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Miss Rumphius
Miss Rumphius
Miss Rumphius
Audiobook13 minutes

Miss Rumphius

Written by Barbara Cooney

Narrated by Claire Danes

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

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About this audiobook

As a young girl, Alice dreams of traveling to faraway places, finding a home by the sea and making the world more beautiful. Inspired by a true-life story, Miss Rumphius shows us how we can all make the world a more beautiful place.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJan 1, 2000
ISBN9780545749381
Miss Rumphius

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Reviews for Miss Rumphius

Rating: 4.497191066573033 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

712 ratings62 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I want to be Miss Rumphius.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Miss Rumpius's grandfather told her that one of the most important things she must do in life is make the world beautiful. This picture book follows her as she discovers how she will do that. Nice message and the illustrations (stunning) are absolutely the star here.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    beautiful pictures.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Another wonderful children's book. The thought of spreading seeds of flowers wherever so goes is so charming. Made me think of what seeds I would sow.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Characters: Alice/Miss Rumphius-loves her grandfather and listens to his advice, loves to travel, the outdoors, and reading. Plot Summary: Alice is a girl who takes her grandfather's advice to heart. Her grandfather told her to travel and "do something to make the world more beautiful." When Alice grew up, she became known as Miss Rumphius and worked in the library. She traveled to tropical islands, jungles, mountains, and desserts. She had a brilliant idea to plant Lupines all along the roads and throughout town. Read the story to find out why Miss Rumphius is now known as the Lupine Lady...Personal Evaluation: I thought this book was a great realistic fiction. It had the perfect balance of realistic fiction attributions, but also encouraged imagination and thinking outside what is ordinary in the real world! This book is great for kids and encourages them to leave a positive impact on the world!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Outstanding art by Barbara Cooney, touching story of a woman who longs to travel the world and leave something of beauty behind.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I have mixed feelings about this book after reading it. I liked the book because it talked about the beauty of the world and traveling. I liked the relationship that the main character had with her great uncle and how he told her "you must make the world beautiful", so she left her paintings every where she traveled so that she could leave a piece of her wherever she went. I didn't like how slowly the book read and how many words were on each page. I thought that the illustrations were a little boring because the colors were so dull and light throughout the whole story. I think that this book would be a good read for older children because it shows them that if you want to go out and change the world you are going to have to do it by yourself in order to feel like you really made a difference.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    What a pretty book! Cute story, too, and I liked the fact that Miss Rumphius was a librarian. :-) Lovely illustrations and a nice lesson.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I liked this story a lot. I enjoyed the writing, plot, and pictures. The author really told a story, there were plenty of details so even without the pictures you could imagine the story in your head. It had a very happy cheerful tone to it. The plot was nice Alice grew up and traveled many places but never forgot her promise to make the world more beaut, even if they only do something as simple as planting flowers.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Good book to teach Main Idea and Theme. Main Idea - Miss Rumphius promises her grandfather when she is young that she witll travel the world, live by the sea and do something to make the world more beautiful. Themes - Never give up, Stick to your dreams, Believing in yourself. Author's Message - When you believe in yourself and follow through on your dreams, you can accomplish great things.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I would use this book to teach how Miss Rumphius evolved as a character throughout the story. For readers response I would ask students how they connected with the story. I would also incorporate how Mrs Rumphius made the world a better place, traveled to faraway places,and returned to live by the sea in a discussion.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I really enjoyed the book Miss Rumphius. I thought it was an entertaining story that inspires young people to travel the world and do what they really want to do. It also informs students of the tenacity it takes to be an immigrant and travel the world. I thought that the little girl was very relatable for young students as she struggled with the idea of doing something for herself and something per her grandfathers wishes. The illustrations really captured her journey through life and how she experienced the world in her own way. The writing was descriptive enough for the young reader to be able to take the journey along with the main character. Overall I think it is a book every young student should explore as they journey through life and their own personal struggles about who they want to be.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    This book is full of beautiful pictures and a beautiful message. Alice is a little girl thinking about the world with her grandpa, he tells her no matter what she does she must find a way to make the world beautiful. The story shows her life as she travels around the world and sees beautiful things. The beautiful thing she decides to make for the world are paintings of all the places she sees. The book may be hard for younger readers to enjoy. There is a lot of words on the pages and it is not very exciting to read. It does not exactly make you want to turn the page. The content is not very interesting for children. Once you finish the story you appreciate the message and idea behind it. However, it is a small struggle to get to the end.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Beautifully illustrated and inspiring story of Miss Rumphius, who grows up to fulfill her dreams and then proceeds to do her part in "making the world more beautiful". The pictures are really exceptional and the message is important: "Let's not lose sight of how we - us - can make an impact on the world around us!"

