Beyond the Pawpaw Trees: The Story of Anna Lavinia

Anna Lavinia #1

by Palmer Brown

It all began on a lavender blue day—the kind of day when anything can happen. It was on such a day that Anna Lavinia’s father saw a double rainbow and went chasing after it. And it is on such a day that she and her cat, Strawberry, set off on their journey beyond the walled garden where the pawpaw trees grow, to a place where the buttercups bloom pink and the laws of gravity don’t always apply. Here Anna Lavinia will test her mother’s advice “Never believe what you see,” against her father’s wise words “Believe only what you see,” and just maybe she’ll finally be able to use the mysterious silver key her father left behind when he went chasing after rainbows.

Beyond the Pawpaw Trees is a tour through a land as strange and wonderful as Oz, filled with people as delightfully batty as any in Alice’s looking glass. It is a place to return to again and again, beautifully brought to life in Palmer Brown’s fanciful words and intricate, sugar-spun drawings.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Childrens, Middle Grade, Chapter Books, Novels, Humor

136 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1954

About the author

Palmer Brown was born in Chicago and attended Swarthmore and the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author and illustrator of five books for children, including Beyond the Pawpaw Trees and its sequel, The Silver Nutmeg; Cheerful; and Hickory.

About Beyond the Pawpaw Trees, his first published book, Brown said: “If it has any moral at all, it is hoped that it will always be a deep secret between the author and those of his readers who still know that believing is seeing.”

Reviews

[Jessica Walker - Stier · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is my all time favorite book. I re-read it every few years. I really feel like it helped shape who I am. I still look at the sky to see if it is lavender blue or not.

[Maxwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beyond beyond. If ever there's a book I've felt right inside of, it's this one. It's a perfect book, even now. The images are "get-lost-in"-able. And the story is something you wish was real and happening to you yourself. It took me years to find it again. And, after a 12-month search, Northshire Books in Vermont found a copy and sent it to me for $100 in 1998. It's been my happiest book both then and ever. (Northshire Books = http://www.northshire.com/)

[smetchie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this with my daughters and the four stars are from them. I'd give it three. I might have only given it two except for the Throbby. The Throbby is responsible for one star all on his own just because it's fantastic to imagine taking a trip with a stubby tailed sort of lizard, very plump, and covered with pink fur. Who doesn't want one of those? It sounds so cute, and also quite dirty if you think about it.

It bugs me when the parents in children's stories are horrible and no one acknowledges it. Even when the father disappears to chase rainbows and doesn't call or write or come back for years and years! And the mother stays in the kitchen making Paw Paw jelly day in and day out, hardly stopping to bang on the ceiling to tell people to come to breakfast, crying if anyone mentions the abandoning bastard, and forbidding her little girl to ever leave the yard. She can't even go to school! And then when she finally IS allowed to leave for the first time, she's abandoned at the train station to go off on her own to visit an aunt she's never met. And the whole time it's "tra la la! i'm off on the train to see my auntie and i shall eat these sweets as i go!" and "oh joy! I have found my father and isn't his beard just as tickly as I remember!" and the mom isn't mad at all when he comes back, just happy and giggly and moved to song. Bunch of bullshit!! Many parts of the story are imaginative and inventive but I couldn't get above the family dynamic to really enjoy them. (except for the Throbby, who is impossible not to enjoy)

[Sasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book has a cult following that doesn't promote it because, secretly, they like being the only people who know of and treasure it. I can clearly see why they treasure it - it is whimsical, witty, and wonderful. I'm twenty-five years old, and I love to grab it off the shelf and reread it on rainy days. It is like a combination of Roald Dahl and E.B. White, with just enough ridiculousness to keep it entertaining. I definitely think young girls would love this as a bedtime story, and I intend to read it to my own daughter one day. Now here's the real burning question - where's a Florida girl to get pawpaw preserves from? The struggle is real, Goodreads.

[Nicholas During · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very, very cute book. The line illustrations are wonderful, and it has everything that one needs in a charming children's book: domestic animals with funny names, adventurous and dreamy missing fathers, moody mothers, delightful and helpful relatives living in far-away places, exotic destinations, and, of course, the breaking of Newtownian physics.

I won't say much more about it, but it was very fun and I can't see how any children wouldn't love. The illustrations on the page are wonderful, the characters and narratives fun, and although it reaches 100 pages, the story is varied and fast-paced for any attention-affected children of the new generation.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite book of all time!

I finally own it, and god did I miss it.

I used to borrow this from the library as a kid and the illustrations and story are enchanting even now.

The best.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite childhood story.

