Hitty, Her First Hundred Years

For 6.25" of mountain ash, the fictional doll Hitty, does get around a lot. Between her Maine island origin in the early 19th century to her achievement of a place in a New York antique store window, she goes on a whaling expedition, spends time with a cobra in India, returns to Philadelphia and visits much of the Midwest and south before being returned to her original home though not her original owner. Written by the woman who purchased the eponymous doll from the New York store, this imaginative set of tales is quite the lesson in how the attitude with which we accept our circumstances determines their meaning. And Hitty's attitude is quite charming in its mix of acceptance and judgement.

Originally published in 1929, and chosen as the Newbery Medal Winner in 1930, Rachel Field's Hitty, Her First Hundred Years is the charming autobiography of an American doll, and her many adventures, over the course of a century. Created from mountain-ash - a wood said to bring good luck, and ward off evil - by a wandering peddler, and given to young Phoebe Preble, Hitty's life began in the state of Maine (although her wood came, like her peddler creator, from Ireland), but soon took her to all parts of the globe. Sailing out of Boston with the Prebles, on a whaling voyage, going overboard in a shipwreck, washing up on a South Seas island where she was worshiped as an idol, becoming lost in India, being found by missionaries, being show more stolen from a Cotton Exhibition in New Orleans, and finally, being auctioned as an antique, Hitty's first hundred years was full indeed, of colorful incidents, and multiple owners. What was constant throughout, was her keen interest in, and observation of, the world around her, and her philosophical approach to the ups and downs of a doll's life.

Well-written and immensely engaging, this is a book I would like to be able to recommend wholeheartedly. There is much of value here: the many period details, which Field always seems to get just right; the snap-shot view of American history, as seen from a unique perspective; and an utterly enchanting heroine, who manages to be believable, both as doll and as narrator. Unfortunately, there are also some dated elements, particularly in the depiction of non-European peoples: the "frightening" Indians of Maine, the "heathen" South Sea Islanders, the "dirty" Indian snake-charmer, the "happy" African-American plantation workers. What's interesting, in all of this - something raised in The Newbery Book-Club to which I belong, is the fact that Hitty herself often takes a more liberal, tolerant view of these different human groups, as compared to her various European or Euro-American owners.

I think there's definitely something to this idea (hence the fact that this got knocked down from four to three stars, rather than from four to two), but even Hitty's perspective sometimes still felt a little condescending to me. Still, given the unique quality of the narrative, I can certainly understand why long-time fans of the book were outraged at the recent Rosemary Wells rewrite. I think that, in the end, the good qualities of this title are sufficient to retain it as a reading selection for young people, with the caveat that responsible adults should be sure to engage them in a discussion of some of the socially anachronistic content. show less

In the early 1800's, a peddler carves a doll for a little girl of his acquaintance out of a sturdy piece of mountain ash wood. The doll is painted and dressed and given the name Mehitabel -- Hitty, for short. Over the course of her life, Hitty travels around the world by boat, by train, and eventually by automobile in the hands of various little girls (and sometimes, briefly, boys, men, and women). A hundred years later, she ends up in an antique shop, from whence she tells her story -- but are her adventures through? Hitty doesn't think so!

I was surprised at how readable I found this book. Though Hitty's adventures are episodic, I found that the plot carried me right along, always wondering where Hitty would end up next and how she show more would get out of whatever scrape she found herself in. I think that, if I had read this as a child, I would have enjoyed it immensely. After all, who doesn't imagine that their toys and dolls secretly come to life when nobody is watching? However, due to several problematic depictions in the book ("red injuns," "heathen savages," and African-American families speaking in an unflattering dialect, among other things), I probably wouldn't recommend this to children today, at least, not unless they were reading it with a good deal of adult guidance. show less

This story about the adventures of a doll surprised me. I wasn't particularly fond of the other Newbery doll book, Miss Hickory, so I was expecting this to be rather dull. I liked it instead, even though the characters are all rather flat and static. There is a measure of whimsy in a doll from the 1800s who survives being stolen by a crow, shipwrecked and worshiped as an idol, being part of a snake charmer's routine in India, and owned by a cohort of children and adults, all the while narrating her reactions and assessment of each situation. Not a book I'd give to a boy, and not even to every girl. But in a little girl's life, when she's playing with her special doll friends and just about convinced that her dollies do not understand show more her after all, this book may prolong the magic just a little longer. show less

I enjoyed this almost as much as I did the (at least two) times I read it as a child. It's not pc, of course, but in the context it's fairly respectful and compassionate - in fact it's a good exploration of lots of different ways people have lived. The foreshadowing, especially in the beginning, got a little tiresome (little did we know...") but in the main it was gracefully written. If I do ever get into woodworking I will seek out mountain ash for crafts I want to last!"

4.5 stars. Long time ago, back in 4th grade, a librarian recommended this book to me; I read it, and liked it, but didn't feel it had made a huge impression. Yet it kept coming back to me over the years, so I decided to give it a re-read.

Hitty the doll was about a hundred years old; this story, published in 1929, is getting close. Some things have held up fairly well; the story of a small, hand-carved doll, going from beloved companion to heathen idol to fashion model and more, is fascinating, and the device - told in first person from the POV of the doll - is probably one of the most unique literary devices ever. The illustrations, too, are charming, and help reinforce the idea that while the doll belongs to various owners, generally show more children, she herself is an adult, with a deliberately pleasant expression.

Other details, like Hitty's ash-wood complexion, became a little rougher with the passing of time. The author did not know about political correctness in 1929; some of the stories, like that of being carried on a whaling vessel, are fascinating, yet at the same time horrifying to those of us who understand whales to be sentient beings. The depiction of people of color - in India, and America isn't - QUITE - racist, but borders on it; the depiction of "heathens" as bowing down and worshiping the doll because she had jointed limbs is ridiculous.

I wouldn't hand this book to a child today without reading it along with her/him and explaining some of these issues. But there is a tremendous amount of entertainment here; it certainly stokes the imagination, wondering where the doll will wind up next. The revelations about human nature - some of the doll's owners prized her, for various reasons, otherwise were more lackadaisical, even abusive, are still applicable today. The descriptions of Maine and its foliage are also beautiful. And the doll's voice - a somewhat prim, stiff (well, she IS wooden) older lady - is wonderful. show less

What an odd book. These are the memoirs of a doll. Literally.
And apart from a couple of major caveats, it's not bad. But the book was written in 1929. Sensibilities and what was considered acceptable were much different then. The modern reader will likely find it somewhat offensive that South Seas island natives are referred to as savages and heathens, and will find it highly offensive, as I did, on the mercifully few pages where Southern black characters speak in dialect. Extreme dialect. Anyone who wasn't white and Christian was viewed as inherently inferior. (Though interestingly, Hitty herself seem to take a slightly more liberal view than the humans of her era do.) These were things that few if any readers in 1929 would have been show more bothered by, but any modern reader will.
That said... The doll is hand crafted sometime in the chronological vicinity of 1825. The story begins in present day (that being 1929) and the doll is on the shelves of an antique dealer. She decides to pick up a quill and write her memoirs. Fortunately for us, she has quite a remarkable memory. We are regaled with her highly adventurous life story, through a number of owners, both children and adults. The writing style is reminiscent of Daniel Defoe's in Robinson Crusoe. It was sort of a "Red Violin" type story. show less