The Gammage Cup (Voyager/HBJ Book)

Rating:
Summary: Nicely told, pleasant fantasy
Review: A rising tide lifts all boats, they say. The rising tide caused by the phenomenal success of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter books has indeed lifted the boats of many writers of children's fantasy. One of the oddest cases is perhaps Carol Kendall, and her book The Gammage Cup. This is hardly an unsuccessful book: it was first published in 1959, and it was a Newbery Honor Book. It was reprinted at least as recently as 1990. But besides the fact that The Gammage Cup is a succesful children's fantasy, it has another, insignificant but curious, link with Rowling's work: the use of the word "Muggles". To be sure, Muggles in The Gammage Cup is a character name, but nonetheless, Kendall's book is certainly proof enough that the word has a long history in children's fantasy.

Harcourt is reissuing this novel again in 2000. I will confess that I had not previously heard of it, despite having read a great many children's fantasies, and for that matter a great many Newbery Award and Newbery Honor books. But I'm glad to have seen it now. It's a decent book, very readable, displaying a nice touch for the cute turn of phrase, and with several clever notions. That said, it's a fairly minor book: pleasant enough but no patch on Alan Garner, or Lloyd Alexander, or Susan Cooper, or even J. K. Rowling. It's also very tempting to try to think of the book in allegorical terms, not necessarily to its benefit.

The story is set in a small village in an idyllic valley. Centuries before, the Minnipins fled their drought-ridden land, as well as the evil "Mushrooms", and found their way to this valley. Now their past is all but forgotten. The townspeople of Slipper-on-the-Water live comfortable, complacent, and mostly conformist lives. They remember the centuries-past exploits of the great Fooley, who took a balloon over the mountains to their old land, and returned with some relics. Fooley's descendants, the Periods (called so for a cute reason I'll not reveal), are the leaders of the town. Everybody wears green cloaks, and paints their doors green, except for a few outcasts, called "them".

The main character is Muggles, a woman who runs the local museum (mostly housing artifacts Fooley brought with him from over the mountains). She is dangerously close to being one of "them", because though she wears a green cloak she sometimes belts it with an orange sash. As the story proper opens she notices something strange happening in the nearby mountains, and two of "them", the idler and poet Gummy, and the historian Walter the Earl, seem to be involved. Muggles is drawn closer and closer to "them" as the rest of the town, led by the Periods, whips itself into paroxysms of ultraconformity, in an attempt to win the "Gammage Cup". Finally Muggles and her friends are outlawed, even as they become convinced that the whole valley could be in great danger from over (or through) the mountains.

Naturally the outlaws save the day in the end, leading the fight against the menace from the desolate lands outside the valley. The story is throughout pleasantly and cleverly told, and the characters, particularly Muggles and her friends, are well-depicted. It is very tempting to try to think of the book in allegorical terms, not necessarily to its benefit. Read in this way, the book is clearly a warning against 1950s conformist tendencies. It's also a warning against the threat from "outside the valley", and this is one way the book falls down. This threat is seen as completely unhuman, and worthy simply of killing. In the context of the book this is no doubt the only option, but it made me feel a bit queasy.

The Gammage Cup is certainly a very enjoyable book to read. The witty word play is perhaps the most enjoyable aspect. But it falls some way short of excellence. I'm glad to have it still in print, but it stands at best in the second rank of the great children's fantasies.

Rating:
Summary: A cozy, bold, welcoming story
Review: Carol Kendall once said, "Children are a marvelous audience . . . they remember what they have read! Sometimes they remember it all their lives!" Adults who read The Gammage Cup as children will probably agree. The book is memorable because it's about self-discovery as well as external adventure and because the five outcasts from the conformist society of Slipper-on-the-Water are all appealing in different ways: Walter the Earl (the scholar), Curley Green (the artist), Gummy (the poet), Mingy (the curmudgeon), and Muggles, the average Minnipin who finds the rebel within. When they turn out to be the only defenders of the Land between the Mountains from an impending invasion of cannibalistic Mushrooms, they prove themselves to be spiritual descendants of Fooley the Magnificent, the Minnipin who hundreds of years earlier ventured in a balloon out of the valley into the Land Beyond the Mountains. Among the souvenirs Fooley brought back with him from the outside world -- our world -- was an odd list of abbreviations, including Ltd., Co., Bros., Geo., that his literal descendants, who call themselves the Periods, took as their own names, making up pronunciations for these exotic words -- Litted, Coe, Bross, Gee-oh. The conceit will please young readers who themselves may be at the age where such abbreviations in the grown-up world puzzle and amuse them. It is also revealing to discover that Fooley was himself originally an outcast like the five adventurers, mythologized into an acceptable kind of hero by his dull descendants. The world that Kendall creates in this book is a kind of pre-industrial village society -- beautifully depicted in Erik Blegvad's drawings, which include a map of the valley and a bird's-eye view of Slipper-on-the-Water with houses and other buildings labeled. If there is such a thing as a cozy adventure, this is it. After all, the five outcasts don't even venture far from home, only into the mountains that surround their isolated valley, though even that is unknown territory to most Minnipins and fraught with real danger. The story is sure to appeal to imaginative children in the target age range of 9-12 not only because of its sympathetic characters but because its unobtrusive lesson about individuality is just what preteens are beginning to struggle with in their own lives. And it's so well written that adults will enjoy it, too.

