Raising Readers: Caddie Woodlawn

Parents who encourage and successfully develop children who read see greater school success and satisfaction. 

This series reviews various examples of children’s literature and provides insights for parents to discuss with their children. Reading and sharing the wonderful stories available to children sends a message that reading is important, creates positive “shared experiences” for families, and helps parents exert a subtle influence on their children’s development.

Caddie Woodlawn is an 11-year-old tomboy growing up in western Wisconsin during the 1860s. 

While her mother frets that Caddie isn’t becoming a lady like her older sister, her father quietly encourages her to follow her instincts. Caddie prefers to roam the wilderness surrounding their cabin with her brothers, and shows a mechanical knack that strengthens her bond with her father.

The story depicts various aspects of pioneer life in the different chapters: storing food for the winter, rumors of Indian trouble that sweep through town, a one-room school house with a couple of bullies, the danger of a sudden prairie fire. There isn’t a regular plot to the story, but rather a loose collection of vignettes that give young readers an introduction to frontier life. 

The harshness of life in this time and place is softened for young readers, but not ignored. There are some references to a sister who died as a child a few years before the story begins. The family has a turkey dinner every night toward the end of winter because that’s the only food that is left. (What had been a favorite family meal, humorously, becomes dreadfully dull.)

While Caddie Woodlawn is certainly wholesome material for children, there are some references to the local Indians being “savages” that make today’s adults wince. This is an accurate description of the views of the 1860s, but the Woodlawn family is more advanced and sees the Indians as honest and trustworthy. In this way, the book makes the case for inclusiveness and acceptance.      

An interesting aspect is that the author has written the stories that were told to her as a child by her grandmother—who is the real Caddie Woodlawn. Children love this element of oral history—especially if they’ve been entertained by stories from their own grandparents. Depending on reading level, this book is for 8-year-olds and up.           

Raising Readers is written by Steve Arnold of Club Z! In-Home Tutoring Services.  He can be reached at 610.831.5101 or ChesMontClubZ@gmail.com.  Find out more about Club Z! In-Home Tutoring at www.clubztutoring.com/ChesMont.