Review: The Irresistible Henry House

Author: Lisa Grunwald
Publisher/Format: Random House (2010),e-book 354 pages
Characters: Henry Gaines, Martha Gaines, Barbara Gardner
Subject: home economics and child rearing theories
Setting: fictional college campus; Hollywood; London
Genre: historic fiction
Source: public library electronic download

 Henry (House) Gaines was a practice baby.  Born in 1946, given up for adoption by his unmarried teen-aged mother, he became a "House" baby in a university Home economics program where he was "raised" by a procession of young women majoring in home economics.

Today, our high school students often carry 10 pound sacks of flour, diapered and dressed in baby clothes which they must "care for" for a period of days/weeks/months--an assignment designed to impress on young people some of the limits and responsibilities parenthood imposes on parental time and freedom of movement.  Some of today's high schools even have robot or mechanical 'babies' programmed to cry, wet, burp, sleep, etc.  But in 1906, when Cornell University instituted the idea of a Practice House, and contracted with a local orphanage to care for practice babies, the concept was quite radical.  It subsequently spread to many colleges across the country and continued well into the 1960's.

Lisa Grunwald gives us a fictionalized account of one such experiment.  Henry was only 6 weeks old when he came to live in the House.  Martha Gaines, the house mother, is a stern widow who goes strictly by the book of no-nonsense child rearing.  Babies were fed on schedule, bathed, walked, and dressed on time, with no cuddling, picking up, soothing allowed.  After all, if a child learned he could cry and get picked up, then he would cry all the time!  Each class of 8 student mothers rotated living in the house for a week at a time for one or two semesters of 'child-rearing'.

So Henry was "Raised, as a consequence, not with a pack of orphans by a single matron but as a single orphan by a pack of mothers....(he) started life in a fragrant, dust-free, fractured world where love and disappointment were both excessive and intertwined." (pg. 7)

Martha did not allow emotional bonding with the babies, either for herself, or her students.  Somehow, Henry didn't get the message, and Martha found herself falling in love with this particular infant.  One of the other practice moms also exhibited a special attachment to Henry.

Without spoilers, this is the story of Henry's life...how he came to stay in the practice house beyond the normal one year limit and be raised by Martha as her son.  How he came to use her last name.  How the lack of a male role model, and the constant need to please a number of women impacted his emotional life as he grew. How his search for, and subsequent relationship with, his birth mother colored his perceptions of parenting.  It is the story of Henry, from his birth to his ultimate assimilation as a young adult into the drug culture of the sixties, of his adult relationships with his mother(s) and with young women his own age, of his life as an graphic artist both in Hollywood and London, and his search for permanence in his family setting.

Ultimately, I saw this book as an indictment of an experiment, as the story not just of Henry, but a study of the need for permanent bonding relationships of infants and parents, of one human with another, and of the need for trust to be established and honored.  Grunwald has given us an extraordinary picture of human relationships, and of the universal need to belong to a family.

Henry's story is well told, and well worth reading.

Review: The Sea Chest by Toni Buzzeo

" Tutu" is hawaiian for 'grandmother' and although this Tutu doesn't usually review children's books, this one is super special. Toni Buzzeo, the author, is a fellow Maine librarian, author of many gorgeous children's books, and when this one came into our town library last week, Tutu could not resist buying one to give to our grand-daughter for her upcoming birthday. Buzzeo has a long list of wonderful children's books to her credit, and I urge you to take a look on her webpage, if for no other reason than to dispel the stereotype of the uptight, rigid librarian of mythology.

Besides the beautiful prose, the illustrations by Mary GrandPre (she of Harry Potter cover fame) which are done in oils, are breathtaking.

The story, one of quiet beauty, portrays the intense loneliness of the life of a small girl living alone with her parents on an island off the coast of Maine where the lighthouse helped protect ships at sea. A violent storm washes ashore a seachest with a special treasure inside. This gorgeous book is spellbinding for the 4-8 age group, and inspiring for adults. The illustrations are absolutely spectacular.

If you are looking for a special gift for a special child, this is it. If you don't have a special child in your life, then treat the child in yourself and wallow in this book for awhile. It's a stunner.

Heads up FTC: Although we both work in Maine libraries, I've never met Toni Buzzeo, and paid for this book myself.

Friday's Favorites from the Past: Do Not Open

Every Friday, Alyce At Home With Books features this meme inviting us to look back at a favorite book from the past.  Every parent who has ever read aloud to a child sooner or later discovers that there is one book that MUST be read every night for what seems like eighty-eleven million years.  When my son made his first trip to the public library in the spring of 1982, we checked out Brinton Turkle's gorgeously illustrated book DO NOT OPEN. We renewed it, and then renewed it, and then my neighbor graciously volunteered to check it out (and renew it) while I scoured used book stores (remember this was pre Amazon and even internet time) trying to find a copy to give him for Christmas.

I finally did find one and it has remained with us over the years.  Last December, when he was visiting with his own daughter, and they were shifting through boxes of books in the attic, I was treated to a glorious crowing as all 6 ft of him came galloping down the attic steps and he raced into the great room holding this aloft yelling "YES YES....we still have it."  Daddy and daughter now both read it often...it went home to Virginia with him, but I still have fond memories of it.  It is now out of print, and I 'm trying to find a decent copy for our library here in town.

