The Sunset and the Morning

Jami van Haaften is a professional librarian and author of An Index to
Selected Canadian Provincial Government Publications for Librarians,
Teachers and Booksellers.

This autobiography completes Newton-White’s childhood memoirs. The
autobiography began with The Cold Wind in the Winter and The Pleasant
Summer Sun. The author has written more than twenty other children’s
stories and devotional materials. She is also a professional artist of
Northern Ontario landscapes. Illustrations throughout The Sunset and the
Morning trace the development of her artistic talents.

The story begins in 1933 and follows events of the next four years. The
family lives outside Charlton, on farmland owned by family members. The
close and interdependent relationships with parents and siblings and the
Depression shape the family’s lifestyle. With the exception of a
summer job in Ottawa, the father is not able to find work as a writer.
The family leads a simple, primarily self-sufficient life. Daily work
relates to farming, collecting firewood, housework, and seasonal chores.
The author takes her school lessons by correspondence and spends much of
her time outside exploring nature. She has two secret lands—“The
Land Far Away” and “Bunnyland”—and also calls her past the
“World of Long Ago.” Sketches and photographs trace her life through
the seasons starting when she is five years old.