Background

I’ve been wanting to cover this series for some time. It’s an unusual series from the mid-19th century, written on the eve of the American Civil War, by a white author with a young black hero. Rainbow is a teenage black boy who, in this first installment of the series, is hired by a young carpenter, who is only a few years older than he is, to help him with a job in another town. The entire series is really one long story, like a mini-series, and each book is an installment in the story.

The series was written by Jacob Abbott, a minister and educator, who was also the author of other books and series for children during the mid-19th century. His children’s books always have some educational focus, and he often explains small details of 19th century life, making his books interesting for students of history, although I suspect that this focus on small life details may be part of the reason why the series isn’t well-known these days. In some ways, I think of Jacob Abbott as being something like a 19th-century version of Mr. Rogers, in the way he explains things about how the world works to his young readers, poses ethical questions about what to do in various circumstances, and encourages his readers to consider what makes other people act in the way they do, emphasizing understanding emotions and considering the best way to respond to them.

There are adventurous moments in the series, but most of the stories are more slice-of-life and focus on moral lessons and life lessons. The best part, for me, is that this series has an African American main character, which was uncommon in the 19th century. Better yet, it was written on the eve of the American Civil War, in the years 1859 and 1860, and it directly addresses the casual racism found every day, even in the Northern states, and there is some discussion about how to politely describe black people. The polite terms the use are not the ones we would use today, but that’s because there was a cultural shift away from older terms during and after the Civil Rights Movement in the mid-20th century because people wanted a fresh start and thought there was too much emotional baggage surrounding older terms. I explain more about that in my reviews of the books. It’s unusual for this time period for black people to be the heroes of books and for topics like racism to be discussed directly. It’s also important to point out that our black hero is not a slave, he is not enslaved at any point in the series, and the series has a happy ending for him.

Because this series isn’t commonly known today, I’ve explained the plots of the books in detail in my reviews. It is public domain now, and all five books are available to read online through NINETEENTH-CENTURY AMERICAN CHILDREN & WHAT THEY READ. I really appreciate the owner of this site making them available to read!

The Plot

This first book in the series, Handie, focuses mostly on the young, white carpenter Handie Level, why he needs to take a job in another town, and why he decides to hire Rainbow to come with him. Handie’s family is in serious financial trouble in the first book because his father is not good at handling money and has acquired a large debt. They are in danger of losing their house because they can’t pay the mortgage, so 19-year-old Handie goes to speak to the local lawyer on his father’s behalf. Through the help of this lawyer and an unexpected inheritance from his uncle, Handie is able to work out a way to repair his family’s finances.

Because the uncle was aware that Handie’s father is not good at managing money or property, he left his farm to Handie, but there is a catch. Handie cannot take full possession of the farm until he is a legal adult. Until then, the property will be managed by the lawyer and rented out to a tenant on Handie’s behalf. However, before the property can be rented out to a tenant, it needs some serious repair because it has been neglected for years. Handie is a carpenter, which means that he has the skills to repair his own property. To give Handie an extra income that he can use immediately, the lawyer hires him, on behalf of his own estate, to repair the farm and pays him for the service. In effect, Handie is working for himself and being paid out of his own inheritance, and this helps him to repair his family’s finances, along with a special loan for him to purchase his time from his father. As a minor under the law, whatever Handie earns until he turns 21 years old (the legal age of adulthood at that time) belongs to his father and can be used for whatever purpose his father wants. As established, his father isn’t good with money, so purchasing the remaining two years of Handie’s time from his father effectively separates Handie’s finances from his father’s, enabling him to both help his father and keep his father from misusing Handie’s money.

Rainbow appears in the first book as a relatively minor character until the end of the story, when Handie is making arrangements to go work on his new farm over the summer. Handie has good carpentry skills, but the work will be heavy, and he will need an assistant to help him. The lawyer says that he can provide funds from the estate for him to hire an assistant, and Handie chooses 14-year-old Rainbow for his assistant.

Rainbow is a kind-hearted and hard-working “colored” boy, as they describe him in the book, “colored” being one of the more polite terms used at this time. His name may be a nickname, although even the author/narrator of the stories says that, if he has another name, even the people of his town have forgotten what it is because everyone always calls him “Rainbow.” It’s a running gag throughout the stories that different characters have pun names that offer clues to their nature. Rainbow is called “Rainbow” because he is “colored.” Ha, ha. Handie Level’s name is also a double pun name. First, it’s appropriate because he’s a carpenter, and it can be a reference to a carpenter’s level. Second, it also describes his nature because he is a very handy person, and he is very level-headed.

