by Gregory Maguire. Illustrated by David Litchfield
216 pages
middle grade: ages 8-12
One of my all-time favorite activities is to read with my family. Over the years we’ve established the bedtime habit. Today, my youngest is fourteen, and we’re still reading before family prayer many nights. I love that our children now read to their children as part of their bedtime routine. Books can do so much. They bring us together to laugh, discuss, and cry, away from screens for a bit. And story is also a powerful teacher–subtle and nuanced.
I recently got some of my grandchildren the book CRESS WATERCRESS by Gregory Maguire and illustrated by David Litchfield. Candlewick Press published it in 2022. It is a middle-grade book, for ages 8-12. However, it has short chapters and so is also a good read-aloud that even my three and five-year-old grandchildren enjoy.
It also deals with death and grief with gentleness, wisdom, and making the most of difficult situations, where, as Mama says: “We don’t have the privilege of choice.” For this reason, I also just bought it for my sister’s young kids, who lost their father early in the pandemic (he was scheduled for his first immunization the week after he got it). It would also be a sweet story for refugee children, or others living in a new situation.
For example, Mama has a sweet reply to a worried Cress, who is coming to accept that Papa might be forever gone, just like the moon. “Ah, said Mama. I see. But my darling Cress, the moon will grow back. It comes and goes, just like grief. It waxes and wanes-those are words for how the moon grows and then diminishes, melts away. Over and over. It always comes back. It’s part of life. You get used to it. You learn you can live through the moonless nights.” Cress does indeed learn to accept and grow through her grief.
It’s a delightful, whimsical story about Cress, a young rabbit, with a baby brother Kip, who has a bad case of asthma, and an overwhelmed Mama. Mama has already accepted that Papa is dead, but Cress is holding out, hoping against hope. As the older sister she tries to pick up the slack for Mama, but it’s hard. They must move to a new home at the base of Broken Arms, which is an old tree, with an old owl “owner,” who charges the steep price of 10 moths a night for rent. It is also full of other interesting residents, such as the “nutty” Oakleaf squirrel family, Manny Mouse and his wife, and some vigilant songbirds who “moan in falling tones.” Their community is also full of interesting antagonists like Lady Agatha Cabbage, with a chinchilla for a lorgnette around her neck and a certain brand of perfume (ie skunk smell), and Tuck the Bear.
Mr. Owl is full of bravado but harbors his own secret “broken arms” vulnerability. It’s made him insecure and lonely, something that Cress will take a risk to help him with in the end. Only Manny Mouse knows the truth about Mr. Owl, and shares it only on a “need-to-know basis.” But what can Manny do but tell Cress? Cress has caught on, and she cares.
Gregory Maguire is a great writer. The book is full of delightful lyrical language, such as Kip being grumpy, i.e. “all sour milk on salty soap.” It is also insightful. Insecure Owl tries to intimidate by letting everyone know he hears everything they might say about him. “I hear you down there. Make a note of it.”
I also had a flashback to a grade-school moment when Cress is trying to figure out how to belong with her squirrel friends who are having a bean bag fight, but don’t hit her because they don’t know her well enough yet. She’s not sure she wants to be hit but weirdly feels left out.
The book has a classic feel to me. The themes are powerful: death, insecurity; friendship, and finding out who you are in the face of adversity. Plus it’s super entertaining and fun! I applaud Gregory!
Jenny Crooks-Johnson 