Grandma’s Attic Treasury by Arleta Richardson

Grandma’s Attic Treasury is a classic, heartwarming series that recounts life in simpler times. Grandma Mabel recalls growing up in Michigan on a farm in the 1800s. As she tells these tales to her granddaughter, Grandma Mabel includes a moral lesson. These lessons are often Biblically-based, and serve to equip her granddaughter and the reader as they encounter the same challenges in their own lives.

Reading Level: Ages 7-12
Read Aloud Age: 6+

I enjoyed this series! The stories are funny, entertaining, and could be used as stand-alones. The stories are rich with history showing how people lived prior to running water and electricity. I appreciated how Scripture was often quoted or woven to teach Mabel a moral lesson. Most of the time, Scripture and Biblical concepts were used rightly, which was refreshing in the world of Christian fiction. For example, Mabel learns to pray for God’s will instead of demanding what she wants, her pride is often humbled, and Ma clearly lives a life of not worrying about tomorrow as God will provide what He deems they need. It is worth mentioning that the first three books depict Mabel as a young girl, while the last book depicts Mabel as 13 years old. That changes some of the content (“Book 4 only” noted below).

Mabel engages in mischief at the beginning of every story prior to learning the lesson. This often includes lying, deception, stealing, sneaking, etc. If you have a child who struggles with a certain sin issue, you may want to pre-read the chapter to see if that will aid your child. Mabel and her brother, Roy, engage in a lot of sibling squabbles in all four books. There are put downs that some may not want their child to copy. As far as theology, prayer is misrepresented a couple of times. One instance is when Mabel is told to pray for her enemies. She learns, “if you pray for them, they turn into friends!” Another prayer is that God would help Mabel be a “good child.” Ma states that Mabel is a child of God, but Mabel is never seen repenting of sin (she confesses to her parents/those she’s wronged) or personally being in relationship with God. Her conscience is pricked quite often, but without her own profession of faith, oftentimes she resolves to “be better” or “do more good,” in her own strength. This seems hollow and
legalistic.

With that in mind, some could critique the book for being didactic in a negative sense. For instance, one of the moral lessons was being careless at the table. The response for accidently spilling milk was, “There goes the tablecloth again. When are you going to learn to keep your mind on what you’re doing?” By the end of that story, Mabel says, “I was certainly a trial to my family while I was growing up.” Mabel’s family was also rigid in their view of Sunday, not allowing the day to be used for anything other than worship and rest (no birthday parties). All in all, these are uplifting tales that do a great job describing a time of the past while instructing in timeless, character lessons.

Language:
General Usage: Dumb, Fool, Stupid, For Goodness’ Sake!, Indian, “I’ll die!” (when Mabel doesn’t get what she wants; Book 4 only); luck/lucky/fortune attributed to good things
Name-calling: Old Bossy, Crazy, Dumb, Fool, Stupid, Baby, Mean, Slop-Tot, Your Highness, Miss Priss, Little Infant, Mean, Foolish Girl

Questionable Behaviors:
Girl Put Downs
Roy makes many put down comments to Mabel, due to her being a girl.
Examples include (not limited to): “That’s just like a girl. She would have done something silly so people would notice her.” “Useless girls.” “Girls! They don’t even know which way is which!” “You’re still a baby. And besides, you’re just a girl!”
Pa says to Ma, “Maybe you know something about girls I don’t know.”
Warren states, “God gave me my brain to use, but I suppose you girls need all the help you can get.” (in relation to girls needing to pray more) By the end of the story, he changes his mind about Mabel and says, “You really are alright, for girl.”
Mabel and Sarah Jane share a lot of sarcastic banter (Book 4 only)
Roy often engages in sibling squabbles with Mabel. These include name calling and put downs to Mabel’s intelligence and abilities. Sometimes, their arguments lead to Mabel to hit Roy or get back at him in other ways.
Mabel and Sarah Jane see a Fortune Teller who tells fortunes by interpreting
lines on hands (Book 4 only)
Wesley is overweight and says, “Pa says if I were a pig, I’d be his prized moneymaker.” He accidentally knocks over Sarah Jane. For revenge, she determines Wesley should lose weight. She secretly begins to take items out of his lunch pail, so he will slim down and lose weight. She also buttons his large-sized overall straps to his chair so he can’t get up, in order to embarrass him for his size. (Book 4 only)

Other Things to Note:
Old Fashioned Discipline:
Strapping, Hiding, Tanning, Whipping, Spanking (talked about but never administered)
“Tough Love” Comments from Ma to Mabel (not limited to):
“You ought to be ashamed of yourself.”
“I declare, I don’t know what possesses you to be so thoughtless…I hope you grow up to have a little sense.”
“Do you suppose you can ring the dinner bell without doing something foolish?”
“Mabel, go take off that sunbonnet. You look ridiculous.”
Painting the barn, “won’t be any job for a little girl. Patience certainly isn’t one of your virtues, is it?”
“I hope you don’t disgrace yourself.”

Beauty Misnomer
In Book 4, there is a story about Mabel trying to become more beautiful. Being good and having outward-beauty are pitted against each other, and Mabel thinks they are mutually exclusive. When she asks Ma, Ma implies Mabel should work on being better (not blessed in the looks department). Mabel tries to do good works to become more beautiful. The lesson learned is if outwardly-beautiful people are not “good,” their beauty is a waste.

Sexual Content:
Mary notices Roy is good-looking. She wants to befriend Mabel to get closer to him. She asks if Roy has a girlfriend, and Mary tries to make boys notice her.

This review is written by Good Book Mom contributor, Emily. To learn more about Emily, click HERE.

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