Muggie Maggie

I promised to write about the books that I don’t end up using at my reading programmes because they aren’t easily available – and Muggie Maggie is at the top of the list. I’ve read barely anything by Beverly Cleary. She was somehow one of those famous authors whom I never encountered as a child. It was when she died that I made a conscious effort to look for her books, pick them up, and read them.
And when I read chapter books, of course, it is always with the ulterior motive of introducing them to my book clubs.

I loved Muggie Maggie. It is such a delightful book! Maggie is determined not to learn cursive writing, but Mrs Leeper, her class teacher, has other plans. She comes up with an ingenious plan, playing on Maggie’s curiosity, to make Maggie learn her letters. Maggie’s stubbornness, Mrs Leeper’s seemingly innocent support of it and the telling of the story were all lovely!

One of my go-to books for creative writing, Storytelling with Children, has a striking comment about the stories included in the book:

There are stories which are just fun, but not, I hope, cute. Cuteness might charm the adult but does not offer support for the child in trying to make sense of experience.

Andrew Wright, Storytelling with Children

This idea constantly plays on my mind because of how insightful it is. Yes, cuteness is – well – cute. But stories for children that are lovely without being cute have a far more lasting impact and a much greater appeal.

And Muggie Maggie is never cute. Maggie is real. She is stubborn. And yes, the adults turn out to be right in her story, but not at her expense in any way that makes the book preachy or moralistic. I’m holding on to this one, hoping that someday it will be easily available again and I will be able to introduce it to my book club!