Revamp

Wow!!! It has been quite awhile since I have posted here.  I am now a children's librarian in Manatee County, Florida.  Yay!!!!  Putting all that education to good use.  I have decided to make this blog my professional librarian log, so it will be getting updated very soon.  STAY TUNED!!

Crafting in early America

 During the 1800's, crafts were often done out of necessity, but this also provided a bonding experience for those involved.  It also provided an interesting form of recycling, as many items were made form old clothes, (as in rugs, dolls, quilts, etc.) or even old fat drippings( soap, candles).  Early settlers of this country tried to use everything they had as efficiently as possible.  The two crafts I will discuss are yarn dolls and braided rugs.

Braided rugs
This my favorite.  When I was younger, my dad's girlfriend gave me a multi-colored heartshaped braided rug.  I thought it was the neatest thing and was really special, because I knew she spent so much time on it.  The braided rug was really the first kind of rug to cover floors in early America.  They are very practical and durable, and can be very colorful.  Traditionally, the art of making braided rugs is passed down through the generations, but lately that has fallen away.  Braided rugs were once make from old dresses, blankets, coats or any other spare cloth.  Little girls, mothers and grandmothers would all sit around braiding rugs together.  This was a time for bonding.  The most common braid was the flat braid.  It is a very old type of braid, utilizing a three strip braid system.   Theses rugs could be made in any size, depending on the amount of space you wanted to cover.  
Directions:
Tie three strips of fabric together, then attach (with tape or something) to a 
 fixed surface, like a table or chair.  Braid the strips together.  When approaching the ends of the fabric, sew another piece of fabric to the ends of each original piece of fabric.  Continue braiding and attaching more fabric until the desired length is reached.  Tie a knot at the end of the braid.  Start coiling the braid around one of the end knots.  Use a backstitch to attach the braid to the knot.  Keep coiling the braid around, stitching it to the braid next to it every so often.  When you have coiled all the braid, stitch the last knot to the underside of the mat or rug.


Yarn dolls
Hand made dolls have been around for thousands of years.   Early settlers in America make dolls from yarn, rags, corn husks, corn cobs, and even clay.  Yarn was often hand made. Young girls were taught to spin the yarn from the raw wool of sheep and then dye it.  The yarn was used for many things including stockings, hats, scarves and even rugs.  Using the yarn to make dolls was also something fun for the children to do. Native Americans commonly used the husks of corn at harvest to make dolls, and even used the corn cobs also.  Every part of the corn harvest was useful.  A traditional Native American corn husk doll does not have a face.

Directions: (yarn doll)
Get several yards of yarn.  The larger doll you want, the more yarn you need.  Also, cut a piece of cardboard, the length desired for the doll.  Wrap the yarn around the cardboard lengthwise a few times.  10-20 would probably be good.  Take a small piece of yarn ad slip it in between the yarn and the cardboard.  Move to top of cardboard and tie in a knot.  Cut the yarn at the bottom and slip off of the cardboard.  Place a small ball under the yarn.  Tie a knot under it.  This will be the head.  Divide the remaining yarn into four parts and tie off, to make the arms and legs.  Cut the yarn a little shorter for the arms.  Or, if you want to make a girl doll, you don't have to separate and tie off the legs of the doll.  You can leave it together for a skirt.  Using buttons for eyes and nose, and more yarn for hair and mouth, decorate your doll as you wish.  You might even want to make clothes for it.

This is only a description of one set of directions I found for yarn dolls.  There were quite a few. 
The directions for making the Native American corn husk dolls were similar.  Soak the corn husks in warm water for 10-15 minutes to soften them.  Tie six leaves together with a thin strip of corn husk, pointed ends up. Peel the pointed ends back to make the head.  Tie back with another thin strip of husk.  Arms and legs are made with two braided pieces of cornhusk inserted through bundle and tied.  Decorate as you choose, but remember, no face!



