Part of our 1930s Depression Era study. A little gem of a novel giving a particular slice of the early 1930s. A loving family and a quirky dad (mom has passed away) on hard times that finds a bit of solace and community in a new place.

4.5 stars for this uniquely sweet family story

Winter Cottage celebrates the joys of togetherness that can come to pass when people, gathered out of genuine need, treat each other with human kindness and care.

The main characters–Pop and his girls, Minty and Eggs–display a spirit of ingenuity that stands in optimistic defiance to any hardships they encounter. Minty sums this up by saying, “What a lot of fun you could have…if you made unimportant things seem important and went about them with enthusiasm.”

Amid our screen-drenched culture, Winter Cottage takes us back to the simple life that people today still find appealing and romanticizes a challenging time in American history when the loss of economic security for many families meant that access to nourishing food, comfortable shelter, and good company were events to be celebrated.

Pluses: the same homey details and light humour as Baby Island and Caddie Woodlawn.

Minuses: the whole part in the middle about the Indian village and the nuns. Problematic in the same ways as the scalp belt episode in Caddie Woodlawn. There was also a rude bit about "deaf and dumb."

Overall: I think there are better books for children to read.

This was a fun, comfortable story about a family facing hard times during the great depression, the luck they stumble into, the luck they make for themselves, and the means by which people can make even very little into a very large blessing with the right kind of attitude. While the family in this story faced poverty on an economic level, and occasional depression over that poverty was felt by both older sister Minty and the father "Pop," their poverty never descended to the spiritual level, and they made every possible effort to keep a good (if frustrated at times) attitude about life. I'm looking forward to picking up more books by Carol Ryrie Brink.

Charming story of a family trying to survive the depression of the 30's in my beloved Northwoods Wisconsin! Yes Jim, I know its marked adolescent. So what? I like everything.

If you are looking for cozy: make hot chocolate and read this delightful book.

In 1930, a head-in-the-clouds widower — who quotes Wordsworth, Browning, Homer, Nash, and Shakespeare but has few practical skills — and his two daughters are stranded in northern Wisconsin near a vacant vacation cottage on a lake. Out of options, they "rent" the cottage without permission, planning to put money (that they don't have) on the kitchen table when they leave in the spring. The older daughter, Minty, is the only one who seems capable of discipline, thinking ahead, and practical wisdom. Minty is a 13 year-old version of Anne Elliot from Persuasion.

Snow flurries blow more marooned travelers into the cottage, the household expands, they devour Pop's delicious pancakes, and make the kind of home entertainment you'd find in Little Women.

Fermin Rocker's illustrations are excellent.

Thank you to Carrie Reading to Know for her review. I checked all my usual sources (library, Paperbackswap, Libby, Hoopla) for this 1939 novel. A recent reprint starts at $20 at several online bookstores. Happily, I found it at archive.org where one borrows books by the hour (renewable). I'm not a fan of reading from a screen, but this was definitely worth it.

I love winter. This was such a cozy read - Wisconsin setting, too

Simply timeless and sweet!

“What a lot of fun you could have if you made unimportant things seem important and went about them with enthusiasm.”
― Carol Ryrie Brink, Winter Cottage

Charming characters and a very sweet story

This was a dear story - a children's book actually but I found it a delightful change of pace. The illustrations were well done as well. Minty is wiser than her sixteen years and is the mother figure for her younger sister, and handles Pop, who is a bit of a dreamer, quite well.