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When I Was Young in the Mountains (Reading Rainbow Books (Paperback)) (Paperback) (Paperback)
by Cynthia Rylant
| Category:
Reminiscence, Award-winning books, Ages 4-8, Children's book |
| Market price: ¥ 98.00
MSL price:
¥ 88.00
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| Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
Reminiscences of the pleasures of life in the mountains as a child. |
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Author: Cynthia Rylant
Publisher: Puffin
Pub. in: January, 1993
ISBN: 0140548750
Pages: 32
Measurements: 9.8 x 7.8 x 0.1 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BC00104
Other information: Reprint edition
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- MSL Picks -
Cynthia Rylant's enduring favorite When I Was Young in the Mountains is the tale of her own childhood growing up in the Appalachian mountains of West Virginia. The gently repetitive text details her everyday life, from swimming in a swimming hole (even if there were snakes!) to taking a bath to drinking cocoa made by her grandmother. Each page starts off with, "When I was young in the mountains . . ." By the final page, we see that not only did Ms. Rylant appreciate her low-tech, memory-making childhood, but she wouldn't have traded it for anything.
Diane Goode's softly colored illustrations beautifully dovetail with the text, whether she's showing a river baptism, a nighttime trip to the "johnny-house" after too much fried okra, or a stint at the water pump. It's a lovely ode to the simple life, and to being happy with what you have instead of worrying about what you don't have.
Target readers:
Kids aged 4-8
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Cynthia Rylant was born in Hopewell, Virginia. She received her B.A. degree from Morris Harvey College in 1975 and her M.A. degree from Marshall University in 1976. She also received an M.L.S. degree in 1981 from Kent State University. She taught English part-time at Marshall University, Ohio University at Ironton, and the University of Akron. A Fine White Dust was a Newbery Honor Book for 1987, an award given by the American Library Association. When I Was Young in the Mountains was a Caldecott Honor Book in 1983 and The Relatives Came was a Caldecott Honor Book in 1986. Three of her books were Junior Literary Guild selections: Henry and Mudge in the Green Time, All I See, and Night in the Country. Birthday Presents and A Blue-Eyed Daisy were named Children's Choice books by a joint committee of the International Reading Association and the Children's Book Council. The Relatives Came was named a Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies for 1985 by a joint committee of the National Council on the Social Studies and the Children's Book Council. Four of her books were named Notable Children's Books of their years of publication, and two of her books were named Best Books for Young Adults by the ALA: A Fine White Dust for 1986, and A Kindness for 1988. Rylant's most recent awards include the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for children's fiction in 1992 and the John Newbery Medal in 1993 for Missing May. Rylant is also an ALA best book winner for A Couple of Kooks and Other Stories about Love as well as a School Library Journal best book of the year citation for Children of Christmas.
Cynthia Rylant has been described as unadorned, clear, and lyrical who presents young people's concerns and makes them as valuable and important as those of adults.
One of Rylant's most recent works is A Couple of Kooks: And Other Stories about Love about a mentally handicapped man who has a crush on an employee at the hardware store. Critics commended Rylant for her "honest, compassionate portrayal of her subjects' feelings".
The award winning book Missing May has received critical acclaim by many critics including the New York Times Book Review's Karen Ray who asserted: "Ms. Rylant writes award-winning everything; picture books, humor, poetry, short stories and nonfiction. But it is her novels for young adults that her spare language, sense of place and deceptively simple stories explode most effectively". Ray also went on to add that Missing May "brings insight and acceptance to an odd collection of characters we will come to love very much".
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For twenty years, Cynthia Rylant's story of childhood in the Appalachian Mountains has been an enduring favorite. Growing up in the mountains is depicted with a spare, lyrical text and beautiful, tender illustrations by Diane Goode. The book was awarded a Caldecott Honor Medal.
To celebrate its twentieth anniversary, When I Was Young in the Mountains is being released with a commemorative copper-colored band.
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A kid (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-31 00:00>
When I Was Young In The Mountains by Cynthia Rylant
In the story the young girl talks about her experience in the mountains with her grandmother and grandfather. She talks about how grandpa kisses them on the tops of their heads. He's all covered with coal from working in the mines (from head to toe). She recalls eating okra and how she had to run to the outhouse with grandma in the middle of the night. She also recalls swimming in the muddy pond with the little black snakes and she and her brother weren't scared! This is a great story about memories of being young in the mountains.
We liked this story because it was descriptive and expresses feelings and emotions. This mentor text shows how to write a story with feeling (personal voice)!
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KMS, Fraziers Bottom (MSL quote), West Virginia
<2006-12-31 00:00>
I am a student at a University in West Virginia and I am currently enrolled in a Children's Literature course. I was required to read this book and I am glad that the book was so beautiful. I have always lived in West Virginia and this book hit very close to home. I can recall taking walks through cow pastures, jumping in swimming holes, eating corn bread and pinto beans (which is still one of my favorite meals), relaxing on the porch swing at night and listening to the sounds of nature, and watching the stars shine over the mountains. One of my favorite parts of the story is the baptism. I too was baptized in a swimming hole. This story describes West Virginia in all its beauty. |
Jess (MSL quote), West Virginia
<2006-12-31 00:00>
When I read this book for the first time, I couldn't help but remember stories my grandmother told me about her life in the hollers of West Virginia as a young girl. Although I did not grow up in this state, I've taught school here for 20 years. Believe it or not, much of this story is alive and well in West Virginia and that is a wonderful thing. Life is simple, family is important and good morals are still taught in these mountains and valleys. This book is an accurate depiction of life in rural Appalachia. I've given it as a gift to my nephews and nieces who live in other states and are not as "in touch" with their West Virginia heritage. The illustrations are beautiful and compliment the story wonderfully. |
E. R. Bird (MSL quote), Manhattan, NY
<2006-12-31 00:00>
Author Cynthia Rylant has written a tender story of her childhood days, living in the Appalachian Mountains not so long ago. Accompanied by the excellent illustrator Diane Goode, the book is a straightforward look at life amongst the best-known American mountain folk. Scenes of daily life include everything from needing a brave adult to accompany you out into the dark scary night (on your way to the outhouse) to getting baptized in the local swimming hole.
The book is remarkable for its lack of overt sentimentality. Some might disagree with me, but I was struck by how this book did not fail to note the less than desirable elements of living in the wilderness. Swimming in a swimming hole of your own might be fun. Just watch out for snakes. And baths required an awful amount of work: Pumping the water, carrying it to the house, heating it.
Goode's delicate illustrations accompany the text of this story perfectly. If Rylant says that the proprietors of the local store (Mr. & Mrs. Crawford) were identical, and then gosh darn it, the people look identical. And I especially adored the moment when the narrator's grandmother kills a big nasty snake in the woods. The next picture displays the narrator, her brother, and two other red-headed children posing sheepishly for a traveling photographer, gigantic dead snake draped across their heads.
I cannot think of many other books that take place in Appalachia. And I certainly can't think of any that are better than this. A sweet good-hearted story, When I Was Young in the Mountains understands what it meant to live a difficult life with pleasure and human warmth.
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