1951 - The Egg Tree

The fourteenth book to be awarded the Caldecott Medal was The Egg Tree by Katherine Milhous, published in 1950 by Scribner.

The Egg Tree tells the story of a brother and sister, Carl and Katy, spending Easter with their grandmother and cousins on a farm in Pennsylvania's Dutch Country.  On Easter morning, Katy and Carl took part in their first Easter Egg hunt, but while all the other children seemed to be successful, Katy wasn't able to find any eggs.  Feeling disappointed, Katy wanders up to the attic where she finds a beautiful surprise that leads to a new family tradition.

Who was Katherine Milhous?

I wasn't able to find a picture of Katherine Milhous, so here is her autograph.

Katherine was born into a family of Quakers on November 27, 1894 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  Her parents, Katherine and Osborn Milhous made their living as printers.  When Milhous was young, her family moved to Pitman, New Jersey, but she later returned to Philadelphia to attend the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art, now the school is known as The University of the Arts and the museum is the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  Milhous helped to pay for her school by illustrating magazines and in 1934, she won the Cresson Traveling Scholarship, which allowed her to study overseas. Returning home to Philadelphia, she shared a studio for the next forty years with fellow artist and friend, Frances Litchen.

From 1935-1940, Milhous worked as a supervisor for the Philadelphia Federal Art Project, a branch of the Works Progress Administration.  During this time, she created posters that promoted Pennsylvania using the Pennsylvania Dutch designs Milhous admired.

One of Milhous' WPA posters

During an exhibition at a Federal Art Project gallery, Alice Dalgliesh, the head of the Children's Book division of Charles Scribner's & Sons, saw some of Milhous' artwork and hired her as a staff designer.

During her time with Charles Scribner's & Sons, Milhous teamed up with Dalgliesh to co-write and illustrate several books.  She also illustrated books for other authors, including Mabel Leigh Hunt and Lorraine Sherwood.  Milhouse wrote and illustrated eleven books of her own.

Katherine Milhouse died in Pennsylvania on December 5, 1977.

The Illustrations

As I've been writing this blog, the first thing I do is read the book, then I do my research on the illustrator.  I like going into these books with an open mind and no background knowledge.  I don't read the book flaps or the author bio in the back and, in the case of The Egg Tree, I did not read the author's acknowledgements in the beginning of this book.  But I did recognize the Pennsylvania Dutch influence right away.

I have spent the majority of my life living in south central Pennsylvania, I am very familiar with Lancaster and the Amish community.  I noticed the Hex sign on the side of the barn and the use of tulips in the artwork, tulips were used to represent faith, hope, and charity in German folk art.

The feel of the artwork and colors used, not to mention the inclusion of horse and buggies, were all familiar to me.

The Egg Tree takes place on Easter morning when young Katy wakes up as the rooster crows.  She is excited to get started on her first egg hunt with her brother Carl and their cousins Susy, Luke, Johnny, and Appolonia.

The egg hunt took place all over the farm, in the barn, the garden, and then into their grandmother's house.  Katy and Carl were so disappointed to see all their cousins, even little Appolonia, find eggs.  Finally, Carl found some eggs hidden in the branches of the magnolia tree.  They all moved into the house to hunt for eggs in the kitchen.

Feeling let down by the Easter Rabbit, Katy decided to check one last place: the attic.  Hidden in a hat box, nestled inside an old beaver hat, were five beautifully painted eggs.

When Katy took the eggs downstairs, her grandmother was surprised and pleased to see the eggs she had painted herself when she had been a young girl.  She explained to the grandchildren that the eggs were hollow, dyed and hand-painted.  Grandmom allowed each child to pick an egg to keep, but the children couldn't decide what to do with these eggs they couldn't eat.

Grandmom slipped out of the kitchen and returned with a small tree.  She then took thread, ran it around each egg, and hung them on the branches.  The children were thrilled with their egg tree.

The children all decided they wanted to paint their own eggs, so Grandmom showed them how to hollow out the eggs, dye them, and then either paint or carve the image into the shell.  With so many new eggs, the boy cousins went to the woods and brought back a small birch tree to hang all their eggs on.

They were all so excited about their beautiful egg tree, they held a party to share it with their neighbors and friends.

The following year, the children started weeks ahead of time painting eggs and putting up an even larger egg tree.  Word spread and people came from all over to see the egg tree, bringing gifts and baskets, and wooden eggs.

The Egg Tree is a sweet story told with beautiful, colorful artwork that will especially appeal to those with an interest in the Pennsylvania Dutch and Amish communities.  It tells of a simpler way off life and give families a great idea for an Easter craft they could create together, to start their own annual tradition.

The book even includes directions on the back of the book on how to hollow eggs and decorate them.

1951 Caldecott Honor Books

Dick Whittington and His Cat by Marcia Brown
The Two Reds, illustrated by Nicholas Mordvinoff, written by William Lipkind
If I Ran the Zoo (Classic Seuss) by Dr. Seuss
The Most Wonderful Doll in the World, illustrated by Helen Stone, written by Phyllis McGinley
T-Bone, the Baby Sitter by Clare Turlay Newberry