Rating:
Summary: A Book For The Ageless
Review: How rare indeed to find a book to be enjoyed throughout a lifetime-- and worthy for many more! I first read this book when I was 12... I am now 18, and believe me, I've read loads of fantasy, but the Gammage Cup has a sparkle and a wit to stay brilliant and fresh with each new reading, out loud or to self. I have read this book aloud about ten times, and it is fascinating to me how every person interperets something different between it's fluid pages. For me, I think that the simple fact that it covers so many facets, is the very reason it holds me so. Carol Kendall allows me to become every character in the book, to rise and fall with their life's undulations, to breath as Muggles, to walk as Gummy, to feel the steady heart of Walter the Earl. And yet, though there are steariotypes to be seen at first glance, beneath those verbal exteriors lie real people, so real that you get to know them better and better with each reading. Indeed, on the surface you will see a charming story with colorful characters, an exciting plot, bouncing rhythm. But to chip at this jewel is to uncover a deeper self, endless allusions to all facets of life, an unplumbed sea of rhythmic words. It is a book about discovering one's self and standing firm for something-- of loyalty and friendship, of various personality. From maxims to bursting verse, it speaks with the depth of a chess master-- Truly, a book for the ageless.

Rating:
Summary: The gammage cup good book
Review: I remember reading this book in elementary school. I read it so many times that it lingered in the back of my mind all through high school and into adulthood.
When my girls were what I thought old enough for me to read the book to them, I went out and found the book and bought it.
As I was surfing through the vast array of books, here it was again, the Muggles, with all their differences, colored front doors and curiousity for things not on the straight and narrow, words that didn't follow the rules set out by the high ranking Periods. The book always pulled at me, causing me to see that each of us are different and we need to celebrate these differences, because after all, that is what makes our world so unique.
Purchase the book, check it out from your local library, if they don't carry the book, make them purchase it. Read it yourself and float back to those lazy adolesence days, read it to your children and bask in their joy of a new adventure and remember when you too were in awe of the simple joy of a well written story.

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Book...
Review: I'm 43 now and first read the Gammage Cup 35 years ago for a summer reading club. I just read the book to my pre-teen daughters, who loved it as much as I did. It's a wonderful book.

The story, written in the depths of the Cold War, explores how several colorful characters are banished from an isolated, close-knit community when their nonconformity is viewed as a threat to the established order. Their patriotism becomes evident to their fellow townspeople when they save their valley from savage invaders (who happen to resemble Nikita Khrushchev).

I'm glad to see the Gammage Cup is back in print, and I hope they make a (good) movie out of it!

Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: The Gammage Cup is a great book. It is about 5 mis-fits, Gummy, Curly Green, Walter the Earl, Mingy, and Muggles. The characters come to life under Kendall's pencil. The plot twists and turns continually, keeping you on your toes and paying attention. Anyone who likes adventure should read this.

Rating:
Summary: The gammage cup good book
Review: The Gammage Cup

I like the Gammage Cup. It's about a group of people sent away from their village for being different. I like the Ending but the start was not that great but it was still interesting. The characters were pretty interesting. They have strange names and habits. In the book there is one cool war scene. But the book is not all about war; there is only one scene of war and the other scenes have cool things in it you have to read it to find out. I GIVE THIS BOOK 4 OUT OF 5 STARS. This Book is great and I hope you like it.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: This is a superb example of fine fantasy, and one of those "children's" books which adults will thoroughly enjoy. The story of the "misfits" who save their village is well-written, with many very clever and charming observations and turns of phrase (e.g., "When you say what you think, be sure to think what you say."). The characters are very appealing, and the story is quite moving. Read it--you'll love it!

Rating:
Summary: Wow! Kendall hits a homer!
Review: This was a nice, easy read. The story is a charming story - and apparently the second book THE WHISPER OF GLOCKEN expands on the Minnipins. Muggles (which in the Harry Potter books is the name used to described ordinary, non-magical folks) was by far my favorite character.
The idea of a lost history, the conventionality of the Minnipin people with a dislike for individual expression is a great lesson for a young reader, all appealed to me. The story was a little scant in areas where details might have been interesting. What did the scrolls actually say? This was glossed over and then there were several places that it was assumed the reader had read the scrolls also.
The maxims and poems peppered throughout the story were a nice touch. Did anyone else notice a "fish" theme to a lot of the Minnipin expressions - they referenced many of their expressions to trout, fish, water, fins & tails, turtles. I liked how they referred to themselves as "the five outlaws." Wild West. Sassafras tea and watercress. Nice touches. The Family Tree.
Walter the Earl carries and ashplant with him everywhere. I figure that must be a staff of ashwood or some sorts. It's not in my dictionary anywhere. I enjoyed the book - but had to keep certain things in perspective.
I have a big liking for certain authors - L. Frank Baum's OZ series, C.S. Lewis's Narnia books. Alan Garner, Susan Cooper - magic and myth children's stories. And even now, the Harry Potter books have caught my attention.
THE GAMMAGE CUP was first published in 1959 - after C.S. Lewis - but before many of my favorites mentioned above. So, as I read the book, I had to stop comparing it to many of my favorites and give the author some room.
Altogether, 4 out of 5.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome Book
Review: When I saw this book on someone's favorites list and i checked it out, I nearly cried because I have been looking for this book since I was really little. I read it then after I checked it out from the local library and i didnt finish it, This would have been no problem, except I forgot the title and authour, all i remembered was that there were minpins and something about muggle in it. I dont know if the rest of you have noticed, but there seem to be an awful lot of books with minpins and muggles in them. This is the coolest chldrens book. I would highly recomend it, I have completely outgrown it since the last time i read it was 12 yeas ago, but it is still a way cool book.