[Camilla Sadler · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute story that my boys really enjoyed. They would probably give it 4 or 5 stars. It feels a little like a roald Dahl book. It's a quick read.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book from the public library repeatedly as a child and absolutely loved it, but as I got older, I couldn’t remember the name. I just had these vague, strangely trippy memories of a book where a girl traveled to the end of the world (or something) and there was a desert and a cliff and she floated down (or up?) and her name might have started with an L! Over the years, I would go through times when I would become mildly obsessed with finding this book and would Google all the words in the preceding sentence, to no avail. I tried posting in the “What is this thing?” group on Facebook, and again, no one seemed to know the right book. I was starting to think I had dreamed it! Then I found the blog “Stump the Bookseller.” I sent them $4 by PayPal and basically said what I said above. It was pretty bad. I didn’t have much hope. Two weeks later, I checked back, and someone had commented the name of this book. I looked it up and realized - that’s the one!! That’s it!! I cannot express the joy and delight simply rediscovering it gave me! I immediately ordered a copy on Abebooks. It is as lovely as I remembered, and as trippy and whimsical and odd. I love it. I’m so thankful for having found it again! Thank you, Stump the Bookseller! And thank you, Universe, for bringing this book back to me!

[Liz Fricke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember reading this as a girl and through my adult years, the images of a gate with a bell, a train and a floating island always stuck with me, but I could remember neither the title nor the author. All I had to go on was that "Paw Paw" was in the name. My mother found it for me - but it was long out of print. So every year I would randomly search the internet hoping for a bargain. Imagine how happy I was to see it back in print at long last. I ordered it posthaste and greedily devoured it. It's just as charming as I remembered.

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can an adventure be boring? This one is, although it has a certain homemade charm. The story is stupendously mild - an Alice's Adventures In Wonderland wannabe without the insane logic and wit. It was the illustrations that I remembered from a childhood reading of the book. Brown's drawings are amateur, to put it kindly, yet they have a filigree sparkle that obscures his terrible drawing technique.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

The prequel to my favorite children’s book ever, The Silver Nutmeg, it was my introduction to the genre of magical realism, although as an eight-year old child all I knew was that this book was strange and unusual in the best way possible. Filled with intricate and mesmerizing pen-and-ink drawings drawn by the author, it is a delight for the eyes. Every child, or child at heart, should have this book and its sequel on their bookshelf.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming, old-fashioned, dreamlike

[Milo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this once as a kid, and finally found it again. This is a very charming book, though it has a few questionable asides. All in all, though, I was very relieved to have found it again, and plan to keep it on my shelf for a very long time.
Also, I got to read this in entirety to a friend, which was a delightful experience.

[Melanie Coombes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had never heard of this book before, perhaps because it was out of print for many years. Then I heard what a wonderful book it was on a book blog. I'd been looking for a "first" chapter book to read aloud to my five year old daughter. It is back in print now, so I ordered a copy.

It is such a charming story. It was written in the 1950's. It is the story of a girl named Anna Lavinia who lives with her mom in a distant house far away from neighbors and the village. When she finally ventures out beyond the grove of paw paw trees to visit her aunt by train, Anna Lavinia begins what is to become a magical journey to distant lands full of secrets and surprises.

I had so much fun reading this book for the first time as an adult. I can only imagine how much better it must be for a child to read this. My five year old LOVED it. Every night we read one or two chapters and she would race through her bedtime routine, just because she was so excited to hear more of the story. There are very cute pencil sketch drawings on almost every page (sometimes every other page.)

I think there is a second book and it is coming back to print in April 2012. I definitely will read that to my daughter as well and I look so forward to continue Anna Lavinia's adventures. This was the best chapter book ever to read to your young children and a great book for anyone of all ages to enjoy. I count myself lucky to have discovered this book.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe my expectations were too high. But I expected more from this sweet old-fashioned story than a bit of twee, a bit of word-play, a very strange mother, and a series of safe adventures. Maybe a crazy amount of word and logic play like Alice in Wonderland would have saved it. Or maybe if our MC were actually a heroine on a quest, instead of a passive little girl, then it would have been more interesting. Or maybe if the cat, Strawberry, had a personality, or if there were some deeper meaning....

I have to admit; I have mostly bad luck with this NYRB series. They've republished some of my favorites (Thurber!), but mostly their taste does not match mine. If you have liked more of their books, add this to your list; it might be perfect for you.

[Alex English · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rather delightful, in the dreamlike vein of Alice in Wonderland or the Phantom Tollbooth. It's one of those stories in which nothing is wasted - every little detail, however small or whimsical, comes back to be useful later on.

[Linda Aull · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite book from childhood. I have often thought of Anna Lavinia and her journey from Nowhere to Now Here.

[Iris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ja, nog steeds geweldig! Heeft hij niet meer boeken geschreven?

[Marmot · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like to look for lavender blue days now. It is a bit of a random story but has some very sweet elements like that.

[Theodore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a nice instance of the "young-child-goes-on-a-whimsical-odyssey" genre, in the spirit of THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH, the ALICE books, DAVEY AND THE GOBLIN, and THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ. Here the protagonist is a girl named Anna Lavinia, and her mission is to find her father, who has been missing since he first set out to find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, many years before. The story has a dream-like atmosphere reminiscent of the ALICE books; also the jokes based on reality being more like appearance than it is in real life: for instance, the two tracks of a railroad line do actually narrow and finally come to a point, as one approaches the horizon, just as it looks when you look out the front window. However, it's not nearly as alarming as Oz or ALICE - Anna Lavinia does not suffer the kind of physical indignities which Alice suffers, such as having her size unexpectedly change or being taunted or threatened by nasty characters along the way. There's no principal villain; in fact, there are no villains at all. But Anna Lavinia does have to use some ingenuity and resourcefulness to find her father and bring him home to her mother.

