Rufus also writes to a soldier, at one point asking for a pony from France. The books ends with the family celebrating Armistice Day writing their dreams for the future on paper and burning them at the stove.
Besides winning the Newbery Honor award in 1944, [1] Rufus M. was well received by major reviewers. The New York Times called the Moffats "practically an institution . . As nice a group as ever pulled together through hard times." [2] Set during World War I, this book touches upon the effects of the war on those left behind. Published during World War II, Saturday Review remarked on the parallel, saying readers experiencing the war in England would enjoy reading about Americans living though tough times. [3] Kirkus Reviews gave Rufus M. a starred review for "books of remarkable merit" [4]
Rufus M. continues to receive positive reviews. Carol Hurst noted in Teaching K-8 Magazine that the Moffats portray a poor family that cares for each other, and children and adults will identify with Rufus' sense of fun. [5]
Elizabeth Janet Gray Vining was an American professional librarian and author who tutored Emperor Akihito of Japan in English while he was crown prince. She was also a noted author, whose children's book Adam of the Road received the Newbery Medal in 1943.
Eleanor Estes was an American children's writer and a children's librarian. Her book Ginger Pye, for which she also created illustrations, won the Newbery Medal. Three of her books were Newbery Honor Winners, and one was awarded the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award. Estes' books were based on her life in small-town Connecticut in the early 1900s.
Adam of the Road is a novel by Elizabeth Janet Gray Vining. Vining won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1943 from the book. Set in thirteenth-century England, the book follows the adventures of a young boy, Adam. After losing his spaniel and minstrel father, Adam embarks on a series of escapades throughout medieval England. The book is illustrated by Robert Lawson.
The Moves Make The Man is a sports novel written by author Bruce Brooks that deals with many issues in society including racism, domestic violence, abuse, and family deaths. It was chosen best book of 1984 by School Library Journal (SLJ), ALA Notable Children's Book, notable book of the year New York Times, and won the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award and a Newbery Honor in 1985.
On the Banks of Plum Creek is an autobiographical children's novel written by Laura Ingalls Wilder and published in 1937, the fourth of nine books in her Little House series. It is based on a few years of her childhood when the Ingalls family lived at Plum Creek near Walnut Grove, Minnesota, during the 1870s. The original dust jacket proclaimed, "The true story of an American pioneer family by the author of Little House in the Big Woods".
These Happy Golden Years is an autobiographical children's novel written by Laura Ingalls Wilder and published in 1943, the eighth of nine books in her Little House series – although it originally ended it. It is based on her later adolescence near De Smet, South Dakota, featuring her short time as a teacher, beginning at age 15, and her courtship with Almanzo Wilder. It spans the time period from 1882 to 1885, when they marry.
The Wednesday Wars is a 2007 young adult historical fiction novel written by Gary D. Schmidt, the author of Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy. The novel is set in suburban Long Island during the 1967–68 school year. The Vietnam War is an important backdrop for the novel. It was given a Newbery Honor medal in 2008, and was also nominated for the Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award in 2010.
The Moffats is the first in a series of four children's novels by American author Eleanor Estes. It tells the story of four young children and their mother who live in a small town in Connecticut. Their adventures are based on Estes' memories of her childhood and focus on a working-class, single-parent American family during World War I.
The Good Master (1935) is a children's novel written and illustrated by Kate Seredy. It was named a Newbery Honor book in 1936. The Good Master is set in the Hungarian countryside before World War I and tells the story of wild young Kate, who goes to live with her Uncle's family when her father can't control her and at the end she goes back to her father. At Uncle Marton's suggestion, Kate and her father move back to the country to live, to be near Marton and his wife and son. Like his brother Marton, Kate's father Sandor is a countryman and misses rural life. And he sees what a wonderful effect country life has had on Kate.
The Middle Moffat by Eleanor Estes is the second novel in the children's series known as The Moffats. Published in 1942, it was a Newbery Honor book. The title comes from Janey Moffat, who feels a little lost among her three siblings. Being neither the oldest or youngest, she decides to become the 'Middle Moffat' to help herself feel more important. The Moffats is set in small town Cranbury, Connecticut during World War I.
Dear Mr. Henshaw is a juvenile epistolary novel by Beverly Cleary and illustrator Paul O. Zelinsky that was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1984. Based on a 2007 online poll, the National Education Association listed the book as one of its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children".
Fog Magic by Julia L. Sauer is a children's fantasy novel set in Nova Scotia. It was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1944. Fog Magic tells the story of a young girl who, on foggy days, travels back in time to enter the past life of an abandoned village. Lynd Ward illustrated the book, which was published by Viking.
Frog and Toad Together is an American fantasy adventure children's picture book, written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel and published by Harper & Row in 1972. It is the second book in the Frog and Toad series. Like each of the other books in the series, it contains five easy-to-read short stories.
The Moffat Museum by Eleanor Estes is the fourth and final novel in the children's series known as The Moffats. Published in 1983, it appeared forty years after the preceding book. The title refers to a small museum that the four Moffat children set up to help them remember the special times in their lives now that they are growing up. Like the rest of the series, The Moffat Museum is set in small Cranbury, Connecticut in the early 1900s.
Julia Sauer was an American writer of children's fiction and librarian. Two of her books, Fog Magic and The Light at Tern Rock were among the annual Newbery Medal runners-up. Both are set in Canada, where Sauer frequently vacationed.
The Secret River is a children's fantasy novel by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, author of The Yearling. Published in 1955, The Secret River received a Newbery Honor Award. The first edition, illustrated by Caldecott Medal winner Leonard Weisgard, was issued after Rawlings' death. The book was revised and reissued in 2009 with illustrations by Caldecott Medalists Leo and Diane Dillon. The new edition received an international children's book design award in 2012. The Secret River is the only book Rawlings wrote specifically for children. The story of young Calpurnia, who goes on a quest to find a magical river and catch fish for her starving family and friends, it has two themes common in Rawlings' writing, the magic of childhood and the struggle of people to survive in a harsh environment.
A String in the Harp is a children's fantasy novel by Nancy Bond first published in 1976. It received a 1977 Newbery Honor award and the Welsh Tir na n-Og Award. It tells of the American Morgan family who temporarily move to Wales, where Peter Morgan finds a magical harp key that gives him vivid visions of the past. This well-received novel is an unusual time travel story, with its focus on the emotional pain and separation the Morgans experience after the death of their mother and the gradual healing they find through their experiences.
The Year of Billy Miller, a 2014 children's book written by Kevin Henkes, was a Newbery Honor book in 2014.
Lily's Crossing is a 1997 young adult novel by American author Patricia Reilly Giff. It received a Newbery Honor award in 1998.
Last Stop on Market Street is a 2015 children's book written by American author Matt de la Peña and illustrated by Christian Robinson, which won the 2016 Newbery Medal, a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor, and a Caldecott Honor. The book follows a young boy named CJ as he learns to appreciate the beauty in everyday things during a bus ride. De la Peña and Robinson both drew on personal experiences when working together to create the book. Through its story and illustrations, Last Stop on Market Street tackles issues of race and class as they may be seen through the eyes of a young teen. Last Stop on Market Street was met with widespread acclaim after its release, receiving positive reviews from Kirkus Reviews and the New York Times Book Review amongst many others. Last Stop on Market Street's Newbery win was monumental, as it is extremely rare for picture books to be awarded this medal. In 2018, the children's book was adapted into a children's musical which has been performed by various children's theater groups across the country.