    I intend to go over this story again when my son is a little older, to remind him of the moral message. I do plan to stress, however, that we can't all walk around sowing lupine seeds, as much as we love the flowers, as that would spell an ecological disaster! I hope my son will find his own calling one day, be it as beautiful as that of Miss Rumphius ...
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Miss Rumphius is a story of a womans life and the grand effect she had on her town. When she was little she sat on her grandfathers lap and heard stories of travels to far away places, and she told him that someday she would do the same. However, he told her that she needed to do one more thing; make the world a more beautiful place. So as she grew older, she traveled all over the world. Soon she was too old to travel anymore and settled into a house by the sea. She soon realized that she had not done anything to make the world a more beautiful place, so she went to a local market and got tons of flower seeds. Over the years she would take walks and scatter and plant these seeds. Soon the flowers bloomed and the town was beautiful, not just for her pleasure but for everyone in her town to view and enjoy. This idea of sharing and spreading joy is a great topic to teach to young children. This book does a great job of explaining sharing in a new way; it is unconventional to share just by planting plants. However, it can be taught that even the smallest acts of kindness can go a long way, especially through sharing.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    "Miss Rumphius" is a great narrative and fictional story to read aloud or for students to read on their own for the younger elementary grades. It was read in one of my ELED writing classes as a great example of a narrative. Teachers can teach about sequencing, features of a narrative text, or any other comprehension strategy. The illustrations do a great job of following along with the text. For students who are having trouble reading it independently, the pictures will be a great help. The imagery and rich vocabulary make the story very interesting for readers to want to keep reading more about Miss Rumphius.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A wonderful book appropriate for children and adults of all ages. Beautiful artwork and a touching story of a niece telling the life story of her Great-aunt Alice who was told my her grandfather "You must do something to make the world more beautiful."

