I am not one to grow weepy at the thought of my children getting older, but there is something about the thought of this child turning four that gives me pause.
She has always been so little, you know—fiesty and loud and sweet and little—and yet, tomorrow she turns four, an age that isn’t exactly big but that does turn some sort of corner, taking her out of toddlerdom and into a new season of life, where the questions are frequent and the play enthralling.
The Maggie B. suits this season in Sarah’s life and so it makes sense that she enjoys it: the story is an adventure story but a comforting one, where the objects of everyday life—soup, storms and younger siblings—are a part of the quiet action. When Margaret Barnstable, heroine of The Maggie B., wishes on a star, she wishes for a ship “named after me, to sail for a day alone and free, with someone nice for company.” She gets her wish, and she and her brother sail the seas together in a comfy ship (complete with farm and fruit trees) for a single day. It is a wish I could see Sarah making.
In fact, it is a wish I might have made as a child—or might still make, if given the opportunity. Something about this book enchanted me the very first time I read it, and it has remained a favorite in our family ever since, but I am glad to see Sarah adopting it as a personal favorite now and bringing it to me while I clear the table after dinner with that sleepy question: “Will you read this to me?” The thought that she’ll be reading to herself soon, that I won’t hear that question from her for much longer—that might make me a little weepy. But until then, I’ll enjoy those moments on the couch with Sarah’s hair tickling my chin, reading The Maggie B.
The Maggie B.
Irene Haas (1975)
Lindsay C says:
Looks like a lovely book! I’ll have to hunt for it at the library with Lucy.
September 12, 2014 — 9:38 am
Théa says:
Do! It’s worth the hunt 🙂
September 29, 2014 — 5:20 am
Christina A says:
Oh, my heart! I grew up with this one, and my 10 year-old son will still ask me to read it to him a couple times a year, right before bed. It is the dearest thing. I am so pleased to have found your blog through one of your comments on the Femina site. Keep it up!
February 19, 2015 — 10:36 pm
Théa says:
Thank you so much for stopping by! It’s good to know that The Maggie B has such staying power that your ten-year-old son still loves it, and it’s moved on the second generation of your family 🙂 That is so sweet! Good books like this one have a way of sticking around, don’t they?
February 20, 2015 — 5:22 am
Emily Lewis says:
This is a favorite we discovered at the library. There is something lovely about the story of make believe and everyday chores on the boat. When a friend named her daughter Maggie, we ordered two copies, one for us and one for her.
October 21, 2016 — 12:10 pm
Thea Rosenburg says:
What a sweet idea for a baby gift! I bet that will be a special book to little Maggie as she grows–my name is too unusual to show up in many books, but I always thought it would be pretty cool to have a literary name buddy 🙂
October 22, 2016 — 1:40 pm