Rachel and Obadiah

Obadiah and his little sister, Rachel, are picking blackberries behind the old Pinkham house on India Street. Rachel's pail is almost full but Obadiah's pail is only half full because he keeps putting berries in his mouth.

Suddenly, all of Nantucket is abuzz.

The Clio, which has been at sea for more than a year, has been spotted arriving in the harbor...a young boy has brought the news, all her crew is safely home. So Obadiah and Rachel forget their berry picking, and run down to the wharf instead, along with the rest of the village. What a happy celebration!

Later, Obadiah learns that it was his older brother, Asa, who brought word of the Clio's safe arrival. When he informed the captain's wife, she gave him a silver coin! Maybe Obadiah could be a runner, and get a shiny silver coin, too!

Next week, the Speedwell is due to return.

If Obadiah hangs around Jacob Slade's mill, Jacob will  see the Speedwell first and send Obadiah as the runner to the captain's house, and maybe he'll be paid with a silver coin. Rachel says she's going to stand watch, too! Obadiah discourages her, saying girls can't run as fast as boys.

So they ask Jacob Slade if he would send a girl as a runner and he says he can't send both of them. So they decide to have a race to determine who will be the runner, but since Rachel is smaller, it's only fair that she get a head start.

So she takes off like a shot.

Obadiah catches up with her but then is distracted by a patch of blackberries and stops to pick them. Rachel keeps running. She runs right back to the starting line at Jacob Slade's mill. Then Jacob Slade shows her that the Speedwell has just arrived in the harbor! And the flags being flown mean that all's well aboard. Does little Rachel think she can run all the way to the captain's house and share the good news? And will she get a reward?

More than a decade after he first introduced Obadiah in Obadiah the Bold, Brinton Turkle gives us another episode in the life of the Quaker family that lives on Nantucket Island just before the turn of the 19^th century. The relationship between the young brother and sister shines with authenticity, as they compete with determination for the prize. Affection exudes from the townspeople for their long-missed loved ones, as well as for each other and the village children. The long aching days of a seafaring life come across in the text and the captivating illustrations, brimming with life, match. They bring a bygone era vibrantly to life.

If this picture book makes you want to return to life as it might have been in a New England fishing village two hundred years ago, so be it. If it happens to remind you, as you read, of a fable by a guy named Aesop and also a tragic Greek myth, you're on the right track. If it reminds you that you have good news to share, and that you should continue steadfastly in your purpose and not become weary or discouraged until your receive your reward, you're a perceptive reader.

The thing is, it can remind your little ones of these things, too. And what more could we ask for?

CONTENT CONSIDERATIONS

Obadiah says several unkind things about his sister, “Girls can't run!” and “She can't run fast.” Rachel's abilities are proved in the end and she sweetly shares her reward with Obadiah.