Caddie Woodlawn's Family by Carol Ryrie Brink, originally published as Magical Melons in 1939: 193 pages.
This book is the sequel to the Newberry Medal winning Caddie Woodlawn. I had not known there was a sequel until a month or so ago when I saw this at the library. I recommend both Caddie Woodlawn and Caddie Woodlawn's Family. They are episodic in nature. Each chapter tells about an episode in Caddie's childhood. She was a real girl growing up in the 1860's in Wisconsin, kind of like Laura Ingalls. She was always going on adventures with her brothers. She can't keep a white dress white and her mother is after her father for letting Caddie do all the manly things like plowing, but she is a fun loving girl who tries her best to stay out of trouble.
I admire Caddie's father for helping her find a balance between tomboyishness and ladylikeness. She wanted to be outside and do all the outdoor things. Mr. Woodlawn told Mrs. Woodlawn to let him have Caddie and raise her outdoors more so. He felt that she would have better health by spending more time doing exploring and physical activities outside.
I enjoy old fashioned stories especially when they are about real people and they are always more fun if children are involved. There are chapters about school, rivalry, secret good deeds, harrowing stories from the frontier days, seeing the medicine show, caring for neighbors, fourth of July celebrations, and many other tales from growing up in a large family on a farm in the 1800's.
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