Book Review by Kathryn Aschliman

 

Yonie Wondernose by Marguerite de Angeli. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1997.

Yoni Wondernose, the classic picture book of the curious Amish boy who achieved in spite of the odds against him, is once again in print! Seven-year-old Yonie was left at home with his grandmother and little sister while his parents and older sister went on an overnight visit. After being warned by his parents not to be a wondernose and forget what he was doing, Yonie was placed in charge of caring for the barn animals. His problems were compounded when lightning struck the barn and the animals had to be evacuated. "Children who come to know such characters in an intimate way are able to draw sustenance and inspiration from them over and over again." (Coody, p. 194) Is that why a middle-aged mother recalls checking out this book repeatedly when she went to the library as a young girl? (Berry)

This glimpse into the Pennsylvania Dutch life of Lancaster County was first published in 1944 with renewal in 1972. Recently Laura Draper, member of the Publication Board of Herald Press, observed regrettably that Marguerite de Angeli's high quality books like Yonie Wondernose were out of print. It was then learned that the publishing rights of Yonie Wondernose had been returned to Henry de Angeli, the author's second youngest son living in a retirement community in New Jersey. He had interest in reissuing the book and released the original printer's negatives which were in his possession. (Schrock)

When the big flat box containing the negatives arrived at Herald Press in Scottdale, Pennsylvania, a faithful reproduction of the Caldecott Honor book so designated in 1944 on the basis of the quality of its illustrations, was possible. Mary Alice Wheeler, Ph.D., a professor in the Childhood Education Department of Bloomsburg University, confirmed it was so. "It is a paperback of exceptional quality," she wrote. "It's a lovely edition." (Tylka, Wondernoseful) The richness of the red and blue hues deepens the four-color artwork. The embossed silver medallion supplied by Doubleday and applied to the cover is a tasteful reminder of the merits of this work. Missing, however, are the sketches of the Stoltzfus farmstead on the end papers.

In the Introduction to the new edition of Yonie Wondernose Harry de Angeli suggests that this book contains "gentle lessons for young readers, and still entertains while demonstrating the importance of family relationships." These ingredients for quality in picture books are as apropos today as they were a half century ago.

Among the gentle lessons may be the satisfaction of completing an arduous task in spite of distractions and temptations to pursue immediate gratification, an obvious struggle today as is the need for reconciliation. While Yonie's parents were gone, he was to feed and water the barn creatures--the horses first and by all means Dunder, the red bull. However, Dunder was the last animal he rescued from the blazing barn after a burning timber fell on the bull's back. Plagued with guilt for having released the pigs first and even pausing to look at the red fire engine, he experienced forgiveness from his father and reconciliation after confessing what he perceived to be a wrong-doing. These "gentle lessons" require a lifetime of application.

The entertainment aspect present in the universal yearning to learn driven by curiosity, is as evident in the illustrations as in the story line. Peering into a squirrel's hole on Yonie's way to get the cows, inadvertently locking Granny in the chicken house while being distracted by what he suspected might be an airplane are detailed with charming black and white drawings. Samuel L. Yoder, lecturer on the Amish who grew up in an Amish home, sees the hair cut around a bowl to be a joke or a myth. He said that would be impossible to do, but the artist makes it look entirely possible.

The importance of family relationships was evident when Granny halted her scolding when she saw how sorry Yonie looked for locking her in the chicken house. The trust his parents had in his ability to be the "man of the house" in their absence is highlighted by the secret promise between Pop and Yonie. Although there was teasing, respect between family members was evident.

Yoder commends the book for its home-spun quality, putting romance in the farm, but cautions against the realistic lack of safety-mindedness. Entrusting a seven-year-old to care for a bull or to reward him with the responsibility of handling a team of great work horses and then to rescue animals from a burning barn whose beams are falling on the animals supplies excitement and challenge to the storyline. "It makes a nice story," he concluded. Nine, seven and four-year-old present-day boys were particularly intrigued with the bull and the barn fire. (Stiffney)

The seed this story was planted when Margaret Lesser, editor of Doubleday's children's book department, asked if de Angeli knew anything about the Pennsylvania Dutch. Indeed she did. She recalled stories of the interesting expressions, good food and traditional customs her father told of his travels in Pennsylvania as a representative of Eastman Kodak. But this subject required more research. She started at the library. She learned that most of the early settlers in Pennsylvania came to America for religious freedom. She read about followers of Menno Simons and others. She decided to portray the Amish "because only Amish dress the children in old-fashion, plain-colored clothes." (de Angeli, p. 127)

de Angeli had a conviction that she should spend time with Amish people to learn their attitudes toward people, their work habits. So one mid-October day she went to Lancaster County where she stayed in the home of Dr. Zuk. The first day he took her to the little red schoolhouse where most of the students were Amish. She noted there were four Yonies in the group of 26 children. She made quick sketches of the children as they recited their lessons and wrote a list of the colors of the dresses and shirts.