References:

"Braided Rugs" retrieved from http://www.area-rug.info/braid-rugs.htm

Evert, Jodi. Kristen's Craft Book. Pleasant Company Publications. 1994. 44 pages

Stoddard, Dr. Sharon "The Making of Braided Rugs" retrieved from http://ds5.cgpublisher.com/proposals/13/index_html

Trottier, Maxine Native Crafts Kids Can Press LTD. 2000. 40pages

Nursery Rhymes and Hymns

Researching the three nursery rhymes as been very interesting and informative. All my life, I have heard many of these, but never thought about their origin. It was also interesting to get a glimpse of the hundreds of other rhymes that I knew nothing of. I better start reading more!

Mary Had a Little Lamb
This poem was published in Poems for Our Children in 1830 by Sarah J. Hale, who claims to be the author. There is a bit of controversy to the origin of this poem, as there are to many other nursery rhymes. One story claims that the poem is based on a real incident involving a girl named Mary Sawyer. One day, Mary Sawyer, provoked by her brother, brought her pet lamb to school. It caused quite a disturbance, as you can imagine. The next day, John Roulstone, a visiting Harvard teaching student, present Mary with the first few verses of the poem. According to this story, Mrs. Hale came across the poem, and incorporated it into her poem. Mrs. Hale says that this story is completely inaccurate and she wrote the poem completely saying, "an incident of an adopted lamb following a child to school has probably occurred many times."(Opie, 1951. p.300). A Mary Tyler, supposedly a married Mary Sawyer claims that the John Roulstone version of the origin is correct. In Sterling, Massachusetts, where the young Mary lived, there is a statue of her lamb where her home, which long since burned, once stood. Thomas Edison read the first voice of the poem to make the first recording of the human voice in 1877. Below is the original version of the poem. It has since been edited (repeating words and lines) and set to a melody for singing.

Mary Had a Little Lamb
Mary had a little lamb,
Its fleece was white as snow;
And everywhere that Mary went
The lamb was sure to go.

It followed her to school one day,
That was against the rule;
It made the children laugh and play
To see a lamb at school.

And so the teacher turned it out,
But still it lingered near,
And waited patiently about
Till Mary did appear.

And then it ran to her and laid
Its head upon her arm,
As if it said, 'I'm not afraid-
You'll keep me from all harm.

Why does the lamb love Mary so?
The eager children cry;
Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know,
The teacher did reply.


Oh Where, oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone?
This rhyme was written by Septimus Winner from Philadelphia. He was a music publisher, critic, arranger and composer of more than 2000 pieces. In 1864, he published Der Deitcher's Dog set to the German folk tune "Im Lauterbach hab'ich mein Strumpf verlorn." The original version is also written in a German dialect, which you can read here. Winner also published songs under the name Alice Hawthorne, which became very popular and known as Hawthorne's Ballads. Another song that Winner is famous for is "Ten Little Indians" also published in 1864.

Oh where, oh where has my little dog gone?
Oh where, oh where can he be?
With his ears cut short and his tail cut long,
Oh where, oh where is he?


Wee Willie Winkie
"Wee Willie Winkie" was written by William Miller. Miller was born in Glasgow, Scotland and considered to be the "Laureate of the Nursery." "Wee Willie Winkie" was first published in Whistle-Binkie; a Collection of Songs for the Social Circle in 1841. It was later published in Nursery Rhymes, Tales and Jingles in 1844 and The Cries of Banbury and London. It is interesting to note that Willie Winkie was the nickname for King William III, but it is probably not the case that the rhyme was written about him. William Miller originally wanted to be a surgeon, but couldn't because of his health. Instead, he began working as a woodcutter and a cabinet maker. He also wrote rhymes on the side. After writing and getting "Winkie" published, Miller did achieve some degree of fame, but not any real fortune. He still remained a cabinetmaker. In 1872, he died a very poor man. The original version of the poem is in Scottish dialect, which you can read here. The following is the English translation. The first verse is the one most are familiar with.

