The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs

The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs (2005) is a children’s novel by American author, teacher, and screenwriter Betty G. Birney. The story follows Eben MacAllister, a young boy living in the rural town of Sassafras Springs in the 1920s. Inspired by a book about the Seven Wonders of the World, Eben dreams of traveling to faraway places. When his father challenges him to find seven wonders in his Sassafras Springs, he embarks on a journey of adventure and discovery that changes his perception of the world. 

Birney is a well-known children’s book author and has written several television shows for children. She has won an Emmy Award, three Humanitas Prizes, and a Writers Guild of America Award for her screenwriting. Her bestselling book The World According to Humphrey (2004) won the Richard and Judy Children’s Book Club. The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs was a California Young Readers Medal finalist and was named by Borders as a Best Book of the Year. 

This guide is based on the 2005 e-book edition by Athenaeum Books. 

Content Warning: The source material and this guide reference child abuse and mental illness. 

Plot Summary

Eben McAllister is a young boy who lives with his father and aunt (Aunt Pretty) in the small, rural town of Sassafras Springs, Missouri, in the 1920s. He spends much time helping his father with the farm. As the novel opens, Eben is absorbed in a book about the Seven Wonders of the World and, weary of his daily life, dreams of traveling to faraway places. However, Aunt Pretty urges him to see the world he lives in, and his father offers him a deal. He promises to buy Eben a ticket to Colorado to visit relatives if he finds seven wonders in Sassafras Springs within seven days. Eben rejoices in the opportunity and starts searching with his dog as company. However, he doubts that Sassafras Springs has any marvels. 

Eben knows he must explore every part of town to find wonders and asks for the help of his best friend, Jeb. However, Jeb is busy taking care of his siblings, so Eben must start his quest alone. Eben passes by the house of his Sunday school teacher, Mrs. Pritchard. While she urges him to study instead of wandering, she also remembers she possesses a wonder: She shows Eben an ugly applehead doll and tells a story about how it saved her life when she was a child. Mrs. Pritchard nearly died due to an illness, but in her sleep, she heard the doll’s voice calling her to wake up. From that day on, she recovered. Eben is amazed by the story and writes it in his notebook. 

The next day, Eben continues searching after working on the farm. This time, Jeb joins him. Jeb suggests they go to a rich person’s house, believing they will find special things. They visit Mrs. Saylor, who shows them some of her valuable possessions, but Eben thinks they are no wonders. Later, they visit Cully Pone, a man who lives alone and is marginalized in the community. Cully shows Eben a bookcase that belonged to a rainmaker. He tells the story of how clinging to it saved the rainmaker from drowning, after which the man left the bookcase with Cully’s family. Now the bookcase supports Cully’s roof. Eben adds the story to his findings. 

Eben learns about his aunt’s past. His father tells him that she never married as a young woman because her beloved mysteriously disappeared after riding away on his horse. One night, Eben sees his aunt sitting alone on the porch and wonders about her inner thoughts.

Eben is disappointed with Jeb, who does not share his desire to travel the world. On the road, he meets a girl, Rae Ellen, who tries to talk to him about a wonder, but he dismisses her. As Eben rests at the graveyard, a unique musical sound leads him inside the church. There, he finds a man named Calvin Smiley playing “Amazing Grace” with a saw. The man tells his story to Eben. When he was a child, a plague of locusts threatened his family’s crops, but Calvin played his saw, and the locusts left. 

Eben promises to visit Violet Rowan, the smartest girl in town, who tells him she has a wonder. Eben goes to her house, and her mother, Eulie, shows him a table that was once rumored to walk among the graves. Rose-Ivy, a woman who was not superstitious, went to the graveyard one night and discovered that Tom, a man from the town, was mourning at the grave of his wife. The man did not want to dine alone, so Rose-Ivy invited him to her house, and they eventually fell in love. Eulie reveals that Tom and Rose-Ivy were her parents. Eben thinks he has found another wonder. 

Eben meets Jeb and other friends from school. A boy named Coogie Jackson invites Eben into the woods and shows him a flying outhouse. Coogie tells a story about his father, who traveled the world in that outhouse. Eventually, he reveals that the story was a fabrication, and Eben feels deceived. 

Eben again meets Rae Ellen, who shows him a miniature ship inside a bottle, a gift from her uncle, Dutch. She convinces him to listen to her story. Her uncle worked as a sailor on the ship, but its captain was a mean man. Once as they were approaching Africa, a storm threatened the ship, and the captain refused to anchor in a harbor. A ghost appeared to warn him, but the captain insisted, so the ghost condemned him to remain forever on the ship. Her uncle, who had jumped into the water, later found the bottle containing the ship (and presumably the captain) washed ashore. 

Jeb and Coogie visit Eben, determined to help him complete his quest. The children get hungry on the road and decide to steal a watermelon from the mayor’s yard. Mayor Peevey soon finds Eben and invites him to his home. He shows a cloth with the name “Buddy” on it and tells a story about a singing loom. Buddy was a naughty boy who played pranks on people and once tricked Old Emma, a woman who had lost her sight. Old Emma often wove on a loom and said that it would reveal the name of the person who had tricked her. Sure enough, the loom revealed Buddy’s name. Old Emma visited his house, and his father threatened to beat the boy. However, the woman forgave Buddy, who promised to use his intelligence to help others. Mayor Peevey reveals that he is “Buddy” and prompts Eben to visit Old Emma’s son, Uncle Alf, to find his final wonder.  

Aunt Pretty prepares new clothes for Eben’s trip, but his father receives a letter about an influenza epidemic in Colorado. Eben must postpone his trip and is devastated, doubting that his discoveries were wonders after all. Aunt Pretty prompts him to share his stories with her and his father, and they are amazed. Aunt Pretty shows Eben her own wonder: some clothespin dolls that remind her of her childhood friend. Eben realizes the stories’ value and decides to visit Uncle Alf. 

Eben visits Uncle Alf, who shows him a wooden carving of Sassafras Springs. He tells the story of an artist who once visited the town and taught Uncle Alf to work wood. Eben sees the past, present, and future mixed up in the carving. He sees the scenes described in the stories as well as his older self leaving town. Eben feels both happy and sad and realizes that small things can also be marvels. Uncle Alf tells Eben to ask his Aunt Pretty to visit him. Eben returns home excited. 

Eben tells the story to his aunt, who never knew about the carvings. Aunt Pretty visits Uncle Alf, and Eben believes they might marry. She also announces that she arranged for Eben to visit her cousin in St. Louis. 

Eben is excited about his trip to St. Louis but now knows he can find wonders anywhere. Before his departure, he strolls around with his dog, thinking he could find more wonders. The whole community bids farewell to Eben as he leaves for St. Louis. Eben promises his aunt he will always return to see her and tells Jeb they will see each other soon.