Module 1: Miss Rumphius

Summary: 
Miss Rumphius is a beautiful story of a woman who accepts a three-part challenge from her wise grandfather to travel the world, live by the sea, and leave a legacy of beauty behind her. As Alice Rumphius grows into adulthood, her goals of travel and residence take shape quite easily. It's the final goal of making the world more beautiful that Alice struggles to accomplish. As she grows further in age, Miss Rumphius stumbles upon her favorite flower, the lupine, and realizes how the scattering of seeds allows for wildflowers to pop up of their own accord. Charging herself with the mission of spreading the lupines' beauty throughout her world, Miss Rumphius, or the Lupine Lady as she becomes known, scatters lupine seeds everywhere she walks and soon the world around her is littered with the gorgeous lupine blooms. Retelling the story of her life to her great-niece, Miss Rumphius, challenges her grand-niece to set goals of her own and to make the world beautiful as well. 

Cooney, B. (1982). Miss Rumphius. New York: Viking.

Review: Kirkus Reviews
"You might almost believe that Barbara Cooney had a Great-Aunt Alice Rumphius who did just as we read here--else why go to the trouble of spinning out a yarn, composed of transparent storybook motifs (an elderly grandfather who carves ships' figureheads; travels to exotic places; a solitary cottage by the sea), just to arrive at an old lady who strews lupine seeds about? Ostensibly, she's fulfilling her promise to her grandfather to "do something to make the world more beautiful"; in Barbara Cooney's precisionist Maine coast pictures, the drifts of lupine blooms are a tribute to the lupine lady per se. It's a lovely notion, in short, if not much (or too much) of a story." [Oct. 11, 1983]

Cooney, B. (1982). Miss Rumphius [Review of the book Miss Rumphius, by Kirkus Staff]. Kirkus Reviews, 50.  

My Impressions: 
Miss Rumphius is a breathtaking experience. The detail and colors of the illustrations are gorgeous and truly evoke the brightness and life in each to the locations visited. The lesson of the book is what I really appreciate though. While many picture books have direct teachings with a specific purpose, Miss Rumphius lets the reader think about their own life in their own terms. It allows you to shape the lessons of accomplishing goals and making the world more beautiful in ways that create a unique path for yourself. That level of universal application to all readers makes Miss Rumphius an enduring classic. Also, I enjoyed how the story takes you to so many unfamiliar places and yet maintains a sense of comfort. You experience the soft determination of Miss Rumphius as she steadily and deliberately approaches her life with purpose void of urgency. The tranquility of the book pulled me into Miss Rumphius's world and left me with a sense of energetic peace where I felt I could take on the world confidently and one step at a time. 

Library Use: 
Miss Rumphius could be used as an introduction to personal life goal-setting. The lessons of Miss Rumphius beautifully introduces the idea of acting in such a way that you leave the world a better place. Used as a jumping off point to the importance of leaving a smart digital footprint,Miss Rumphius gives insight into what general goals look like and illustrates the power of approaching your life with purpose. As students wrap themselves in the digital world around them, they need to learn skills for putting things (text, pictures, videos, etc.) into the world and onto the Internet that leave a legacy of which they can feel proud.