Book Review: Miracles on Maple Hill

Following World War II, Marly and her family move into an old house in the country in order to get away from the stresses of city life. Daddy is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and Mother believes that the change could heal him. Their new neighbor, Mr. Chris, promises Marly that miracles abound in such a place as Maple Hill, so Marly begins to keep track of them. As the seasons come and go, Marly and her brother, Joe, explore the hills and the woods, meeting people and animals, finding miracles all around them. Daddy feels better. Joe and Marly understand each other better. Mother's heart softens. There are, indeed, miracles on Maple Hill, and they often start with jovial Mr. Chris. But when the sap starts to rise in the maple trees in the spring, Mr. Chris overworks himself and suffers a heart attack. Marly decides to work a miracle of her own as she and others organize a workforce to collect the sap and bring beauty and happiness back to Mr. Chris's life.

I enjoyed all the miracles in this book. Marly continually finds miracles in nature: the changing of the seasons, the wild animals that come so close, the birds that stay even in the winter, the delicious maple syrup, etc. These miracles are simple compared to the extravagant miracles that many people expect to find. With Marly's understanding of miracles, it would be easy to see that miracles abound anywhere.

Miracles is also a story about growing up. Marly literally leaves her childhood behind as she moves with her family into the country. She feels a "push-feeling" as she surrounds herself with growing things, and she knows that she is meant to grow into something greater. Instead of lamenting the loss of the past and the passage of time, Marly looks forward to each season of life. One might say that she has an eternal perspective and a sense of her divine nature.

Miracles won the Newbery Medal in 1957: besides having a pleasant pastoral narrative, Miracles is full of lyrical, even poetic, lines. Here are just a few that I have dog-eared:

"If she stopped in the middle of all the thousands of things growing in every direction, she got what she called the 'push-feeling.' Everything was pushing up into the sun, trying to grow taller and bigger...When she told Mr. Chris about the 'push-feeling,' he looked very serious about it. 'Everything has its own sap, I guess,' he said. 'It's got to rise, that's all. Nobody knows why'" (78).

"It was like looking at long ago" (120).

"In August Marly found the oddest berry she had ever seen. Mr. Chris had warned her 'never to eat strangers,' so she carried a big spray of these to ask him about" (134).

"All the twigs had turned to lace, and the trees were stooped with snow. Suddenly a bright red bird flew into the bush by the window and looked at her. A cardinal!...It was, just that moment, the best miracle of all. 'I choose now!' she said" (167).

"The syrup is spring. It's the heart and blood of the maple trees; it has the gold of the leaves in it and the brown of the bark. It's the sun shining. It's snow melting. It's the bright new air and the earth as it starts pushing--pushing--pushing" (190).