Handie chooses Rainbow as his assistant because, even though Rainbow is young, he’s big for his age, physically strong, hard-working, and generally easy to get along with. He doesn’t have any carpentry skills yet, but he’s hard-working, and Handie can teach Rainbow what he needs to know to help him. Rainbow’s mother agrees to let Rainbow take the job and go with Handie to the other town of Southerton, where his farm is, and work with him there over the summer. Rainbow’s mother, Rose, thinks this is a good opportunity for Rainbow to build some work experience and improve his skills as well as earning some extra money. She also hopes that Rainbow will improve his reading and writing skills with Handie’s help because, as a black boy, Rainbow has not been allowed to attend their small local school. Handie does make it a point to help him with reading and writing practice while they’re working together. Even though Rainbow is generally well-liked in the community for being good-natured and hard-working, there are still times when people give him a hard time because of his race, and there are some things that he is not allowed to do. People don’t always treat him right, but he does have friends and allies, and he manages to deal with the adversity he faces and builds a future for himself.

The rest of the series follows the two young men, particularly Rainbow, through their adventures, learning life lessons, and even dealing with difficult topics like racism. Before they leave their town, the lawyer points out to Handie that they may have some difficulties on their journey because there will be people who won’t react well to Rainbow because of his race or won’t let them stay at their boarding houses. Handie insists that he still wants Rainbow as his assistant and accepts responsibility for Rainbow, both as a younger boy and his new employee, saying that he will manage whatever difficulties they encounter.

The second book in the series, Rainbow’s Journey, focuses specifically on their journey to Southerton and their adventures traveling by stage coach. There is more excitement in the second book than in the first one, with a coach accident, and Rainbow helps to catch a thief among the traveling party.

The third book in the series, The Three Pines, is about how they spend the summer at Three Pines farm, which is the farm Handie has inherited. During their time there, they interact with their neighbors and have a few problems with them, although they straighten them out by learning more about their neighbors and how they behave. They eventually befriend the temperamental neighbor who initially calls Rainbow the n-word. At first, Rainbow doesn’t want anything to do with this neighbor, but they end up getting along better when they realize that they can help each other with things that each of them need. That neighbor’s problem is that she has little or no sense of emotional management or impulse control, so she flies off the handle at the least little thing and insults everyone in the worst way she can think of at the time. We learn in the story that this is pretty routine for her. She doesn’t get along with most other people in the area, either, because she’s so difficult to deal with. She resents that people usually only come to her to complain about something and is sometimes embarrassed about the things she says and does after she does them. At first, she just can’t seem to control herself, although she begins to behave a little more pleasantly when Handie comes to see her as a social call rather than a complaint and arranges a business deal between them that benefits them both. This gives her the motivation she needs to improve her behavior to match how Handie and Rainbow are always on their best behavior around her. Rainbow also makes friends with a spirited colt called Lucky, who belongs to the temperamental neighbor.

In the fourth book, Selling Lucky, after Rainbow and Handie return home, Rainbow receives a job offer from the neighbor in Southerton who owns Lucky. She has always found Lucky difficult to handle, so she has decided to sell him. Because Rainbow is good with animals and has shown a particular talent for handling Lucky, she would like Rainbow to take Lucky to Boston and handle the sale. Rainbow wishes that he could find a way to buy Lucky himself, but it all works out for the best.

In the fifth book, Up the River, Rainbow takes a new job delivering mail. The series ends well with a bright future and possible marriage ahead for Rainbow.

Books in the Series

Handie (1859)

Handie Level learns about his family’s financial troubles but is able to get help from a local lawyer and an inheritance from his uncle. He hires Rainbow as his carpenter’s assistant, to help him fix up the farm he inherited.

Rainbow’s Journey (1859)

Rainbow and Handie leave their small town for the first time, traveling by stage coach to the town of Southerton, where Handie’s farm is. Along the way, they have various adventures, including a coach accident and catching a thief.

The Three Pines (1860)

Rainbow and Handie spend the summer fixing up Handie’s farm. During their time there, they interact with their neighbors and have a few problems with them, although they straighten them out by learning more about their neighbors and how they behave. Rainbow makes friends with a spirited colt called Lucky, who belongs to one of the neighbors.

Selling Lucky (1860)

After Rainbow and Handie return home, Rainbow receives a job offer from the neighbor in Southerton who owns Lucky. She has always found Lucky difficult to handle, so she has decided to sell him. Because Rainbow is good with animals and has shown a particular talent for handling Lucky, she would like Rainbow to take Lucky to Boston and handle the sale. Rainbow wishes that he could find a way to buy Lucky himself, and he has to outwit some horse thieves, but it all works out for the best.

Up the River (1860)

Rainbow takes a new job delivering mail. The series ends well with a bright future and possible marriage ahead for Rainbow.