There was a singer they used to describe as "A little bit country; a little bit rock and roll." I liked that. Anything that doesn't quite fit a category always generates a promise of freedom, as if we can expect it to take off in any direction. I thought of that when I read Dave Hepworth's new children's book, Secrets of the Meadow. It's a little bit mystery; a little bit down-to-earth family story, and the mixture works.
From the time we find young Tess Magee enjoying a bonfire with her parents, grandparents, older sister Mindy and two small cousins, healthy family interaction serves as a unifying thread throughout the book. In the process of getting safely through vacation days, valuable lessons are learned. While supervising adequate preparations for a hike in the woods, Grandpa teaches sensible precautions in case of emergency, safeguards against getting lost, and all of these important messages are neatly integrated into the story.
By writing these books for his grandchildren, the author is continuing a family tradition he learned during his childhood in Ontario ? the tradition of spontaneous story telling. That is a very rare art in our day, when most parents read to children instead of making up stories as they go along. In the book, Grandpa loves to spin yarns for the children, and he almost outdoes himself with the fictional "hoop snakes," but the first story he tells at the campfire is a legend with the ring of truth to it. It is the story of an old man who lived in isolation in the nearby woods in the 1930's. He made violins of amazing quality, but no one knew his secret. He was seen only on rare occasions when he emerged to sell a violin. Eventually he disappeared and his cabin was never found.
Hardly the kind of mystery that would keep one glued to a book? Well, soon after receiving Secrets of the Meadow I had a wakeful night, so I decided to begin the book. To read for a few minutes will usually make a person doze off. It didn't work. The book kept me awake until the last chapter. Any children's book that will keep an adult alert from three a.m. to four a.m. has something.
The plot may not be deep, but the human interest greatly enriches the story. It is a pleasure to meet a Grandpa so devoted to entertaining and teaching his grandchildren, and one with so many imaginative techniques for doing so. The lost cabin provides just enough of a mystery that I really wanted it to be found, and the story moves right into the mystic realm when Tess has a strange psychic experience in which she meets the old violinmaker.
This incident is cleverly linked to the major theme of the book, conservation of the environment. It would be hard to find a lesson more important to children today. Tess has a remarkable affinity for nature. When she discovers that the secret of the old man's violins was in the wood, and realizes the mysterious "humming trees" are almost extinct, she sets out to reclaim those trees. She also finds the purpose of her life, to become a forestry specialist. It is a satisfying conclusion.
The writing in this second book by David Hepworth is more arresting that in his first one. Descriptions are often colourful. The photo on the cover is splendid. One can almost hear what Tess in hearing in that picture. This tradition Hepworth is establishing of publishing books for his grandchildren is a fine project, and there are two more grandchildren coming up. Can we expect at least two more books?
I have only one question. What on earth happened to the chair? It was a clever touch, using something the old man had actually made to link past and present, but to have it disappear as he did?Now, there's mystery.