Wee Willie Winkie

Wee Willie Winkie runs through the town,
Up stairs and down stairs in his night-gown,
Tapping at the window, crying at the lock,
Are the children in their bed, for it's past ten o'clock?

Hey, Willie Winkie, are you coming in?
The cat is singing purring sounds to the sleeping hen,
The dog's spread out on the floor, and doesn't give a cheep,
But here's a wakeful little boy who will not fall asleep!

Anything but sleep, you rogue! glowering like the moon,
Rattling in an iron jug with an iron spoon,
Rumbling, tumbling round about, crowing like a cock,
Shrieking like I don't know what, waking sleeping folk.

Hey, Willie Winkie - the child's in a creel!
Wriggling from everyone's knee like an eel,
Tugging at the cat's ear, and confusing all her thrums
Hey, Willie Winkie - see, there he comes!

Weary is the mother who has a dusty child,
A small short little child, who can't run on his own,
Who always has a battle with sleep before he'll close an eye
But a kiss from his rosy lips gives strength anew to me.


Hymns
I chose "How Great Thou Art." This is one of my favorite hymns and has been performed and recorded by a number of artists, Christian and secular.
"How Great Thou Art" comes from the poem, "O Store Gud"(O Great God), by the Swedish pastor Carl Gustaf Boberg. Boberg is said to have written the poem after being caught in a wonderful and terrible thunderstorm during a walk. He later published the poem in 1891 in Witness and Truth magazine, which he edited. The poem was later translated into German and Russian in 1927. A English missionary to the Ukraine, Stuart K. Hine came across the Russian translation and sang it with his wife during a evangelical meeting. He translated the first three verses into English, and wrote the fourth verse himself, and in 1949, published it in English and Russian in Grace and Peace, a Russian evangelical paper he edited.
There are several different stories about how it came to America, but a popular one is that Dr. J. Edwin Orr of Fuller Theological Seminary brought it over, after hearing it at a revival in India. Eventually, Manna Music obtained the copyright for the song and published it. "How Great Thou Art" became the best loved hymn of the Billy Graham Crusade, with George Beverly Shea, a singer with the crusade, as the most loved singer of the song. In 1959, it became the theme for Billy Graham's "Hour of Decision" weekly radio broadcast. Lawrence Welk once said that it was the most requested song on his television program. There are over 1700 documented recordings of "How Great Thou Art." One of my favorites is by Elvis Presley, who won a Grammy for his live version in 1974, on the album, Elvis Recorded Live on Stage in Memphis.


How Great Thou Art
O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!




References:

Adams, Lucy. "How Great Thou Art-Old Time Favorite" retrieved from http://www.allaboutgod.com/how-great-thou-art.htm

Baring-Gould, William and Ceil The Annotated Mother Goose.Bramhall House.1962. 350 pages

Bewley, John "Philadelphia Composers and Music Publishers: Septimus Winner (1827-1902)" retrieved from http://www.library.upenn.edu/collections/rbm/keffer/winners.html

"How Great Thou Art" retrieved from http://www.mannamusic.com/hgta.htm

Opie, Iona and Peter. The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes. Oxford University Press.1951. 467 pages.

Tarrant, Margaret. Nursery Rhymes. Ward Lock Unlimited.1978. 96 pages.

"William Miller" retrieved from http://www.undiscovered scotland.co.uk/usbiography/m/williammiller/html

