''Calico Bush'' is a children's historical

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

by Newbery-award-winning author

Rachel Field Rachel Lyman Field (September 19, 1894 – March 15, 1942) was an American novelist, poet, and children's literature, children's fiction writer. She is best known for her work ''Hitty, Her First Hundred Years''. Field also won a National Book Awa ...

. Considered by some to be her best novel, it was first published in 1931 and received a

Newbery Honor The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

award.

Plot

''Calico Bush'' is set on the

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

coast in the

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a person who is among the first at something that is new to a community. A pioneer as a settler is among the first settling at a place that is new to the settler community. A historic example are American pioneers, perso ...

era, and tells the story of Marguerite, a young French orphan who becomes an

indentured servant Indentured servitude is a form of Work (human activity), labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract called an "indenture", may be entered voluntarily for a prepaid lump sum, as paymen ...

on a farm.

Background

Field spent the 1920s summering on Sutton Island, part of Cranberry Isles, Maine. According to Margaret Lane, "The inspiration for ''Calico Bush'' probably came from the story of Marguerite La Croix, who with her husband, John Stanley, moved from Marblehead after 1767, with their many children and became the first permanent residents of

Little Cranberry Island Little Cranberry Island is an island of roughly located in the U.S. state of Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders ...

. Just north of the 'Head' their hearthstones still lie undisturbed in the field, and they themselves are buried on Maypole Point." Field did not try to tell the woman's story exactly, but used her as inspiration for her book. The name "calico bush" is used for a mountain laurel native to the

eastern United States The Eastern United States, often abbreviated as simply the East, is a macroregion of the United States located to the east of the Mississippi River. It includes 17–26 states and Washington, D.C., the national capital. As of 2011, the Eastern ...

, including Maine. It is also the title of a ballad referred to in the book.

Critical reception

Besides receiving the Newbery Honor Award for 1932, ''Calico Bush'' was well received by critics. '' Saturday Review'' called it "a really good book, simple in its narrative, meaty, sincere". According to The New York Times, "Adult readers as well as boys and girls will be grateful to Rachel Field for this fine and absorbing tale." Decades later the book was still well-regarded. Children's literature expert

May Hill Arbuthnot May Hill Arbuthnot (August 27, 1884 – October 2, 1969) was an American educator, editor, writer, and critic who devoted her career to the awareness and importance of children's literature. Her efforts expanded and enriched the selection of bo ...

called ''Calico Bush'' "unusual and powerful" It is, she said, a "model of sound

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...

. The picture of the times and the people is not only authentic but unusually balanced."

References

{{Authority control 1931 American novels American children's novels Children's historical novels Newbery Honor–winning works Novels set in Maine Novels about orphans 1931 children's books Children's books set in Maine

Plot

Background

Critical reception

See also

References