Rockland author gives children glimpses into history

BARN, written and illustrated by Debby Atwell, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1996, hardcover, 32 pages, $15.95.

RIVER, written and illustrated by Debby Atwell, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1999, hardcover, 32 pages, $16.

“Mom, did they have television when you were a kid?”

“Dad, did you used to have a pet dinosaur?”

The answers to questions like these seem glaringly obvious to us. But they aren’t at all obvious to young children struggling to make sense of that vast period of time before they were born. How do we help them acquire that sense of continuity and change that marks our time perception? Two gentle books by Rockland’s Debby Atwell are a good way to start.

The building celebrated in “Barn” was raised by a community after the Revolutionary War. The land it was built on was in transition from its Indian name, Winnacunnet or “the pine trees are having a good laugh,” to its English name, Hampton. The barn’s creation, as evident in a picture with a feast being laid out, was a major social event for the workers.

At first the barn, which narrates its own tale, was owned by generations of the same family: “Life was all around me: babies growing, corn ripening, leaves turning, snow falling.”

But then, a Great Depression bankruptcy led to a new owner who converted the barn into an antique store. Later, after it had been wired for electricity, squirrels chewed on some the wires and caused a major fire. But that was not the end of the story.

The barn was one that actually belonged to Atwell’s grandmother and was sold when she died. Although Atwell never completely recovered from the loss, she found that researching and writing its history was a chance to relive happy times.

“I allowed certain places in my heart to take center stage,” she said during a recent interview.

In the distant past, the body of water celebrated in “River” was unspoiled. The first painting of the book shows a magnificent buck silhouetted against a sunrise reflected in its pristine waters. American Indians and the first white settlers lived in harmony with it.

But in later years, the transition from settlement to small town to manufacturing center took a heavy toll on the river. The fish and animals disappeared and the water became polluted.

Fortunately, people began to take steps to restore the river. And in the final painting the river is clean and beautiful again.

Atwell was inspired to write “River” by a historical event.

“It’s really about the St. George River and the efforts of people to clean it up,” she said. “That river was completely dead. I’ll never forget the day I went on a boat ride and saw fish.”

Atwell’s beautifully textured paintings are the perfect accompaniment to her warm and intimate narrative style. Both provide a message of comfort and hope for young readers. “I want to help give children a sense of the world as a safe place. I want them to know that even when bad stuff happens it can be turned around.”

In addition to being thoroughly satisfying family reads, Atwell’s lovely books can serve as springboards and inspiration. What are the places in your area and how did they evolve? Old diaries, photo albums and taped interviews with elderly relatives can make a family home come to life. A church, a school, a favorite picnic spot, or an amusement park can be the arena for family detective work.

Atwell spends lots of time at the library researching her books. Old magazines and newspapers in your library can be treasures for family researchers. Ads for household goods, fashion illustrations, old pictures of local sites that can be visited, or old-time recipes that can be tried at home can help give children a feel for life in the past.