Thimbleberry Stories

by: Cynthia Rylant; Illustrated by Maggie Kneen

Published by: Harcourt Books Inc.

Reviewed by Amy L. Loos

Thimbleberry Stories is a quartet of short stories highlighting the life of the main character, Nigel Chipmunk, on Thimbleberry Lane. Nigel is a proud little fellow, and as we learn, he is very partial to his own way of thinking.

Nigel is supposed to learn through his encounters with a young artistic hummingbird named Dipper, his good friend Little Owl, Claudius, the garter snake, and Mudpuppy, the salamander, that life is about variety and accepting differences in others.

However, while I understood the author's objective in trying to teach children to accept differences, I found that Nigel was a bit too disposed in judging his friends to ever learn the lesson of compassion.

For instance, when Little Owl stops by to ask for Nigel's help in rearranging his living room, Nigel quickly agrees to go to Little Owl's home and help. On the way, Nigel finds that he didn't bring his hat along to protect him against the summer sun. Being an ingenious fellow, Nigel, grabs a large leaf and wraps it around his head, tying it off with corn silk. Ever conscious of his looks, he frets about someone laughing at his newly made hat. The only other animal he passes on his way to Little Owl's home is a porcupine. Yet he doesn't worry about the porcupine's opinion, because according to Nigel, this porcupine, "Never laughed at anybody because she herself always looked a little silly. (All those garish quills!)

Ouch! For Nigel to think so highly of himself and to make fun of another who was clearly self-conscious was not appropriate. It was these types of comments and opinions that made me dislike Nigel.

I would've enjoyed this book much more had the author shown Nigel growing in the knowledge that he was wrong to judge others. It would've been a better lesson to show children that while we are all quite capable of making the same errors as Nigel, to be a sympathetic person, one must learn from the mistake and take steps not to repeat the error.

Armchair Interviews says: A message to children that one aspect the adult reader may want to comment on.