Thimble Summer

Thimble Summer is a 1938 children’s novel by American author Elizabeth Enright. The story follows a summer in the life of Garnet Linden, a young girl living with her family on a farm in Wisconsin during the Great Depression. Enright explores rural life in the 1930s, highlighting the importance of hope, resilience in the face of hardship, and the vibrancy of childhood imagination. 

Elizabeth Enright was an author of children’s books and short stories, an illustrator, critic, and creative writing teacher. Thimble Summer won the 1939 Newbery Medal. Her children’s novels The Saturdays (1941), The Four Story Mistake (1942), and Gone Away Lake are ranked in the top 100 children’s novels by School Library Journal. 

This guide is based on the 2015 e-book edition by Square Fish. 

Plot Summary

Garnet Linden is a nine-year-old girl living on a Wisconsin farm during the Great Depression. It is summer, and Garnet lingers in the yard, feeling hot and exasperated about the perpetual draught. She and her friend Citronella Hauser go to pick up the mail. Garnet finds many bills in the mailbox and thinks about her father’s despair. Back home, she tends to the pigs; her favorite is a little one, which she names Timmy. 

In the evening, she and her older brother Jay go to the lake as usual. They swim and explore the banks on a raft. Both kids dislike farm work and dream of traveling. Garnet discovers a silver thimble and thinks it is magical. During the night, she is sleepless, having a strange feeling. A while after, rain falls, offering them hope for the year’s harvest. 

Garnet spends a day at Citronella’s house, listening to her great-grandmother’s stories. Later, her father announces they are going to build a new barn with money from the government. 

Garnet is excited to join her father, their good neighbor Mr. Freebody, and the Hauser boys in the woods where they burn lime in a kiln. She feels great spending her first night outside the house. Soon, though, a 13-year-old boy emerges from the woods. His name is Eric, and he has been wandering alone for months. Eric lost his parents and hitchhiked around many states doing various jobs. Mr. Linden offers to hire him on their farm, and Garnet is curious and excited about her new brother. Her mother also welcomes Eric without question, making her feel safe in a loving family. 

Eric is an expert at farm work. He bonds with Jay while Garnet spends more time with Citronella in an oak tree house Eric built. Garnet feels bored and wants to hear stories. Citronella thinks of a common story about a lady and a prince who live happily ever after, but Garnet longs for adventure stories. She suggests they go to the library. Mr. Freebody drives them to town, and the girls spend hours reading.

Before realizing, they are locked in for the night. Excited and terrified, they want to spend the whole night in as an adventure, but they also worry they might starve. Time passes as they yell and pound the windows to no avail, and they fall asleep. However, people gather soon, and the librarian unlocks them. Mr. Freebody comes to their rescue again and buys them food without chastising them. The girls are still excited about their night. 

Throughout August, Garnet stays home and helps with the farm work. One day, though, she mishandles the wheel of the truck, and straw falls over her. Jay scolds her, and Garnet runs away heartbroken.

Garnet decides to go to New Conniston, a bigger town. She hitchhikes, and a friendly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Zangl, drive her to Hodgeville. The man informs her about the New Conniston fair, where beautiful animals often win prizes. After arriving at Hodgeville, Garnet boards a bus to New Conniston. Because she is the only remaining passenger at the last stop, the driver speeds up and excites her. At New Conniston, Garnet wanders around the town, fascinated by the noises. She buys presents for her family, but her money runs out before she can buy a present for Eric. She begins feeling tired, and she can only hitchhike to return home. 

A truck carrying chickens stops to pick Garnet up. Before long, a crate breaks, and the chickens fall on the road. Garnet helps the driver gather them. A black hen flies high on a store sign, but Garnet gets up on a ladder and catches it. The driver admires her skills and gives her the hen as a present. On the way home, he also talks to her about the New Conniston fair, and Garnet decides not to miss it.

When she arrives in town, though, Mr. Freebody is angry with her. He explains that since she was little, he has always saved her from trouble. Her parents did not suspect anything about her escape, but he was worried that something might have happened to her. She feels bad and apologizes. At home, she reunites with Jay and Eric, and they head to town for a stroll. 

In early September, Garnet and her family attend the New Conniston fair. Garnet has trained Timmy, her favorite pig, hoping to win the prize. At the fair, she wanders around with Citronella, observing the animals, the tents, and the food. They also come across Mrs. and Mr. Zangl. Later, they ride the Ferris wheel. However, after a technical issue, it stops turning, and Garnet worries she might miss the contest. When the operator fixes the wheel, Garnet and Citronella run. They find Mr. Freebody, who says the judges have passed. Garnet sees a blue ribbon on Timmy, realizing they won. She thanks Mr. Freebody for saving her again. With her prize money, she plans to buy Christmas presents for her family or help her father with the bills. They all pass the night at the fair, with Garnet feeling it is a magical world. 

In the end, Garnet feels completely happy. Eric has decided to stay with her family and work to save money. One day, he dreams of buying his own farm in the valley. Jay initially disapproves, saying that farming is all trouble and not at all exciting. When Eric says Jay knows nothing about trouble, Jay reconsiders and says that, after traveling the world, he would like to return to the farm. 

Garnet shows the boys her silver thimble and says it is magic. Since she found it, all the good things happened. She decides to name the past summer “thimble summer.” As the novel ends, she continues playing happily in the yard.