My object is a book by Marguerite de Angeli.  My grandmother gave me my copy, and my father and my uncle had a copy when they were kids.  Yonie Wondernose is about an Amish boy who lives on a farm.  His parents and older sister go away for the night, and Yonie, his little sister and their granny are left to make dinner and do all the chores, including tending the animals.  Marguerite de Angeli goes into detail describing the dinner, the house, and the farm.  But a fire starts during the night.  Yonie and his granny and sister have to get all the animals to safety, and Yonie has to prove that he’s not just a good-for-nothing nosy kid, or “wondernose”, as his father calls him.  This book won the Caldecott award in 1945, and was originally published in 1944.This book is important to me partly because my father read it when he was a kid, so he knows the story really well, and partly because I have Amish background.  In fact, my grandfather grew up Amish-Mennonite.  My Amish ancestry stretches all the way back to the early 1700s.  I’ve read this book countless times.  I’ve read it to myself, my parents have read it to me, my grandparents have read it to me, and I’ve read to my younger siblings.  It’s really special to me.    I want to know more about Marguerite de Angeli, this story, and my Amish ancestry.  I want to talk to Marguerite de Angeli and my Amish ancestors.  I can’t do that, but I’m still going to find out as much as I can.

– M

Relationship:  Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more