BEYOND THE PAWPAW TREES is also a much quicker read than most books in this genre. It's short; I wished that there had been more.

The illustrations are integral to the book; they're also well-executed and very charming.

I do have to tag the book with a POSSIBLE TRIGGER-ALERT: the story portrays Arabs according to the stereotypes of the time. If my ultra-PC mother had read this book aloud to me, she would most definitely disapprove. The Arabs in this story are not evil or violent or sneaky or untrustworthy - they are friendly enough, and helpful enough - but they are portrayed as simple, or childish, and alien. When they speak to each other, they "jabber in Arabic" until Anna Lavinia suggests that it would be simpler if everyone just spoke English. The Pasha is disappointed when he finds out that Anna Lavinia's hot-water bottle doesn't have any hot water in it. "You have to put the hot water in," Anna Lavinia patiently explains to him.

[Clay Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A curious and wonderful adventure for children.

I chose this book by looking at a blog listing "12+ Books for kids not ready for Harry Potter". Have to say I feel fortunate to have been able to share this with my kids, what an odd and surreal journey.

It could be enjoyed by the same audience as Harry Potter, and it gave me a similar feel to reading Wrinkle in Time, but all at a much younger reading level.

This could be enjoyed at any age, and unlike some other children's books, it can enjoyed by the parent just as much, which makes it perfect for reading aloud. The Chapters are just long enough for a short read-aloud. It's fun to see young children notice some of the subtle oddities. Sometimes it goes over their heads, and I like to ask things like "Do you think it's ODD that Anna Levina has never left her house before?" or "Why do you think they have so many jars of Paw Paw jelly that they can't use the back-door of the house?".

This book apparently isn't that easy to find (wasn't at my library), but it's well worth a purchase. Looking forward to the sequel which I plan to gift for Christmas.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

An dreamlike children's fantasy. It has a surreal quality that I am not used to. Anna Lavinia is growing up in an unhappy home, with a missing father and a miserable mother. One morning her mother sends her alone on a long train trip to visit her aunt, for no particular reason. Partway through the trip, the engineer gets left behind, and Anna Lavinia, her cat, and the train journey on together, until they get to where the tracks meet, the end of the line. Anna Lavinia thinks perhaps she should be concerned, but since everything seems to be going all right, she doesn't bother. She continues on in this unflappable way, through ever stranger adventures.

I would have loved this book when I was about eight. But I think this is a children's book that does not work as well for adults, no matter how much we want it to.

[wellreadtraveler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't normally read YA or Childrens literature but every once in awhile a cover might peak my interest and so I indulge. I was browsing the bookstore and stumbled upon this sweet little book involving a little girl and her cat Strawberry and I was sold. I love reading Childrens books with all the heart melting adjectives, cute names, and always some sort of animal friend. The drawings inside will make you swoon as well. The story is about sweet little Anna Lavinia and her travels to visit her AuntSophia Maria by train. With her yummy paw paw jelly and her kitty Strawberry the story follows Anna Lavinia and all the people she meets on her travels and her adventures along the way.Such a "sweet" little story that has no age limit to enjoy. I know I did!

[Sirah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anna Lavinia lives in a classic old house surrounded by pawpaw trees, and her mother makes copious jars of pawpaw jam. One day, Mother decides it's time for Anna Lavinia to visit her aunt, Sophia Maria, so Anna Lavinia sets out on a little adventure.

I can just see the narrator telling this story with a playful grin and a twinkle in his eye. This is a lot of fun to read, but you can tell it was published around the time when children's books were either educational or nonsense. We've since decided that children's books can be both playful and meaningful, but this book is only trying to do the former, and at that, it succeeds remarkably well. I don't know that I'll try to find the sequel, but I do appreciate that this book gave me pleasant dreams.

[Carrie Birde · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first encountered "Beyond the Pawpaw Trees" after I'd read my way through our school library, and my fifth-grade teacher loaned me her personal copy of the book. I had never read anything like it -- with curious references to perspective, and the wondrous things that might happen if one wandered beyond the line of pawpaw trees against the stricture of one's parents. The small, enchanting narrative stayed with me for decades, until my husband procured a copy for me for our anniversary (which wasn't an easy task 25 years ago!) The book continues to captivate. It's wonderful what an author can accomplish if he assumes his audience, regardless of their age, will understand him! <3

[N · Rating 5 out of 5]

So charming and indeed quite enchanting.

[Angela Tuson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming, slightly absurd and quite satisfying. Just like 4pm tea.

[Lulu]

Just finished reading this to the kids who found it utterly charming & delightful.

[Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite childhood books. There are many fantasy elements in this book that I loved.