Ownself

by Mary Calhoun

Original 1st Edition Hardcover with Dust Jacket.

Genres: Childrens

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Mary Louise Huiskamp Wilkins, also known as Mary Calhoun was born on August 3, 1926 in Keokuk, Iowa. She received a bachelor's degree in journalism for the University of Iowa in 1948. She was hired as a reporter for the World-Herald in Omaha, Nebraska after graduation. Her fascination with spirits and folklore of the 19th century led her to write stories about witches, elves, cats, dwarfs, and pixies. She has also published stories in Jack and Jill and Humpty Dumpty magazines. She worked at the Omaha World Herald before marrying fellow journalist Frank Calhoun. Her first book, Making the Mississippi Shout, was published in 1957. She wrote more than 50 children's books during her lifetime including the Katie John series, Julie's Tree, Henry the Sailor Cat, and Cross-Country Cat. She died on October 27, 2015 at the age of 89.

Reviews

[Bren fall in love with the sea. · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a wonderful coming of age story that I read when I was a kid.

It is about one girl's relationship with her father . Their relationship is very complex as young kids' relationships with parents are wont to be.

She feels she just does not fit in. She has a deep and rich inner life. Her dreams -- and her mind and where her imagination takes her is quite evocative.

She dreams of vibrant forests and fairy dustings and her dad is a "what you see is what you get type of guy."

He's not evil. In fact the pain in the story is that both the daughter and the dad seem to love each other but they're not even o the same astral plane. They simply can;t communicate.

She is trying to be what he wants while at the same time struggling not to lose her real self her OWNSELF.

She dreams of winning his approval.Will she? You will have to read it to find out.

It's a great story that I never forgot and I wish there were more reviews of it on here.