Midday dinner at the Zuks' home included a variety of "sweet and sour" foods. In the afternoon de Angeli accompanied Dr. Zuk on his rounds which gave her entrance to Amish homes. The next day while she waited outside one of them at the doctor's suggestion, she sketched the buildings of a farm lying down below a field. It seemed the "epitome of Pennsylvania farmland--the stone barn, the solid well-built house and outbuildings, the turning weather vane," she recalled. "I used my colored pencils to catch the brilliant foliage, the amber stubble in the field, and finished it before the doctor returned." (de Angeli, p. 133) When Dr. Zuk saw de Angeli's sketches, he informed her Henry Stoltzfus lived there. He pointed out the part of the house where the grandmother lived. The barn was over
200 years old.

About two weeks after de Angeli returned home to Jenkintown, she had a letter from Mrs. Zuk telling her that lightning struck the barn on the very day she sketched it and burned it to the ground. de Angeli returned to see the ruins. She found "all the men of the community were there helping to clear away the debris from the fire and the women folk were cooking and making a kind of frolic out of it." (de Angeli, p. 134)

de Angeli showed Mrs. Stoltzfus, who was impressed, the drawing she made of the barn. The women who gathered near the well were also surprised to recognize the sketch of a little boy pulling his red wagon loaded with wood for the kitchen fire as their own Yonie. After that, although still reluctant, Mrs. Stoltzfus granted permission for de Angeli to see the inside of her house. It was immaculate. Mrs. Stoltzfus showed a hooked rug her daughter was making. "Teach a child to vork vhen he is little and vhen he grows up, he like to vork," Mrs. Stoltzfus explained.

Other interviews with people who lived in Lancaster County and had contacts with Amish people followed. There was additional research at City Hall and the office of the Register of Wills. According to her son Harry, Mrs. de Angeli lived with two families in Lancaster County for a few days on several occasions. After a day or two she was adopted into their family. de Angeli's on-going research of the Amish, Mennonite and Quaker cultures culminated in four books portraying the lives of peace-loving groups who settled in Pennsylvania: Amish--Henner's Lydia, 1936; Mennonite--Skippack School, 1939; Quaker--Thee, Hannah! 1940; and Amish--Yonie Wondernose, 1944, a sequel to Henner's Lydia using the same family of characters and set one year later. de Angeli wrote books about other minority groups--Swedish, Polish, French Canadian, Black American, physically
disabled and Scottish.

When the story of Yonie and the burning barn "insisted on being written," de Angeli's grandson was about six months old. His father Alfred, of Pennsylvania Dutch extraction, recognized his son's natural curiosity and called him "Wunnernass." Hence Yonie, being of a universally curious nature, was dubbed Wondernose by his author/illustrator. de Angeli wrote "I enjoyed every bit of Yonie Wondernose." (de Angeli, p. 143) In 1944 it was chosen as a Caldecott Honor Book in the New York Herald Tribune Spring Book Festival as was Book of Nursery and Mother Goose Rhymes in 1955. In 1973 de Angeli indicated she still received "echoes of her earliest books especially Henner's Lydia and Yonie Wondernose. " (Hopkins, p. 119)

We have much to learn from de Angeli during these days when inclusion and diversity are high priority. In the volume of Twentieth Century Children's Writers Joan McGrath declares "de Angeli has a gift for making the exotic, peculiar, or particular seem universal and unthreatening to young readers, who are often xenophobic in their rejection of the unfamiliar. She writes with equal sympathy and understanding of families of varied ethnic backgrounds and creeds; and just as her illustrations bring their outward appearances vividly to life, her gentle, simple stories make their daily lives and the small concerns of their children those of all loving families everywhere. If at first glance her works seem concerned with contrasting cultures, in fact her study is that of the universality of happy childhood." (Kirkpatrick, p. 231) And isn't that a desire we have for all children.

Marguerite de Angeli lived until 1987. "Children across the land cannot cuddle up in her lap as her own grandchildren and greats can, but cuddling up with her stories Yonie Wondernose and Skippack School is certainly within the realm of possibility. They can catch her warmth, vitality and sensitivity--and we can, too!" (Hopkins, p. 119) How soon will Henner's Lydia and Thee, Hannah! be available once again?

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Kathryn Aschliman, Goshen, Indiana, has taught early childhood education at Goshen College and directed the Laboratory Kindergarten program. She is now enjoying retirement.

References
Berry, Beth. (1997, November 9). Conversation.
Coody, Betty. (1983) Using Literature With Young Children. Dubuque, IA: William C. Brown Co.
de Angeli, Marguerite. (1971). Butter at the Old Price. New York, Doubleday & Co.
Hopkins, Lee Bennett. (1974). More Books by More People. New York: Citation Press.
Kirkpatrick, D. L., (Ed.) (1983). Twentieth-Century Children's Writers. New York: St. Martin's Press.
Schrock, Paul. (1997, November 11). Telephone conversation.
Stiffney, Kyle; Stiffney, Josh; and Stiffney, Aaron. (1997, November 12). Observation.
Tylka, Robert C. (Ed.) (1997, September 12). "Wondernoseful." HiLights. Scottdale, PA: Mennonite Publishing House.
Yoder, Samuel L. (1997, November 8). Interview .

Mennonite Historical Bulletin, January 1998