Winner of the 1939 Newbery Medal, I think books like [b:Charlotte's Web|24178|Charlotte's Web (full color)|E.B. White|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1276643243s/24178.jpg|987048] and [b:The Penderwicks|1838166|The Penderwicks on Gardam Street (The Penderwicks, #2)|Jeanne Birdsall|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320461754s/1838166.jpg|3328784] owe something to Thimble Summer. It's a wholesome tale of a farm gilr who has random summer adventures that are fun to read and just a little bit magical. Garnet's summer is filled with small bursts of excitement that she attributes to a silver thimble she discovers. She gets trapped in the library at night, trapped on an amusement park ride, her pig wins a prize the county fair, her family adopts a young runaway boy, and she runs away to the city when she feels rejected by her family. Garnet reminded me of a less tragic May Amelia. A great pick for second or third graders reading above grade level, or third and fourth graders who want a gentle, amusing story. ( )

A few hours after nine-year-old Garnet Linden finds a silver thimble in the dried-up riverbed, the rains come and end the long drought on the farm. The rains bring safety for the crops and the livestock, and money for Garnet's father. Garnet can't help feeling that the thimble is a magic talisman, for the summer proves to be interesting and exciting in so many different ways.

There is the arrival of Eric, an orphan who becomes a member of the Linden family; the building of a new barn; and the county fair at which Garnet's carefully tended pig, Timmy, wins a blue ribbon. Every day brings adventure of some kind to Garnet and her best friend, Citronella. As far as Garnet is concerned, the thimble is responsible for each good thing that happens during this magic summer--her thimble summer.

I really enjoyed this feel good story, which had an uplifting message overall. The main character named Garnet has a 'magical' summer learning some life lessons, while ultimately realizing how wonderful her daily life is on the farm. Themes of family, friends, farms and fun, just about sums things up.

Originally Published: 1938 ( )

I have been reading the Newbery winners in order, and I think this was the first one (starting from 1922) where I felt that it could have been released in this day-n-age and all the lingo would have felt right. It’s not like I’m reading non-English, or that books haven’t been written to portray different eras/countries, but there was an “older” book vibe. Thimble Summer didn’t have a smidgen of that. (It dates itself, just in discussions of money and cars, but that's not what I mean.) Other than that, Garnet was an enjoyable little girl to read about, and her adventures were fitting. I loved the concept of the book, and the lucky (or not lucky?) thimble. This story suited me quite well. ( )

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