Alice Caldwell Hegan Rice
Paperback | Pages: 160 pages Rating: 3.83 | 287 Users | 48 Reviews
List Books During Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (The Cabbage Patch #1)
| Original Title: | Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch |
| ISBN: | 1417920319 (ISBN13: 9781417920310) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | The Cabbage Patch #1 |
Description Supposing Books Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (The Cabbage Patch #1)
Mrs. Wiggs' life has been anything but easy. Her husband died of alcohol, her farm burned to the ground and now she struggles in her everyday fight to "pull agin' a debt." Her five children, Jimmy, Billy and the geographically named Asia, Australia and Europena, rely on her for encouragement and love in the harshest of circumstances and she does her best to give them what they need - and so much more. Though the threat of poverty and illness lie constantly at her door, Mrs. Wiggs keeps a sunny attitude that spreads its warmth over her little family and her neighbors. Despite her lack of education, her miniscule means and the many sadnesses that plague her life, Mrs. Wiggs is an example of contentment and generosity that shines out of her tiny community and has its effect even on the wealthier citizens of the nearby town. Her plans to avoid disaster are often hilarious (especially when she approaches the local doctor and asks to sell her body for research in case she ever dies, in order to provide for her children's wellbeing!) but all show the purity and humility that live in her heart.This sweet book reminded me of the short stories written by Louisa May Alcott. How apt since the book I'm waiting for is "Marmee and Louisa!" Its characters are simple folk who face challenges that seem impossible. With fortitude and humble perseverance, they steadily work to keep their heads above water and their morals intact. A sweet love story threads through this tale that reinforces the importance of hard work leavened by love and laughter. I found a wealth of quotes in the book and feel that they summarize all the good that can be found in its pages better than I ever could:
"Looks like ever'thing in the world comes right, if we jes' wait long enough!"
"It is easy enough to be pleasant / When life flows along like a song / But the man worth while is the one who will smile / When everything goes dead wrong."
"The roads, the woods, the heavens, the hills / Are not a world today / But just a place God made for us / In which to play."
"...not that I ever set out to look fer happiness; seems like the folks that does that never finds it. I jes' do the best I kin where the good Lord put me at, an' it looks like I got a happy feelin' in me 'most all the time."
"Somehow, I never feel like good things b'long to me till I pass 'em on to somebody else."
Describe Out Of Books Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (The Cabbage Patch #1)
| Title | : | Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (The Cabbage Patch #1) |
| Author | : | Alice Caldwell Hegan Rice |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 160 pages |
| Published | : | May 7th 2004 by Kessinger Publishing (first published 1901) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Childrens. Classics |
Rating Out Of Books Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (The Cabbage Patch #1)
Ratings: 3.83 From 287 Users | 48 ReviewsCriticize Out Of Books Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (The Cabbage Patch #1)
I read this book aloud to my husband while in the car and absolutely fell in love!This is a book both my parents read as children. Nowadays I think kids would find it hard to read because of the southern vernacular. But I think back then radio shows and movies had people, especially southern and uneducated people speaking like this. Heavy themes for kids, especially poverty and illness. But maybe not in the 20s and 30s when living like this was more common?
I somehow missed this book as a child. And perhaps I would have enjoyed it more, then. As an adult, this reads like a poor imitation of the Five Little Peppers books. It's a mildly amusing tale a of a widow (Mrs. Wiggs) and her children who live in a shanty town called the Cabbage Patch. They struggle to make ends meet but Mrs. Wiggs always has a sunny disposition. I enjoyed the Peppers books more.
The moral of this story is that the best thing to do, if you are poor, is get in the middle of a lover's spat between rich people who will fight by each trying to outdo the other in giving you things.
For the Reading 12.0 project at the library, this month (April) was read a book we read as a child.I still have a copy of Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch. I hadn't read it in years and years.Gosh, it was different than I remember. Mrs. Wiggs who is an OLD woman turns out to be turning 50 years old, which as a child probably sounded ancient.This book was really sad and depressing. No wonder I grew up to be a bleeding heart liberal!
This was one of my Christmas-money box of books this year. I've seen it several times at bookstores but always bought other things instead...but I'm glad I finally bought it! It's a fun, innocent story about the widow Mrs. Wings and her struggle to raise her children in the city. At just over 100 pages, I read it in less than an hour.
I read this bit of vintage sweetness several times while young, so it was a delight to encounter it once again. I had forgotten much of it, including the fact that there are no cabbages, but rather a version of the Shambles, a very poor neighborhood. Theres a bit of sadness and a romance, but the main character, Mrs. Wiggs, is definitely the star. Rices characters are lightly but vividly drawn, as is the setting. Its a reminder that people are people, even at opposite ends of the income and
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