The Bounce family consists of four siblings: Matthew (14), Markia (12), Luke (10), and Johanna, the baby of the family. As the book begins the Bounces are on their way to their uncle’s home in Cynthianna, Oregon. They have left, and sold, their own home in Rhode Island after the sudden death of their mother. With her death the Bounces are now orphans, and Uncle Seth is their only remaining relative (except a fifth cousin somewhere in Maine). But the Bounces are in for a surprise, indeed many surprises, when they arrive in Cynthianna. How will they fulfill their promise to their dying mother to keep the family together when it turns out that Uncle Seth is not there to help?

The story takes place in the late 1800’s, around 1870 or 1880, perhaps, but the book never divulges an exact date. The Bounces travel by ship from Rhode Island to Oregon and by stagecoach from the coast to Cynthianna. Cynthianna itself is a small town with small town values and prejudices, but the townspeople take the children in and provide for them until a relative and guardian can be found. Slowly over time, the Bounces become a part of the town family of Cynthianna, and when it’s time to leave, there are hard decisions to be made.

The town is full of “characters.” Doc Kinsey is self-taught, and he needs Luke to drive his horse and buggy because Doc tends to fall asleep on his rounds. Mrs. Weddle, who takes in Markia, is sharp-tongued and crochety, and it’s touch and go whether Markia will be able to get along with Mrs. Weddle and perform all the tasks that the older lady assigns. The other two Bounces, Matt and Johanna, are parceled out to other homes in town. Then there are the minor characters, Peaches Charley and Feng and the Widow Morrison. Peaches Charley is introduced:

“Standing in the middle of the kitchen floor, regarding them with dull, black, expressionless eyes, was an Indian. He wore a pair of ragged pants, a tattered old hat, and a dirty blanket which he clutched about his shoulders like a shawl. Rain trickled in small streams from the hat brim and dripped from the blanket to the clean planks or the kitchen floor.”

Peaches Charley and his fellow Native Americans who live near Cynthianna are seen through the eyes of the townspeople and characterized as lazy, beggarly, dirty, and also something of an oddity and a spectacle. And Feng, the “Chinaman” that Markia finds hiding in the barn loft, is also shown as a foreigner and a curiosity, although much cleaner than Peaches Charley. The counter-narrative to this characterization of non-whites in their midst is subtle: Peaches Charley becomes one of the heroes of the story when he finds a lost boy and bring him home. And Feng becomes an integral and respected part of the community of Cynthianna as he exercises his own gifts for service and homemaking. As the townspeople come to love and accept the Bounce family, they also, despite their prejudices, love and accept that Peaches Charley and Feng and the Widow Morrison, the recluse who lives alone and smokes a pipe and never participates in any community events, are also a part of the family, the community that is Cynthianna.

The Bounces of Cynthiann’ is an honest book. It doesn’t try to solve all of the problems of homelessness or prejudice or family tensions. It doesn’t try to show all sides of the issues that come up in the story. (I wonder how Peaches Charley and Feng thought about the white people in Cynthianna.) It just tells about some children and their absorption into a community full of quirky, imperfect people who somehow manage to get along and care for each other in spite of their imperfections. The book would make a really good read aloud, with lots of good discussion to be had about family and adoption and community and caring for strangers.

For more content considerations, check out the entry for this book at BIblioguides. If you are interested in learning more about Evelyn Sibley Lampman and her books, check out this podcast episode from Plumfield Moms. This book is available for check out to patrons of Meriadoc Homeschool Library.