Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression by Mildred Armstrong Kalish Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression
Book Review: I grew up in Iowa...
Summary: 5 Stars
Even though I'm young enough to be the author's granddaughter, I remember so much of what she writes about --- picking wild plums, grapes, raspberries, elderberries and mulberries and making preserves. Harvesting black walnuts before the squirrels could get them all. Searching out morels before the deer ate them. As I read this book I relived my childhood growing up in a small town in Iowa. My grandparents lived very much like the author and they taught us very similar lessons. Wonderful read! Book Review: What Did They call YOU?
Summary: 3 Stars
Will you enjoy LITTLE HEATHENS? Let's see: did your parents or grandparents ever you one of these names: scamp, rascal, dickens, devil, tomboy, hellion, smart-aleck, monkey, rapscallion? If so, I think you'll delight in HEATHENS. These somewhat dated terms of semi-endearment capture the tone of the book and its era, a time when children were expected to know their place and keep to it, a time when affection was delivered sideways, more often with a swat on the bottom than with a hug or kiss.
HEATHENS is, in short, a book of nostalgia. Organized topically, its chapters recreate in abundant and convincing detail such essentials of Depression farm life as food, church, school, chores, recreation, animals, family gatherings, and much more. The tone is fond without being sentimental, appreciative but alert to ironies--the voice of a woman who lived through it all and is aware of how fully her own success and character were determined by the lessons taught and learned in those hard times.
HEATHENS is a great book to read just before turning out the light at bedtime. It would be a fine companion on a plane trip, a excellent addition to a lazy afternoon at the beach or a rainy weekend in the cabin. It would make an appropriate gift for anyone who lived through the Depression, or who grew up on a small farm and cherishes the memories. And it would surely be an eye-opener to anyone who has no idea about what it feels like to eat potatoes and turnips you have grown, drink and bathe in water you have pumped or carried, warm yourself before a fire you built in a fireplace from wood you chopped with your own grimy little hands.
Mildred Kalish's book was named by the New York Times Book Review as one of the ten best books of 2007. Read it, and you will know why.
Book Review: Farmers' Almanac
Summary: 4 Stars
"I have had the good fortune to have absorbed the events that transpired during my childhood years into my very being, as if no boundary exists between then and now, as if the past has not really past."
The epiphany above is the secret to the pleasure of reading Mildred Kalish's "Little Heathens". Kalish is able to recount the routines and rhythms of Depression era farm life with such precision that it hovers in the mind's eye like a nostalgic dream.
What made the farmhouse hum back then was a serious devotion to doing each task well. It was a life that required hard work and "elbow grease", but the rewards seemed to be sharpened senses and enjoyment of a close-knit family and oneness with Nature. Martha Stewart and her "Good Things" philosophy pales by comparison.
Still, without admitting to irony, Kalish confesses that she was fortunate to escape this plain, P. Buckley-Moss picture of simplicity to pursue her adult life. Times change, but hard-won wisdom remains.
Book Review: Little Heathens, a good read
Summary: 5 Stars
Enjoyed the book after it was recommended by my stepson. Even though I may not agree with her religious beliefs, the book was a stroll down memory lane and quite enjoyable. I purchased it for a cousin living in Iowa.Book Review: Little Heathens
Summary: 3 Stars
This well written book shares memories of a woman who grew up in a small town in Iowa during the depression