    So she did.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book was calm, sweet, and very good. I usually go for the funny, upbeat, and absurd. But it reminded me at the beginning of talking with my grandfather and the stories he would tell me. Then it progressed to the dreams I've always had of traveling. And then the difference Miss Rumphius makes just by adding beauty to her town is amazing. Its not a love story between a man and a woman. Its a love story of a woman with her dream. The art work is beautiful. Its like I'm in a dream. The soft lines, the pastel colors in the background, and the freedom Miss Rumphious seems to enjoy in her world. It is all so serene. I really enjoyed it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    In my opinion this book is great for students in the classroom. The author does a great job of taking readers on a journey through the plot and pictures in the book. A little girl is telling the journey of her Aunt/ Miss Rumphius. The little girl takes the reader to all the places that Miss Rumphius traveled to. The author does a great job of giving descriptions throughout the book that match the pictures. For example, Miss Rumphius travels to the conservatory and there is a picture of her inside with her noise pointed up and breathing in that says, " As she stepped inside, warm air swarmed around her, and the smell of juniper filled her nose." In the beginning of the book Miss Rumpius' grandfather sets tells her she must change the world doing 3 things. One of these things involves making the world a more beautiful place. She does this by planting flowers all along the hillside. Readers, especially young students will most likely get positive vibes from the book and it may influence them to want to go out and change the world. I labeled the book as Contemporary realistic fiction because although this may never happened it could someday.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    One of my favorite books as a kid.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    As a child, Alice Rumphius is encouraged by her grandfather to "to go faraway places,' 'to live beside the sea' when she is old, and 'do something to make the world more beautiful.' SPOILER: Many years after doing the first two, she realize that her way of making the world more beautiful is to scatter lupine seeds everywhere she goes. The story of Miss Rumphius' life is told by her great-niece, who doesn't yet know how she will make the world more beautiful.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Lovely lesson on what we can do with this one precious life. Miss Rumphius lives a full life but the book reminds us that unless we make the world more beautiful, we haven't yet done what we need to. Lovely pictures, a great read with children.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Growing up, Alice Rumphius dreamt of seeing the world, and then settling down in a little house by the sea. Confiding in her beloved grandfather - an artist like herself - Alice is told that she must do one additional thing: she must make the world a more beautiful place. Many years later, having lived her dreams, Alice sets out to fulfill her promise to her grandfather. But what can she do to make the world more beautiful...?This was a sweet story - and the illustrations were simply gorgeous! - but I confess that I wasn't as impressed as I expected to be, given the number of goodreads friends who have awarded it four or five stars. The two main criticisms I have seen of Miss Rumphius - that planting lupines all over the place (the beautification project chosen by our heroine) is actually an ecologically unsound idea, as they are quite invasive, and will destroy indigenous flora; and that the wooden cigar Indians carved by Alice's grandfather are offensive, and should not have been included in a book first published in 1982 - don't really explain my lack of enthusiasm. (not that they aren't true)I guess the truth is that I'm leery of the notion that beauty - finding it, creating it, being it - is the purpose of life. Of course, we all find our own purpose, and for an artist, beauty must surely come into it. But there is this way, in our culture, that girls and women are shepherded toward the ideal of beauty, persuaded that our highest calling is somehow entangled with it, whether in a personal way (being physically beautiful ourselves) or a practical one (creating beauty in our homes and work). And my response to that is: No. No, I don't think making the world a more beautiful place - as it is defined here - is the highest (or only) goal. I want to help make the world a more just place.In any case, I don't want to go overboard here. As a tale of giving something back, rather than just living for oneself alone, I think Miss Rumphius has merit, and I understand why it is so beloved by other readers. But I simply can't agree with those reviewers (and there seem to be many of them) who perceive it as some kind of guide to life. A hint, perhaps - one of many...
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A lavishly illustrated picture book, this lovely story details the life of a child's spinster great-aunt, seen through the eyes of imagination. Miss Alice Rumphius is shown working in a library, traveling to distant lands, and, finally, making her home by the sea shore. The theme, however, is obviously beauty: Alice is given the charge by her grandfather to make the world more beautiful. In the end, the beauty is not simply told but SHOWN through the illustrations on the last five or six pages in the book: glorious lupines! I think children ages 4-8 would enjoy this story.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Summary: When Miss Rumphius was a child, she listened to her grandfather's stories of faraway places. She aspired to travel the world, settle down in a place beside the sea, and do something to make the world more beautiful, just as her grandfather did. Miss Rumphius grew up to become a librarian and traveled to different places in the world, touching the lives of those she met along the way. After settling down in a house beside the sea, Miss Rumphius decided that she would spread lupine seeds around her community. The next Spring, lupines brought color to the hillsides, and everyone started to recognize Miss Rumphius as the Lupine Lady. Now an old lady, Miss Rumphius passes on her stories and thoughts about making the world more beautiful to her great-neice. Genre Critique: This is a great example of realistic fiction, as the setting, characters, and events are all believable. It is very realistic for a woman to follow her dreams and the advice of her grandfather by traveling the world, settling down in a house by the sea, and doing something to make the world more beautiful. Children will be able to relate to the idea of looking up to their grandparents, as well as thinking about how to make others happy. The theme of doing good deeds is especially meaningful and important for students to learn about.Media: acrylics, colored pencils
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Beautifully illustrated, this story is about the importance of doing something to make the world a better and more beautiful place. As a young girl, Alice Rumphius vows to travel the world but return to live by the sea just like her grandfather. The one thing he tells her she must do is find a way to make the world more beautiful. After her travels, Miss Rumphis returns to the sea and plants a few flowers around her house. The next spring she realizes that the wind and birds have taken the seeds to the other side of a hill and the same flowers are now growing there. She has discovered how she will make the world more beautiful, by covering the town with beautiful flowers. This is a simply sweet story.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This story tells us that we should inspire to make a difference in the world. Every person can make an impact on the lives of others around them, but not everyone realizes that. This story should be shared with children in 1st grade and older.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Miss Rumphius was given some advice from her grandpa and followed his words to a rich and wonderful life. This book addresses a question that many children ask at one point or another, which is the meaning of life. This was one of my favorite books when I was a little girl. Appropriate for all ages - especially 2nd to 5th grade.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A lovely, moving story of a girl whose grandfather tells her that her most important task in life was to make the world more beautiful. The girl grows up, travels the world, and makes the world a more beautiful place! An inspiring book for children to imagine the adventure of their life while also instilling a feeling of responsibility for the care of others and the world. This book could be useful as a jumping off point for students to write or draw about how they will make the world more beautiful, either in the long run or during their school year.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I loved the illustrations!