My Wordle

The Newbery Medal and Mr. Popper's Penguins

 The Newbery Medal
The Newbery Medal is the first award for children's books in the world. It is awarded every year by the American Library Association's division called the Association for Library Service to Children.  The award came about in June of 1921 when Frederic G. Melcher proposed it to the Children's Library Section, a division of the American Library Association. Melcher believed the medal should be named after the great English publisher and "Father of Children's Literature", John Newbery.   It was to be awarded to the best children's book in America of the previous year.    The medal was designed by Rene Paul Chambellan.  It is bronze and the winner's name and year are engraved on the back of the medal.  Submissions for the award go to a committee, which decides the winner and also the list of Honor Books for the year, which are other books of distinction.  The criteria for the medal are: the book must be a distinguished contribution to American literature for children, published by an  American publisher in English, during the preceding year, only authors who are citizens of the United States or residents many win.  The award is based on the literary quality of the book in relation to children, not necessarily the popularity of the book. 
John Newbery was considered the Father of Children's Literature because he did great things for children's literature in England in the 18th century.  His bookshop was called The Bible and the Sun. From here, he published religious works, periodicals, newspapers, books and children's books.  In 1744, he published the first book for children, which he wrote himself.  A Little Pretty Pocket-Book was the first in a series of books for children.  He founded the first children's periodical The Lilliputian Magazine in 1751.  Before his death, he wrote and published the classic The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes in 1765.  Many of these stories focused on morals and education, which were popular subjects at the time.

Mr.. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater
Mr.. Popper's Penguins was a Newbery Honor Book for 1939.  Mr.. Popper was a housepainter with big dreams.  He loved to imagine himself traveling to far off lands.  Many days, after a hard day's work, he would settle into his chair with a book about India, the South Seas or an issue of National Geographic.  His favorite topic was the polar region.  Mr.. Popper dreamed of visiting that area and studied everything he could find about it, and saw every movie that came out about it.  The book begins in September, which is the end of the housepainting season.  Mr. Popper is about to begin his vacation, because people don't get their houses painted in the winter.  He plans to sit around and read his travel books without any interruptions by work.  Mrs. Popper is concerned with the lack of money coming in, but is somewhat prepared, having gone through this year after year.  While listening to a  radio broadcast of the Drake Antarctic Expedition one evening, Mr. Popper is surprised when Admiral Drake mentions him. He received a letter Mr. Popper sent him about penguins and his sending Mr. Popper a surprise.    This delights Mr. Popper to no end, but he cannot imagine what Admiral Drake could be sending him.  He finds out in a few days, when a package arrives Air Express from Antarctica.  It's a penguin!  The penguin begins to explore around the home of the Poppers.  When the Popper children, Janie and Bill, arrive home from school, they are surprised to see the black and white bird marching around the living room.  The penguin is named Captain Cook, after the English explorer who made some discoveries around the Antarctic region.  The Popper's set up the icebox (refrigerator) for the penguin to sleep in.  They fed him canned shrimp. Captain Cook went around the house, gathering random objects to make a nest.  After a few days, they noticed the penguin was not as active, almost depressed.  Mr. Popper wrote to the curator of an aquarium a few towns over, where he knew there was another penguin.  The curator said their penguin was depressed as well.  He sent the penguin, a female, to the Popper's.  They named her Greta.  Captain Cook and Greta got along famously.  Soon, Greta laid an egg.  And then laid another, and another.  Every three days, she laid another egg, until there were ten.  When they hatched, the Poppers had twelve penguins to care for.  The penguins had grown tired of the canned shrimp, so the Poppers ordered live fish trucked in for them.  They built a cold room in the basement, so the penguins would be comfortable.  All this began to take a financial toll on the Poppers, especially since Mr. Popper wasn't working.  He decided that he was going to train the penguins to perform an act, which he was going to show to a theater manager, and hopefully make money that way.  The manager loved the act, which included the penguins climbing up a ladder, waddling across a board, and tobogganing down the other side, as well as some other things.  He booked the Poppers and their penguins for a ten week touring act, at $5000 a week.  The show was successful, but the money was not always enough.  It was very expensive to travel with twelve penguins, keeping enough ice to cool them.  One day, Mr. Popper wasn't paying attention to his schedule and took the penguins to the wrong theater, where they interrupted a seal show.  Pandemonium broke out.  The penguins were curious about the seals, but the Poppers were trying to round them up, because in the wild, penguins are seal food.  The owner of the seal act was furious, and had Mr. Popper and his penguins arrested.  They had to stay in jail for a few days, because they didn't have enough money to bail themselves out.  The manager couldn't be reached and their paycheck for the week was not due for a few more day.  The newspapers got a hold of the story of the jailed man and his penguins.  Finally, Mr. Popper and the penguins are bailed out of jail, not by the tour manager, but by Admiral Drake himself!  Admiral Drake wanted to take the penguins to the North Pole and start a race of penguins up there.  He said that the explorers up there get very lonely, and have no pets.  The penguins could fill in as surrogate pets up there, just as they had in the South Pole.  At the same time, a movie producer is trying to get Mr. Popper to sign a contract to make movies starring the penguins.  In the end, Mr. Popper decided that a life in Hollywood would not be good for the penguins, and that they would fare better in the climate of the North Pole.  The movie producer still was able to make a short film about the penguins embarking on their North Pole journey, and the Poppers were paid quite handsomely for it.  The penguins were all loaded up on the ship and ready to go.  Then Mr. Popper received another surprise.  Admiral Drake wanted him to go to the North Pole too, as the keeper of the penguins.  So, Mr. Popper finally got to realize his dream of traveling to a far off land.





