WISHING FOR TOMORROW- Hilary McKay

Mckay, Hilary. 2009. WISHING FOR TOMORROW; THE SEQUEL TO A LITTLE PRINCESS. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN -13-978-1-44240-169-3
Summary
After Hilary McKay read A LITTLE PRINCESS by Frances Hodgson Burnett she wondered “what happened next?” and years later her daughter asked the same question. The sequel tries to answer the question of what happened to Ermengarde, Lottie, Lavinia and the rest of the girls that were left at Miss Minchin’s Select Seminary for Young Ladies after Sara left. The story takes the reader through the heartbreak Ermengarde felt losing her best friend and the responsibility of looking after Lottie. It was friendship and determination that helped the girls of Miss Minchin’s go on with their daily lives and hope for better tomorrow. For Ermengarde that friendship included a rat named Melchisedec and a cat named Bosco. Lavinia is finds a way to further her education and sees this as her way out of the “trap” of the girls school. With the help of the new neighbors she secretly finds the answers she is looking for in education. The girl’s lives are not especially happy in the Minchin’s house but together they survive. In the end their ability to work together and use the little known secrets of the house the girls were able to escape the fire. With the end of Miss Minchin’s Select Seminary for Young Ladies; new beginnings happened for all from Miss Minchin’s. I have not read the original novel but did not need to, to enjoy the sequel.
Analysis
The setting of Wishing for Tomorrow was established in the original novel A Little Princess and takes place in Miss Minchin’s Select Seminary for Young Ladies in London, England. The description of the row house that became the school and the square with its trees and cobbled streets as depicted in the black and white illustrations help the reader establish the setting, both time period and location. McKay continues the historical aspect of the novel when Lottie describes The Tower of London seen on a post card and again as Ermengarde is going to the Duke of York Theatre.
McKay continued using a variety of words and events that reinforce the time period of the original novel. The characters were young girls that were “detached” from their families. They would spend their days with school work and their free time was spent doing needlework and writing to their families. Lottie would take the “post” and go through the “scullery maid’s” window. Later Lottie would help Alice, the scullery maid clean the steps with “a donkey stone” and split the coal and then have “mutton fat” rubbed into her hands. McKay continued using a variety of words and events that reinforce the time period of the original novel.
Wishing for Tomorrow was written a hundred years after the original but maintains the historical aspect throughout the story. Never having read the original I appreciated the author revisiting the characters in the first few chapters and providing the background of the characters. I was able to understand how the departure had affected the others in the house. McKay was able to capture the old fashion ways while eliciting emotions about friendship, ambition and empathy for others.
Awards/ Reviews
Booklist 12/15/09 Library Media Connection 08/01/10
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books 02/01/10
Horn Book 01/01/10
Kirkus Review starred 12/01/09
Booklist (December 15, 2009 (Vol. 106, No. 8))
Grades 3-6. For many readers, Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic novel A Little Princess remains a perfect story a century after it was first published. But as McKay points out in her introduction to this original sequel, Burnett’s ending leaves the reader right where he (or, most likely, she) started: back at Miss Minchin’s Select Seminary, a grim boarding school in early-twentieth-century London, without Sara, the rags-to-riches star of the novel. McKay’s offering, which begins shortly before Sara leaves, lacks the original novel’s exciting trajectory and focuses instead on creating back stories for Burnett’s characters. Here, snotty Lavinia is actually a young feminist who dreams of attending Oxford; tenderhearted, dull-witted Ermengarde discovers that she is brave and imaginative; and irrepressible young wild child Lottie turns out to be the unlikely voice of reason. Readers new to the story may struggle to make connections between characters and events, but with her trademark blend of sly comedy and emotional insights, McKay captures the enchanting, old-fashioned mood of the original while adding some timeless truths about friendship, female ambition, and children’s resilience.


Horn Book (January/February, 2010)
"This is the story of what happened next, after Sara went away." In this "sequel" to Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess, McKay makes a valiant effort to color within the lines, to set her book in the same moral universe as Burnett's -- where Miss Minchin is unequivocally detestable and Sara Crewe a paragon of goodness and quality. It takes a while for McKay to get her bearings, as the first few chapters waffle between recapping the events of A Little Princess (from the formerly disdained Ermengarde's point of view) and moving the new story forward.


Kirkus Review starred (December 1, 2009)
Sequels to beloved classics penned by contemporary authors have at best a mixed track record, and the author of the quirky Casson family novels makes an unlikely successor to Frances Hodgson Burnett. As such, this slyly engaging follow-up to A Little Princess is a welcome surprise. The result is storytelling magic. (Historical fiction. 8-12)


School Library Journal (March 1, 2010)
Gr 4-7-One hundred years after the publication of Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess, this welcome sequel opens with a quick, smooth retelling of the original story, then launches into the new one as Sara Crewe and erstwhile scullery maid Becky leave the Select Seminary for Young Ladies. …McKay has skillfully captured and enhanced the flavor of the original with her droll style and spot-on characterization; despite the insipid title, her lively, absorbing storytelling has left melodrama behind. Her blending of the hilarious with the grave (the fire is truly terrifying) is fast paced and pitch-perfect for the modern reader. With this worthy sequel, McKay has given the classic story new life. Pen-and-ink single- and double-page sketches, reminiscent of the work of Quentin Blake, add a light visual touch to this delightful novel.-Marie Orlando, North Shore Public Library, Shoreham, NY Copyright 2010 Reed Business Information.

Connections
Suggested Readings:
Hale, Shannon. 2005. PRINCESS ACADEMY. New York: Scholastic. ISBN: 13978043988110
This is another book about the strength of girls in adverse conditions.
There are many Fairy tale books that have sequels written that tell what happened next and are good examples of perspective. I have listed two as examples and many titles are available through a variety of websites that have booklists.
Scieska, Jon. 1989. THE TRUE STORY OF THE 3 LITTLE PIGS. New York: Viking. ISBN13-978-0-670-82759-6
Triviza, Eugene. 1993. THE THREE LITTLE WOLVES and the BIG BAD PIG. New York: Simon & Schuster
Writing Activity:
Have students look at the story from the different characters perspective.
Using this book or a book of their choice write from the perspective of one of the characters what happened next.
This concept of perspective can generate many discussions that will allow students to see how events are influenced by the reader or writer’s perspective.
The historical landmarks of the Tower of London and Duke of York Theatre mentioned in the story make a great start to researching those two landmarks.
The following website has the history of the Tower of London and that can lead to learning more about castles.
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/medieval/architecture/towerlondon.htm has easy to read information about the Tower of London and suggests additional books about castles.
The site also has a suggestion on how to build a castle that is interesting.