Miracles on Maple Hill

Written by Virginia Sorensen in 1956 and illustrated by Beth and Joe Krush, Miracles on Maple Hill is a children’s novel that traces one year in the life of 10-year-old Marly and her family as they move from the bustling city of Pittsburg to the idyllic peace of a cottage in the woods near Maple Hill. Marly hopes that moving to Maple Hill will be a miracle cure for her father’s lingering depression and anxiety from being a prisoner of war in World War II. While living at Maple Hill, Marly develops an intense love of the natural world and learns that the real miracles in life come when humans show kindness and empathy toward one another.

As a former resident of Utah and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Sorensen began her working life as a journalist before publishing her first novel in 1942. She became a part of what was known as the “Lost Generation” of writers who transitioned from writing material used only within this religious community to creating books for a broader audience. The events and characters of Miracles on Maple Hill are inspired by Sorensen’s time living in Eerie, Pennsylvania; the novel won the Newberry Medal in 1957.

The source material used to create this guide comes from the 1956 Harcourt and Brace ePub edition.

Plot Summary

Marly, her parents, and her older brother, Joe, travel from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to a country house in the small town of Maple Hill. Marly has never seen the home, but her mother, Lee, often shares her memories of spending summers at the cottage with her grandmother, so Marly feels like she already knows it well. Because Marly’s father, Dale, was a prisoner of war in World War II, he suffers from post-traumatic stress and endures bouts of depression. Living in the noisy city is not good for his mental state, so he is moving to the cottage full-time, and the rest of the family will visit him on weekends and in the summer. When they arrive at Maple Hill, it is still covered with snow, but the scenery enchants Marly, and she can’t wait for all the snowy adventures to come. Their car becomes stuck in the snow, and Marly must walk up the hill to a family friend’s home for help. She meets Mr. Chris, who knew Lee’s Grandma, and although he is a large man, his warm, affable demeanor immediately charms Marly. He uses his tractor to pull the car from the snow, and the entire family goes to Chris’s home, where Mrs. Chris, called Chrissie, prepares them a welcoming meal and offers to help clean the cottage, which has been empty for a long time. Dale, who is still uncomfortable being around large crowds, is anxious to get to the cottage, so they eat quickly and leave.

When they first see the cottage, no one is impressed, as it is a bit shabby and run-down with neglect. However, once they go inside, memories flood Lee’s heart and mind, and Marly feels like she is in a place she already knows well. They set to scrubbing off the grime of years of disuse and assessing what supplies are available. Marly discovers a nest of baby mice and begs to keep them as pets, but her parents refuse, and Joe burns the nest in the stove. Marly is a sensitive child, particularly when it comes to animals, and she sobs over the dead mice. Later they visit Mr. Chris in his sugar camp where he boils down the maple tree sap, and he shares that he loves the mice that live in the shack and says he never uses mouse traps, a fact that endears Marly to him even more. Marly and her family are amazed at the sap collection process and sit in wonderment as Mr. Chris turns the clear sap into sweet, amber syrup. Marly thinks the syrup-making process is a miracle, and Mr. Chris promises that each time she visits, he will show her a new miracle. Mr. Chris is a hard worker, especially during sugar season, but Chrissie worries about his heart health and says that it is important for him not to overexert himself.

Each weekend when Marly, Joe, and Mother visit the cottage, they can tell that Daddy is improving. He immerses himself in repair projects and plants a garden. Marly hoped that living at Maple Hill would be a miracle for him, and so far, it’s proving true. As spring blooms, Mr. Chris teaches Marly about every flower and plant that grows in their environment. Although Joe goes out each day on long explorations through the woods by himself, Marly isn’t quite brave enough to venture out alone yet. However, she longs to join her brother in his adventures. One day she decides to try and becomes stuck in the mud near the cow pasture. The cows frighten her at first, but she soon learns that they are harmless. She also saves the cows from eating a plant that might have poisoned them. The incident inspires courage in Marly and marks a turning point in her coming-of-age journey. Meanwhile, Joe meets a reclusive man named Harry who lives near the water and raises goats. The two form a bond, and Harry teaches Joe about cheese-making and wood crafting. However, Harry carries the pungent smell of goats with him, and Mother doesn’t like him being in their home.

The children and Mother move to Maple Hill for the summer, and everything is bursting with color and life. The children spend most of their days gathering berries and harvesting the garden so that Mother will be able to can enough food for the winter. Joe spends a lot of time with Harry, who is teaching him to make a fence from twisted tree limbs. Mr. Chris enjoys spending time with the children all summer but wishes they could stay all year. As the summer winds down, Mother begins to pack their belongings, but Daddy suggests that everyone stay on for the year. They worry that Joe won’t want to leave the city and attend the small, country school. However, when the family holds a meeting and lists the positives and negatives of staying at Maple Hill, it is clear that they are meant to stay. Joe silently agrees but disappears into the woods. Marly later finds him at Harry’s home and learns that Harry is giving Joe two goats and is giving her chickens. The Chrises are overjoyed that the family is staying, and they make plans for all the fun adventures they will have during the winter.

Fall arrives and then winter, and the family enjoys the first snowfall. Harry usually spends the winters in town at a nursing home, but one day when he returns home to check on his cheese, he slips on the ice and falls. Joe happens to find him and helps him to the safety of the house before he freezes. Harry recovers at the Chris’s home, but Joe wants him to stay with them for Christmas. Mother refuses at first due to his odor, but Daddy reminds her that when he was a prisoner of war, he had lice and stank, but people still helped him. Marly is proud that Joe is her brother and sees Harry staying with them for Christmas as a miracle.

When the sugaring season arrives, Mr. Chris sees that it will be a historic sap run and works tirelessly to harvest his crop while also helping Dale and Lee with their first sap run. However, he pushes himself too hard and ends up in the hospital due to his heart condition. Marly and her family complete Mr. Chris’s sugaring season in his absence, working day and night alongside his hired man, Fritz, to complete the job. Marly and Joe even stay home from school to help. When the school truancy officer, Miss Annie, comes to investigate the children’s absence, she becomes enthralled in the sugar-making process and sends children from the school to help Marly’s family complete the job. When spring arrives, Mr. Chris is well enough for visitors. Marly takes him the first blooming flower of the season, and he samples the syrup they made and declares it all a miracle.