Miss Rumphius Encourages a Lifetime of Altruism

What can you do to make the world a bit more beautiful? That is the challenge set forth in Miss Rumphius, a lovely story written and illustrated by Barbara Cooney. While it chronicles the life of one particular woman determined to live out her childhood dreams, it inspires readers to develop dreams of their own and to leave a little room for aspirations that better those around them - and the magical thing is that when you share joy with the world, it's almost certain that you will share in the bounty yourself.

The story begins at the end before swiftly backtracking to a time many years ago, when Miss Rumphius was a little girl by the name of Alice. It is then, while living with her grandfather, an immigrant and artist, that she announces her plan to visit far-off lands and live by the sea. While her grandfather approves of those dreams, he gives her a third commission: to make the world more beautiful.

Alice grows up to be a librarian named Miss Rumphius, and after a while, she decides to get started to achieving those childhood goals. She does a lot of traveling. She finds a quiet little house by the sea. And she starts to think about what she might do to fulfill her grandfather's gentle command. Her solution is simple but wonderful and just goes to show what a big difference one person can make with a little effort.

The paintings, which were done in acrylics with Prismacolor pencil accents, have a wonderfully old-fashioned look to them. Some of the illustrations fill a page and a half, while other fill a single page, leaving room for a smaller picture to go underneath or above the text. Many are vibrant, like the scene of her accepting a gift from the king of a fishing village in a tropical island as smiling children look on. By comparison, her little windswept home by the sea looks a bit drab, until she finds a way to make it, and the rest of the town, magnificent.

Miss Rumphius is an inspiring book. It is narrated by a girl who identifies herself as her great-niece, and as the story ends, she receives her own marching orders from her great-aunt. Do something to make the world more beautiful. The girl doesn't know what that will be, but she agrees.

The marvelous thing is that Miss Rumphius really doesn't wait until she is old to spread beauty; that's just the only time she consciously goes about it. As a young woman she expands the minds of children, inviting them into wondrous worlds through books. When she is older, she enriches the lives of people far away, just as she is enriched by them. It's a constant give and take, so children who read this book shouldn't just think of it as a one-time act. Chances are they have already done a good bit of beautifying themselves. But a little conscious effort is never a bad thing, so if reading this book leads to a more creative, altruistic way of thinking, so much the better.