Children's Book Monday

The stories of Obadiah Starbuck and his Quaker family are set in the early 1800's on Nantucket Island. You'll quickly become endeared to the lively young Obadiah, whose adventures are enjoyable for the little ones you'll be reading to as well as to the mommy reading. Obadiah's family is central to every story, and consists of Father, Mother, Moses, Asa, Rebecca, Obadiah and Rachel.

Author and illustrator Brinton Turkle has written four books about Obadiah. The illustrations are done in soft watercolors, and are filled with delightful scenes of life on Nantucket Island. As you turn the pages, you'll see girls and women wearing hats and bonnets with long full skirts or dresses. The young boys don hats, suspenders and white shirts. The outdoor scenes are of the wharf and village life, while the homey indoor scenes exude warmth as the Starbuck family gathers around for a meal, or listens to Father read the Bible by the glow of candlelight.

Our favorite Obadiah book is this one:

Rachel and Obadiah
by Brinton Turkle


In this book, Obadiah's older brother Asa sights a ship on it's way home to Nantucket. News of a ship has all of Nantucket astir, gathering at the docks to welcome the ship safely home. Asa gets a reward from the captain's wife for running to tell her the news. As Asa proudly shows off his silver coin, Obadiah decides he wants the opportunity to run to the captain's house with news of the next ship coming. Obadiah's solid plan is thwarted when his little sister Rachel decides that she, too, would like to be sent with the news. But they both can't go. Obadiah and Rachel agree to race to see who is the fastest runner. Whoever wins the race will be chosen to carry the news of the next ship. Obadiah is confident that he will win, of course. (He is the older brother, after all!)

You and your children will be on the edge of your seats to see just who will win the race between our beloved Obadiah and his little sister Rachel.


Don't miss the other three Obadiah books: Thy Friend, Obadiah, Obadiah the Bold, and The Adventures of Obadiah.

***Make sure to visit A Path Made Straight for other recommendations.

2 comments:

  1. Oh yes, we are about to collect books for our baby girls as she started to show the interest for stories. Thanks for sharing this with us.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This looks great! Can't wait to try it, and the other books in the series, out.

    ReplyDelete

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