Kids' Activities
Jane Lind presents ...
Howlin' Marie
By Maria Andersen
Theme: Autobiography,Young Adult
Howlin' Marie
This is the story of Maria Andersen's childhood in Copenhagen in the 1880s.
She seemed to have come into the world howlin' and she kept it up all
through her childhood.
The book takes us through Marie's adventures and misfortunes, from the time
she got lost and ended up howlin' her way into the police station where a
policeman had taken her, to her first day at school and all the mischief
that came her way there. Despite her howlin', Marie is such a good-natured
and lively little girl that one can't help but feel fond of her.
Since Marie's family was poor, the children became the object of well-to-do
women who wanted to give charity to the poor. Marie and her sister were
invited out for a good square meal once a week, and were sent off to a farm
for a month in the summer. But it seemed no matter where Marie went, no
matter what she did, she got into scrapes and caused "trouble" from the
point of view of grown ups.
Marie's story takes us to her confirmation at the end of the book, and even
on such a special day she gets into mischief. At dinner time Uncle Peter
tried to stand up to propose a toast to Marie. His chair supported the board
Marie was sitting on, and she went flying backwards. Instinctively, she
grabbed at something, which happened to be the tablecloth and her plate and
glass of cherry wine came down on top of her. She howled, of course, true to
her name.
Project
Write an autobiographical account of your life beginning with your birth.
For any parts that you are not sure of, interview your parents or brothers
and sisters or other older relatives.
from the
Theme Catalogue and Teaching Guide for Children's Books
written for Penumbra Press by Jane Lind
© Jane Lind
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