LYDDIE,
By Katherine Paterson

Katherine
Paterson

Author Katherine Paterson chose this reading from her book Lyddie. Mrs. Paterson is not only a prolific writer but a wonderful one, whose books appeal quite often to adults as well as kids.

Lyddie is the story of a Vermont girl whose mother can’t cope with the hard times of early mid-19th century farming. Lyddie Worthen lives in a cabin with her mother, brother and two sisters after her father goes West to try his luck. One day a bear invades the house and it is Lyddie who faces it down. Her mother breaks down and gives up the farm to their neighbors, Quaker Stevens and his family. Lyddie and her brother Charlie are both old enough to be sent out to work and so begins Lyddie’s education in the millgirls’ life in Lowell, Massachusetts.

THINGS TO DO ONLINE

Visit Katherine Paterson’s website
Bridge to Terebithia is perhaps Mrs. Paterson’s best-loved book. So it makes sense that her own website is at www.terebithia.com. She’s

What were the mills really like?
Camel’s Hump Radio is recorded in Vermont, which, as Katherine Paterson reminds us, also has mills. You can see them in Winooski, right by the Winooski River, in this picture. And here’s a photo of the mills where Lyddie worked. There was one main difference between the Vermont mills and the Lowell, Massachusetts, mills where Lyddie worked? Figure it out by comparing the two links.

The bear facts
It’s facing down a fierce and hungry bear that Lyddie keeps in mind as she fights back when life is hard. Could you meet a bear in Vermont today? Check here.

Quick quiz
Lyddie is big enough to work the looms when she goes to work in the mills in Lowell, Mass. She seems a very real person to us, but she is a character in a book. Many real people, including a great New England poet, actually did work in the mills. Which of the following was it?

a) Edward Arlington Robinson
b) Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
c) Emily Dickinson
d) Robert Frost
e) James Greenleaf Whittier

Find the answer here.

Katherine Paterson cooks
Check out Camel’s Hump Cooks to make gingersnaps from the Paterson recipe.

Note: The "Things to do" sections can often use an adult's help or encouragement.



FROM THE CHR LIBRARIAN

The Katherine Paterson library
Jip, His Story is another Paterson book set in Vermont. This time it’s something of a mystery. And the hero, Jip, must solve it for himself. Here’s the full list of Mrs. Paterson’s books. Some favorites: Jacob Have I Loved and The Great Gilly Hopkins as well as Jip.

Experience the mills
Although the noise is reduced to prevent damage to your ears, a visit to the Lowell National Historical Park in Lowell, Mass., will let you be “Lyddie for a day.” There are programs specifically for kids.

And a word from Katherine
Asked what she’d like to be remembered for aside from your writing, she writes:
“Hmm. Something on the tombstone, eh? I guess I want my children to remember how much I loved them and how much time I spent reading to them.”