As soon as one lays eyes on the Newbery Medal adorning this work of literature, one instantly knows Thimble Summer is going to be a treat to read. Elizabeth Enright made a masterpiece of this chapter book, successfully winning the 1939 Newbery Medal. Thimble Summer might not be the biggest book out there, yet that doesn’t compromise on the quality. Set in the Depression-era, it talks about a girl named Garnet Linden and her family who works as farmers. However, rainfall is extremely scarce, causing their crops to die and thus less money and less food. But one summer, Garnet finds a silver thimble and believes it will bring them luck, and indeed it did. From massive rainfall right afterwards to plentiful harvest to getting a loan to build a new farm to winning a blue ribbon at a fair, things quickly turned for the Linden family, bringing more wealth and prosperity in the hard times this book was set in. As with any book review, I will list three main themes that are clear in this magnificent chapter book.
Your family will always care about you, even when you think they don’t. Sometimes one feels as if one isn’t cared for by their family, one can feel upset and think no one cares about oneself. But that isn’t true. Inside, a family will always love each other, no matter what hard times get thrown at them. The bond of a family is rarely, if not never truly separated. Arguments can happen, but no quarrel can tear down a family. Sometimes we can misjudge our family. We may think they don’t care about us. But in the end, our family will always care for us, even if we think they don’t. In Thimble Summer, Garnet once thinks her family doesn’t care about her and runs away. But ultimately, she learns that her family does care about her, even though she thought they didn’t. While it is ironic that this event was unbeknownst to Garnet’s family, it is not a sign that her family doesn’t care about her. Garnet’s family has shown many occasions where they cared about Garnet, and in the end, the whole event was simply a misjudgment by Garnet of how her family thought of her. A family will always care for each other; it is not easily broken.
If one believes in something or is determined to achieve something, one will be able to do it. Determination can go a long way when one wants to do something. If we believe in ourselves or even believe in each other, the chances of success will increase. On the other hand, if we don’t have determination, we will automatically not be able to achieve the goal in question without pain, even if we have the ability to do so. If our heart is not in it, we will have difficulty achieving something. In Thimble Summer, Garnet wishes to turn one of her favorite piglets in her farm into a handsome prize winner. She was determined to do so and after the whole book, she finally was able to win a prize with her pig, Timmy. She also used her determination to achieve other things, such as hitchhiking to New Conniston, persuading her father to let her go to the lime kiln, and believing in the silver thimble to bring them luck. There is no doubt that Garnet has used her belief and determination to achieve an abundance of goals throughout this work of literature, and that because she had her heart in them, she was able to achieve every single one. Determination and belief can be crucial in the success of achieving some type of goal.
No matter how hard life is, good things will always happen someday. Life can sometimes, if not often be hard and challenging, and sometimes it isn’t even one’s fault. But although hard times happen, so do good times. Good things will always appear someday, even if challenges outnumber them. It is impossible to have one without the other, there are times where one gets extremely lucky, and times where one thinks life is impossible. In Thimble Summer, Garnet and her family lived through hard times, being in the Depression-era. The start of the story was describing how their life was challenging. Yet good things happened, whether from one’s own determination or pure luck. In this book, Garnet witnessed good times and hard times, the former from winning a fair to a new barn, the latter from being locked in a library to getting stuck on a Ferris Wheel. Throughout the book, both good and bad experiences happened. As we follow Garnet’s story after finding the thimble, we find that although there were mainly happy and exciting events, there was no shortage or compromise on challenges. Thus is the course of life, a series of good and bad with no complete winner.
In conclusion, Thimble Summer is another one of those books that needs only one glance at the cover to know its perfection. It brings the reader through a journey with Garnet Linden and her family, about how one day Garnet found a silver thimble, how it brought them good luck, and the exciting events that happened afterwards in this “thimble summer”. As with any good and deep book, there are an abundance of themes and morals to learn and delve into. The main three I found in this book are: Your family will always care about you, even when you think they don’t, if one believes in something or is determined to achieve something, one will be able to do it, and no matter how hard life is, good things will always happen someday. And as aforementioned, although this isn’t the longest chapter book in the world, it certainly does put quality over quantity, using vivid wording, exciting and hooking plot, and above all else, a variety of themes. Thimble Summer truly deserves that Newbery Medal gleaming on the cover, and I highly recommend reading this masterpiece of children’s literature.
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