Ellen Tebbits
Encyclopedia
Ellen Tebbits is a juvenile fiction
novel
written by Beverly Cleary
, her second book for kids and young adults. It was illustrated by Louis Darling
and was first published in 1951. Even though the story is set in the 1950s, Cleary's knack for creating stories that are relevant even today is very much visible.
and attends Rosemont School. The novel opens when Ellen heads to her dance class at the studio run by the mother of a classmate, Otis Spofford
, who is always teasing her. When she arrives, she goes to change in a broom closet so the other girls can't see her terrible secret - she's wearing woolen underwear. After class, she accidentally walks in on a new girl in class, Austine Allen, who's also wearing the dreaded underwear. Soon, the two become best friends. Other chapters in the book deal with Ellen's first-ever time going horseback riding, her efforts to bring a giant beet to school for show-and-tell, and Ellen and Austine's efforts to put up with Otis' antics.
During summer vacation, Ellen and Austine decide to dress as twins on their first day back to school. The plan is for their mothers to make identical dresses for them, but Austine's mother cannot sew. Nevertheless, she puts forth her best effort. On the first day of school, Ellen's dress is perfect, but Austine's looks sloppy and amateurish. Throughout the day, Austine begins to amuse herself by tugging on the sash on Ellen's dress. Ellen becomes increasingly irritated with Austine's actions, until finally, she snaps and, upon feeling her sash coming undone, slaps Austine in the lunch line. Unfortunately for Ellen, this time, Austine had been innocent; Otis was actually the guilty party (though Ellen would not find this out until much later). Because of the incident, Ellen and Austine's friendship immediately goes cold; Austine begins to spend time with other girls and ignores Ellen, who feels that the class now looks down on her for slapping her best friend in front of everyone.
In the final chapter, the teacher chooses Ellen and Austine to go outside and clean the chalkboard erasers. Austine continues to ignore Ellen, who becomes so angered by this that she yanks on the sash on Austine's dress. To Ellen's horror, she pulls too hard and rips a hole in Austine's dress. After some awkward tension between the girls, they both end up both breaking down in tears and, after learning that Otis was the culprit in the lunch line and that both of their mothers made them wear their dreaded woolen underwear that day, they mend their friendship.
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
written by Beverly Cleary
Beverly Cleary
Beverly Cleary is an American author. Educated at colleges in California and Washington, she worked as a librarian before writing children's books. Cleary has written more than 30 books for young adults and children. Some of her best-known characters are Henry Huggins, Ribsy, Beatrice Quimby, her...
, her second book for kids and young adults. It was illustrated by Louis Darling
Louis Darling
Louis Darling, Jr. was an American illustrator, author, and environmentalist. He is best known for his illustrations for the original editions of Silent Spring and the Henry Huggins series.-Biography:...
and was first published in 1951. Even though the story is set in the 1950s, Cleary's knack for creating stories that are relevant even today is very much visible.
Plot
Ellen Tebbits lives with her parents in Portland, OregonPortland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
and attends Rosemont School. The novel opens when Ellen heads to her dance class at the studio run by the mother of a classmate, Otis Spofford
Otis Spofford
Otis Spofford is a 1953 children's novel by Beverly Cleary.The story revolves around the antics of the titular character, a precocious fourth-grader with a knack for getting into trouble...
, who is always teasing her. When she arrives, she goes to change in a broom closet so the other girls can't see her terrible secret - she's wearing woolen underwear. After class, she accidentally walks in on a new girl in class, Austine Allen, who's also wearing the dreaded underwear. Soon, the two become best friends. Other chapters in the book deal with Ellen's first-ever time going horseback riding, her efforts to bring a giant beet to school for show-and-tell, and Ellen and Austine's efforts to put up with Otis' antics.
During summer vacation, Ellen and Austine decide to dress as twins on their first day back to school. The plan is for their mothers to make identical dresses for them, but Austine's mother cannot sew. Nevertheless, she puts forth her best effort. On the first day of school, Ellen's dress is perfect, but Austine's looks sloppy and amateurish. Throughout the day, Austine begins to amuse herself by tugging on the sash on Ellen's dress. Ellen becomes increasingly irritated with Austine's actions, until finally, she snaps and, upon feeling her sash coming undone, slaps Austine in the lunch line. Unfortunately for Ellen, this time, Austine had been innocent; Otis was actually the guilty party (though Ellen would not find this out until much later). Because of the incident, Ellen and Austine's friendship immediately goes cold; Austine begins to spend time with other girls and ignores Ellen, who feels that the class now looks down on her for slapping her best friend in front of everyone.
In the final chapter, the teacher chooses Ellen and Austine to go outside and clean the chalkboard erasers. Austine continues to ignore Ellen, who becomes so angered by this that she yanks on the sash on Austine's dress. To Ellen's horror, she pulls too hard and rips a hole in Austine's dress. After some awkward tension between the girls, they both end up both breaking down in tears and, after learning that Otis was the culprit in the lunch line and that both of their mothers made them wear their dreaded woolen underwear that day, they mend their friendship.