I am not sure if this book would be chosen as an Honor Book today.  It is very simple, maybe too simple for today's children.  Also, I wonder if one of the reasons for it being an Honor Book was the topic.  The exploration of Antarctica was very new and exciting back then.  Maybe people had not seem many penguins or even knew very much about them, so the story seemed exciting.  What do you think?

My other thought was about the Newbery Award itself.  It is an award for an author who is a citizen of the United States, who writes books in English, published by an American publisher for American literature.  But, it is named after an English publisher of children's literature.  Does that seem strange to anyone else?

"The John Newbery Medal" retrieved from www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newberymedal/aboutnewbery/aboutnewbery.cfm

"John Newbery, Father of Children's Literature" retrieved from www.mothergoose.com/History/Newbery.htm

Atwater, Richard and Florence. Mr. Popper's Penguins. Scholastic, Inc. 1938. 139 pages

Carlo Collodi, the creator of Pinocchio

Carlo Collodi was the pseudonym of Carlo Lorenzini.  He was born in Florence, Italy on November 24, 1826.  The parents of Lorenzini were poor servants, and he was one of ten children.  Only two of his siblings survived to adulthood.  When Carlo was a child, he was sent to live with his grandparents in his mother's hometown of Collodi.  The employer of his parents, the Marquis Lorenzo Ginori paid for Carlo's education.  He spent five years studying the priesthood at Seminary of Val di Elsa (Liukkonen, 2008).

 After graduation, Carlo went to work at a bookseller, Libreria Piatti, where he prepared catalogs with Giuseppe Arazzi, who was a specialist for manuscripts in Italy (Zipes, 1999). Italy was in political upheaval at the time, and while working at the bookseller, Carlo began to identify with ideals of the patriots. At the age of 22, he became a journalist.

In 1848, he started a satirical newspaper, Il Lampione.  The paper was shut down by the censors a year later(Wunderlich, 2002). 

Over his life, Carlo volunteered for military service twice.  The first was during the unsuccessful revolt against Austria in 1848.  The second time was in 1859, during the Piedmontese War against Austria. (Wunderlich, 2002).  He volunteered for the calvary, and that endeavor was successful.

Over time he wrote political commentary, a novel, an opera, music and theater criticisms, contributed to the new Italian dictionary, and some children's books. 
The first use of his pseudonym, Carlo Collodi, occurred in 1860.  He took the pseudonym from the name of the town where his mother grew up.  He used the pseudonym on a booklet, Il Signor Alberi ha ragione! Dialogo apologetico.  It was a defense of unified Italy and was written as a response to an disagreement between Carlo and Professor Eugenio Alberi de Pisa (Zipes, 1999).  The first book to have the name Carlo Collodi was his translation into Italian of French fairy tales by Charles Perrault in 1875.