The story is about an old lady who lives on the beach with her cat.  She walks every day and collects sea glass bottles, and other flotsam and jetsam and then finds a bottle that says "Do Not Open" one day after a big storm.  Should she open it?  You can imagine the tension and suspense this holds for youngsters. The exciting events that follow make it a wonderful book for the 3-7 age group.  I won't spoil it but there is a wonderful wonderful MONSTER, and I wish I could remember the name of the cat, who ends up being the hero....

If you can find it, grab it. It's a treasure to savor and pass on.

Sunday Salon: August 2nd

If you read this on Sunday, I will be reading on the plane or in an airport, or on another plane. I may also be audio 'reading' as I drive home from the airport. It will be a long day. The grand-daughter has to return to her parents in Virginia, and this time Tutu gets to be the plane escort. She is a delightfully fun traveler, and even with the 3 hr drive to the airport, the short flight to DC, and a turn around and do it in the other direction trip, it will be worth having had her for two delightful weeks. We got a lot of reading done, and a lot of lobsters eaten; we discovered a new museum- the Coastal Children's museum in Rockland Maine--if you are ever in the area with a child between 1 and 12, it is a fantastic way to spend an hour or spend a day. I got a tatoo, I was served plastic lunch, we figured out the gear wall, and I got a new black and red doll shaped bookmark to go with the Red to Black ARC I happened to be toting along. After we spent several hours at the beach Saturday on a perfect Maine summer blue sky day, we checked on the puffin cams at the Project Puffin visitor center, and sadly returned home to separate the library books from those that would go home with her, do the dirty laundry, make some last entries in her trip journal, put the pictures on CDs to take home, and have a final Jeremy and the Ghost story hour with Grampa. We will miss her, but will cherish the thoughts that our love of books and story hours has taken hold. Aside from liking lobsters, I can't think of a better value to pass to our grandchild.

Story Hour

Last week, the 2nd graders from our small town school took a walk down the street to visit their local public library. The teacher indicated that they had been studying fairy tales all year, and asked that we read a fairy tale to them. After I read them The Irish Cinderlad, the teacher then asked them to discuss the schema of the story and compare it to other stories they had heard during the year. I was impressed! These kids were able to pick out themes, compare significant characters, and point out similarities between such tales as Puss N Boots, Jack and the Beanstalk, and St George slaying the dragon, not to mention Cinderella among others. This is a great story-- a gender twist on the traditional Cinderella. Jack the hero, has big feet, a mean step-mother, three mean ugly step-sisters, and a friendly bull instead of a fairy godmother. He manages to disarm a giant (and get his boots), slay a dragon, rescue a princess and save the town. In the process, he loses one of his boots, causing the princess to institute a kingdom wide search for the owner of the footwear. Sound familiar? It was a great story, a fun afternoon, and a rewarding sight to see our tax dollars raising a group of kids who were capable of reading and interpreting real literature. I look forward to seeing them in the library all summer.

Review: The Scarecrow and His Servant

A tattered scarecrow stands in the middle of a muddy field, taking no notice of the violent thunderstorm around him. But when a bolt of lightning strikes him, fizzing its way through his turnip head and down his broomstick, the Scarecrow blinks with surprise–and comes to life.

Thus begins one of the most fun reads I've done in years. Although advertised as juvenile fiction, this is a humorous and sophisticated story with appeal to all ages. If the adult in you won't let you read a child's book for yourself, find a youngun' and start reading aloud. The wee one will not let you put it down. The scarecrow appoints a young starving homeless boy to be his 'servant' and they run away from the evil Buffaloni family who have taken over the field where the scarecrow lived. Along the way they have a series of wonderful adventures: performing in a street theater, serving in the army, being lost at sea and shipwrecked on an island, all the while being pursued by the evil Buffalonis. Near the end, a courtroom scene with a raven acting as defense counsel for the scarecrow, had me howling in laughter. This is a heart-warming, feel good, happily ever after the will be re-read for generations. Put this on the summer list and share it with someone you love.

Review: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

It's that time of year when I get ready for the annual granddaughter summer visit. Now that she's 8 1/2 and reading very well on her own thank you, I've been searching through the stacks at the library (and in our library) for suitable volumes for "her" shelf in the guest room. At the same time, I needed to add some titles to my "Award Winners" category on the LT 999 Challenge. This filled both requirements. Such a beautiful story, in a beautiful book full of gorgeous and gentle illustrations. I can't wait to give this to my grand-daughter. I'll have to get her one of her own because I know she won't want to part with this one to send it back to the library. The story is of a rabbit who learns to love and let himself be loved as he goes through a series of (mis)adventures, disasters, different names (and genders) and belonging to various people. It is a story absolutely bound to steal children's and adult's hearts. It can be read aloud to younger children, and then cherished by older ones. No wonder it won so many awards! It is a timeless chldren's classic that would be a welcome addition to any bookshelf.