''Caddie Woodlawn'' is a children's

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

novel by

Carol Ryrie Brink Carol Ryrie Brink (December 28, 1895 – August 15, 1981) was an American writer of over thirty juvenile and adult books. Her novel ''Caddie Woodlawn'' won the 1936 Newbery Medal and a Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1958. Lifetime Caroline S ...

that received the

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

in 1936 and a

Lewis Carroll Shelf Award The Lewis Carroll Shelf Award was an American literary award conferred on several books annually by the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Education annually from 1958 to 1979. Award-winning books were deemed to "belong on the same shelf" ...

in 1958. The original 1935 edition was illustrated by Newbery-award-winning author and illustrator

Kate Seredy Kate Seredy (November 10, 1899 – March 7, 1975) was a Hungarian-born writer and illustrator of children's books. She won the Newbery Medal once, the Newbery Honor twice, the Caldecott Honor once, and Lewis Carroll Shelf Award. Most of her bo ...

. Macmillan released a later edition in 1973, illustrated by

Trina Schart Hyman Trina Schart Hyman (April 8, 1939 – November 19, 2004) was an American illustrator of children's books. She illustrated over 150 books, including fairy tales and Arthurian legends. She won the 1985 Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illustrat ...

Plot

Set in the 1860s, the novel is about a lively eleven-year-old

tomboy A tomboy is a term for a girl or a young woman with masculine qualities. It can include wearing androgynous or unfeminine clothing and actively engage in physical sports or other activities and behaviors usually associated with boys or men. W ...

named Caroline Augusta Woodlawn, nicknamed "Caddie", living in the area of Dunnville, Wisconsin. As a young girl, she made the journey there from

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

with her family, one that nearly cost her life. Sickly and weak, she is allowed to run wild with her brothers, Tom and Warren, to regain her health. They spend much of their time exploring the woods and rivers that surround their farm. The book opens with Caddie being late for dinner after an excursion to visit the local Indian tribe, embarrassing her mother with her antics. She, undaunted, spends the next year having a string of adventures and scares. From a midnight ride through the forest to warn her friend, "Indian John", that the settlers are planning an attack, to a prairie fire that brings out the best in Obediah, the school bully, to a life-threatening fall through a lake while ice skating, her life is far from boring. Things come to a head when "perfect" Cousin Annabelle from Boston arrives for a visit, and Caddie is forced to confront her future. Tom and Warren, always a part of her adventures, come along for the journey. This story is full of practical jokes and touching moments, like the long journey home of Nero, a beloved pet dog that was taken by Caddie's uncle to be "educated". It tells the story of a family's existence on the frontier during the and offers insights into how life was lived in a small

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

village where fear of local Indians was a reality, and life and death situations arose with frightening regularity. The sequel, ''Magical Melons'' (1939), continues the story of Caddie Woodlawn

Background

Brink (1895–1981) was born and raised in

Moscow, Idaho Moscow ( ) is a city in North Central Idaho, United States. Located along the state border with Washington, it had a population of 25,435 at the 2020 census. The county seat and largest city of Latah County, Moscow is the home of the Universit ...

, in the

Palouse The Palouse ( ) is a distinct geographic region of the northwestern United States, encompassing parts of north central Idaho, southeastern Washington, and, by some definitions, parts of northeast Oregon. It is a major agricultural area, primaril ...

region. Orphaned at age eight following her mother's suicide, she lived there with her widowed maternal grandmother and an unmarried aunt; The former had grown up on a farm in Wisconsin. In a preface to the later edition of ''Caddie Woodlawn'', she said the books were partly based on the life of her grandmother, Caddie Woodhouse Watkins (1853–1940), and her siblings: older sister Clara, older brother Tom, younger brother Warren, younger sisters Hetty and Minnie, and baby brother Joe. The house where Caddie lived is now a historical site, about south of

Menomonie, Wisconsin Menomonie () is a city in and the county seat of Dunn County in the western part of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The city's population was 16,843 as of the 2020 census. Named for the original inhabitants of the area, the Menominee, the city fo ...

Critical reception

Children's literature expert

May Hill Arbuthnot May Hill Arbuthnot (August 27, 1884 – October 2, 1969) was an American educator, editor, writer, and critic who devoted her career to the awareness and importance of children's literature. Her efforts expanded and enriched the selection of bo ...

says of ''Caddie Woodlawn'', "this book is far less of a frontier story—settlers versus Indians—than it is the entertaining evolution of a tomboy. The fun Caddie gets out of life suggests the usefulness of this book in counteracting the overseriousness of most historical fiction." ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' said it provides "an authentic picture of life on a frontier farm when massacre was a real threat and when a livelihood, hardly earned, allowed for fun in natural outdoor things". It won the

in 1936. The book's portrayal of Native Americans has been criticized in more recent years.

Debbie Reese Debbie Reese is a Nambé Pueblo scholar and educator. Reese founded American Indians in Children's Literature, which analyzes representations of Native and Indigenous peoples in children's literature. She co-edited a young adult adaptation of '' ...

, founder of the website American Indians in Children's Literature, shared her daughter's pained reaction to reading it in school in "Reflections on Caddie Woodlawn: Teaching about Stereotypes using Literature."

Adaptations

Brink transformed ''Caddie Woodlawn'' into a radio drama in 1945. In 1989, a made-for-television movie based on the book was directed by Giles Walker with teleplay by Joe Wisenfeld and Richard John Davis.

Emily Schulman Emily Hope Schulman (born August 17, 1977) is an American former child actress and commercial agent, and current acting instructor. She is known for her role as next-door neighbor Harriet Brindle on the sitcom ''Small Wonder (TV series), Smal ...

portrayed Caddie. Several changes were made from the book, most notably moving the conflict between the settlers and Indians toward the end, and greatly increasing the role of Caddie's cousin, Annabelle

A musical, '' Caddie Woodlawn (musical), Caddie Woodlawn A Musical Adventure''
The Caddie Woodlawn Musical
, by Tom Shelton and Susan C. Hunter, Brink's granddaughter, was also based on the book.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1935 American novels 1935 children's books Newbery Medal–winning works Novels set in Wisconsin American children's novels Books about Native Americans Fiction set in the 1860s Dunn County, Wisconsin American novels adapted into films Children's historical novels