In July 1881, Carlo Collodi began his first installment of Storia di un burattino (Story of a Puppet) in Il giornale per i bambini (The Children's Magazine).  It was an immediate success, although the Church was afraid that the story would encourage rebellion in children (Liukkonen, 2008).  Originally, the story was supposed to end in Chapter 15, with the puppet hanging on a tree, left for dead.  There was a public outcry, and demand for Collodi to continue the story.  The story ran from 1881-1883.  In 1883, Felice Paggi published the story in book form under the name Le avventura di Pinocchio (The Adventures of Pinocchio).  The original illustrations were done by Eugenio Mazzanti. The first English translation was by Mary Alice Murray in 1891.  It was published by T. Fisher Unwin in London, just in time for Christmas.  That edition included the Mazzanti sketches borrowed from the 1883 Italian edition(Wunderlich, 2002). In 1940, Walt Disney adapted the story into full length animated feature.  This is actually the version of Pinocchio that many people are most familiar with.   The book has been translated in over a hundred languages and become a bestseller all over the world.

Carlo Collodi also wrote a series with a character Giannettino, which included several children's textbooks.  Although his most famous work is a children's book, Collodi never felt his writing for children was his true calling(Liukkonen, 2008). He never married, and died on October 26, 1890 in Florence.  He is buried in Cimitero Monumentale Delle Porte Sante, Firenze, Toscana, Italy.  Currently, the National "Carlo Collodi" Foundation, in Italy, promotes education and the works of Carlo Lorenzini. (Merriman, 2006). There is also a Park of Pinocchio in Collodi, which attracts visitors from all over the world.

The Adventures of Pinocchio is the most famous work of Carlo Collodi.  It is the story of a puppet, who desires to be a real boy.  The beginning of the story begins similarly to other fairy tales: "There was once upon a time...."A king!" my little readers will instantly exclaim.  No, children, you are wrong.  There was once upon a time a piece of wood.(Collodi, p.3).  This is how we are first introduced to Pinocchio.  The carpenter Geppetto takes the wood, which is somewhat enchanted (it talks!), and carves a puppet from it.  After the puppet is complete, it comes to life and runs off, causing Geppetto the first of his hardships.  Throughout the book, Pinocchio is confronted with decisions common to all children. When he lies, his nose grows, and either has to be cut down, or at one point during the stories, woodpeckers peck it down to the right size.  He is tempted and must face the consequences of his decisions and actions.  He truly desires to be a real boy but must first prove that he can be a good boy.  After many adventures, near death experiences, and many disappointments to his "father" Geppetto, Pinocchio finally does the right thing and becomes a real boy. As Geppetto says at the end of the book, "Because when boys who have behaved badly turn over a new leaf and become good, they have the power of bringing content and happiness to their families."  This book was intended for children and adults.  Some of the behaviors of Pinocchio are extreme and may not appeal to younger children.  They probably would care much for the murder of the Talking Cricket, or for Pinocchio being hung from the tree and left for dead.  Collodi actually portrayed the child realistically and comically.  All Pinocchio is concerned with is what is good for him and what he wants.  The results of his actions on others are not important to him, at least not at first.  Pinocchio can be used as a cautionary tale for what happens to children when they disobey their parents and are selfish.


Collodi, Carlo.Pinocchio. il., Anne Heyneman Lippencott Co., 1948. 231 pages
(not original which was published in 1883)

Liukkonen, Petri(2008) "Carlo Collodi (1826-1890)" http://kirjasto.sci.fi/collodi.htm

Merriman, C.D(2006) "Carlo Collodi" retrieved from http:// www.online-literature.com/collodi

Wunderlich, Richard and Morrissey, Thomas J. Pinocchio Goes Postmodern. Routledge, 2002. 257 pages

Zipes, Jack. When Dreams Came True. Routledge, 1999. 238 pages