Thimble Summer

Read by Joan Allen Approx. 4 hours 3 cassettes 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. The summer proves to be interesting and exciting in so many different ways. 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. Joan Allenhas been nominated for an Academy Award three times for her roles inNixon, The Crucibleand most recentlyThe Contender. She has also appeared in a number of other films such asThe Ice Storm, Face-Off,andSearching for Bobby Fischer.

Elizabeth Enright (1909-1968) was born in Oak Park, Illinois, but spent most of her life in or near New York City. Her mother was a magazine illustrator, while her father was a political cartoonist. Illustration was Elizabeth Enright’s original career choice and she studied art in Greenwich, Connecticut; Paris, France; and the Parson’s School of Design in New York City.
     After creating her first book in 1937, she developed a taste, and quickly demonstrated a talent, for writing. Throughout her life, she won many awards, including the 1939 John Newbery Medal for Thimble Summer and a 1958 Newbery Honor for Gone-Away Lake. Among her other beloved titles are her books about the Melendy family, including The Saturdays, published in 1941.
     Translated into many languages throughout the world, Elizabeth Enright’s stories are for both the young and the young at heart.

“This story of a Wisconsin farm sings with the happiness and contentment of a small girl whose roots are sinking deep into the soil of a loved place.”—School Library Journal, Starred Review

“This is a story of the sort for which there is a constant demand. . . . There is the flavor of real life . . . expressed with charm and humor.”—The New York Times Book Review