Miss Maggie

This is one of the many Cynthia Rylant books I pulled from the shelves in the library. I read it pretty quickly and am not sure if I got everything out of it I should have. With Cynthia Rylant books, I think I get more out of them if they're read aloud and I'm given time to process the story. When I'm just reading for myself, I fly through and perhaps don't take the time to appreciate what is there. So I decided to go back.

The old woman, Miss Maggie, lives in a log house all alone. Her closest neighbor is Nat, whose grandmother sends him to Miss Maggie's house with buttermilk or beans. Nat's fear of Miss Maggie and the black snake that he believes lives with her keeps him from entering her house even when he's invited...until one day when he has to. On a winter day, Nat notices there is no smoke coming from her chimney. It is too cold to be without a fire, so Nat goes to investigate. He finds Miss Maggie sitting on her floor, holding a piece of cloth. In that cloth is a starling named Henry. Nat takes both of them to his grandad. In the end, we never find out if the starling lives, but I can assume it did not. From that moment on, Nat and Miss Maggie become special friends and when spring comes, Nat brings Miss Maggie a new pet, a black garden snake he has named Henry. Nat's good-naturedness and strength of heart helped him overcome his fear of the old woman. Sometimes it's the tough situations in which people just act instead of think that change the course of events.

The illustrations (done by Thomas DiGrazia) are what slowed me down the second time around. There is a sadness in them that captures the story. I was wondering why the illustrator chose to use only black and white. The only color is a faint green and blue on the front cover. But then I thought that this story is almost dream-like, a little blurred around the edges, "a story worth telling" as Rylant says on the first page. The first time I read this picture book, I wasn't crazy about it. But now that I've had to take the time to sit down and write my thoughts, I've found that I like it a little more. Aging is a difficult subject, but I think Rylant handled it tactfully and with grace.

p.s. - I was quickly searching for a picture of this book, and though I could not find one, I came across a site that was selling this book for over $50! I have a renewed appreciation for libraries that temporarily provide books for free.