#miss rumphius

[godzilla-reads]

…Alice would say, “When I grow up, I too will go to faraway places, and when I grow old, I too will live beside the sea.”

“That is all very well, little Alice,” said her grandfather, “but there is a third thing you must do.”

“What is that?” asked Alice.

“You must do something to make the world more beautiful,” said her grandfather.

—Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney

[vimesbootstheory]

💕🔑🌼👻

tysm for sending me the delightful lil symbols 💜

💕 -- Your two top fave fictional characters -- I just realized that the answer to this is TWO COPS UGH GROSS. Nevertheless it is the truth. One answer will surprise no one, Sam Vimes. Always Sam Vimes, obviously. The other is Alexander Mahone from Prison Break? I mention prison break maybe once a year on this tumblr blog and yet mahone is unquestionably my second favourite fictional character ever

🔑 -- Key to your heart -- My hyperliteral ass can't deal with this prompt. uh Truth. Truth put to words.

🌼 -- Fave flower -- Lilac! I have a lilac tattoo. Well it is a discworld tattoo. but it has lilacs. I also really like lupines, because my dad used to read Miss Rumphius to me when I was little. side note miss rumphius is an aroace icon and that book probably shaped my life aspirations more than any other piece of fiction. YES travel to faraway places YES settle down by the sea YES make the world more beautiful! with lupines.

👻 -- Do you believe in ghosts -- I feel like a killjoy saying it but no. died-in-the-wool shaniac, if that's a thing anyone is anymore lol

[via-ru88-blog]

Sharing a moment of perfection in a difficult day.

[kilterstreet]

"Miss Rumphius and the Lupine in Maine" (from the book Miss Rumphius)

Artist: Barbara Cooney

[whilereadingandwalking]

My Childhood Classics: Part 5

In this short series, I’ve been featuring some of my favorite childhood reads. In the last of five installments, here are four favorites, all of whom appealed to me in their own brilliantly unique ways.

Madeline’s Rescue by Ludwig Bemelmans—I loved everything Madeline back in the day! I had a beautiful Madeline doll, in her distinctive yellow hat that was rock hard and could have given me a concussion more than once.

Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney was given to me by my grandmother, and is one of my absolute all-time favorites. Alice Rumphius wanted to make the world more beautiful. There was a real Miss Rumphius, the Lupine Lady, who scattered lupine seeds everywhere she went—this is a fictionalized tale about her, a woman who created true beauty in the world.

Red Light, Green Light by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Leonard Weisgard, a beautiful and muted book that rhymes and repeats and is just generally a fun one to read aloud.

Miss Spider’s Wedding by David Kirk is without a doubt the most terrifying book I ever read as a child, and yet somehow I loved it. The villainous spider is painted as the most uncanny figure, and he’s literally a creep who tries to kill Miss Spider’s fiancé!

[ediblegardenspointloma]

“To Make the World More Beautiful...”

Gardening is a creative, artistic process for me. The greens and lettuce in my garden are ordered by color and texture as well as by height. As Miss Rumphius says, it’s “to make the world more beautiful.”  Listen to Miss Rumphius read aloud here.

One of my favorite children’s books.

[underthetweed]

What Would Miss Rumphius Do? - The Atlantic

[femalecharactersinmedia]

Miss Rumphius Barbara Cooney

When Miss Rumphius was little, she would sit on her grandfather's lap and listen to his stories of faraway places-and she would say "When I grow up, I too will go to faraway places, and when I grow old, I too will live beside the sea." However, her grandfather gives her a third charge-to do something that makes the world more beautiful. And Alice grows up to do just that. She takes a job as a librarian far away from the salt air, travels to distant locations, and moves back by the sea. However, she knows she must still do something to make the world more beautiful. After watching the Lupines grow by her house, she has a wonderful idea.

Published 1982