This is the story of a woman who is determined to follow her grandfather's advice and "do something to make the world more beautiful." By the time she nears the end of her life, she has become known as the Lupine Lady, sharing her love of flowers with countless others and her message with the local children. Winner of The American Book Award.

Activities:

1. After reading the story as a class, brainstorm questions you might ask about lupines. (i.e.. How tall do they grow? When do they bloom? etc.) Find the answers and write them on a chart you will make which illustrates what you found. On a separate piece of paper list at least five things that Miss Rumphius tells you about lupines. Remember to use the illustrations. Decide whether or not the pictures in Miss Rumphius are accurate. Be specific.

2. Miss Rumphius is told by way of a flashback.. As a class, list on the board the events in three picture books that everyone has read or heard read. (Ask questions such as: How old is the Lupine Lady in the first paragraph of the book? Last pages? Middle of the book?) Then number these "events" chronologically. Compare with flash-forward book.

Books employing flashbacks:
Yanosh's Island by Yossie Abolafia, Greenwillow, 1987;
How My Parents Learned to Eat by Ina R. Friedman, Houghton Mifflin, 1984;
Watch the Stars Come Out by Riki Levinson, Dutton, 1985;
Why the Chicken Crossed the Road by David Macaulay, Houghton Mifflin, 1987;
Fat Chance, Claude by Joan Lowery Nixon, Viking, 1987;
What's Under My Bed? by James Stevenson, Greenwillow, 1983;
Dakota Dugout by Ann Turner, Macmillan, 1985;
The Wreck of the Zephyr by Chris Van Allsburg, Houghton Mifflin, 1983.
FLASH FORWARD: Quilt Story by Tony Johnston. Putnam, 1985;
Island Rescue by Charles E. Greenwillow, 1985.