Another Look at “The Gunniwolf”

Last spring, I wrote about a discovery I made while writing a short screenplay.  Elements of The Gunniwolf, a cautionary tale about a little girl who wanders into the woods and encounters the titular beast, made its way into the script.  I heard the story in grade school, but had forgotten about it, until I noticed the similiarity between a key sequence in my script and a key sequence in the folk tale.  The blog came to the attention of Harriet Stovall Kelley this past October, as she was researching some titles in her collection of antique books online.

Ms. Kelley owns a 1936 edition of Wilhelmina Harper’s The Gunniwolf and Other Merry Tales, illustrated by Kate Seredy.  She shared with us a sample of Seredy’s illustrations for The Gunniwolf.  In my first blog, I compared and noted the differences between  illustrations in two different editions of The Gunniwolf:  William Wiesner‘s Asian influenced, earth tones versus Barbara Upton’s colorful, vibrant landscapes.  Note the style and differences in Seredy’s illustration.  The Little Girl is in period clothing, and appears more urban that rural.  The gunniwolf may be the scariest of the three, but check his ears!  The jungle foliage and colors appear to be art deco (though I’m not entirely certain), which was the popular style of the thirties.  Ms. Kelley describes Seredy’s illustrations as soft and delicate.  In other books, Seredy’s style is that as well as bold and striking.  Seredy has authored several children’s book titles which she also illustrated.

    
The Little Girl and the Gunniwolf as drawn by Weisner (above left), Upton (above right) and Serey (below)

Harriett Stovall Kelley is an award winning poet, whose works include an edition of her great-grandfather’s novel Rival Lovers, and The Butterfly Hotline, which she edited with fellow Agnes Scott College alums in memoriam to author Georgia Christopher.  An Atlanta native, Ms. Kelley currently lives in Dallas, Texas.  Our thanks to her for reading our blog and sharing her book and insights with us!

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The Gunniwolf with illustrations by Barbara Upton is available at 5 CCLS libraries.  The Gunniwolf with illustrations by William Wiesner and The Gunniwolf and Other Merry Tales are available through PINES.  Please ask the staff at your library branch for assistance.

Read the blog “Childhood Favorites: Rediscovering ‘The Gunniwolf’”

Don’t Say Ain’t

At a former job, a young woman, discussing a popular soul food restaurant, referred to a dish as “poke and beans.”  A co-worker, who was also a school teacher, corrected her:  “No, Shanice, it’s pork and beans.”  At that, the young woman frowned and whined, “Why we got to talk proper all the time?!” 

Talking “proper” was (is) a given in my family – my Mom’s a retired school teacher – but I understood why some people might not speak the King’s English.  I also understood the attitudes of those like Shanice when it came to correct grammar use and pronunciation.  But I never considered the point of view of this young woman or others.  The juvenile fiction book Don’t Say Ain’t gave me some insight into the problem faced by African-Americans and other minority groups:  Being and showing oneself as educated versus being culturally correct.

Taking place in 1957 Harlem, Dana, an African-American girl, is accepted to an integrated advanced school.  There, she must discard her everyday speech habits and speak “properly.”  Her schoolmates ridicule her for her speech and mannerisms, and at home, her neighborhood friends chide her for going to the school and thinking she is “better” than her peers.  Dana begins to wonder if living up to her potential is worth being rejected by her friends.

Though I didn’t suffer as greatly as Dana, I can relate to her troubles.  By high school, none of my school chums since kindergarten – all African-American – were in the advanced and college prep courses that I took.  By being in those classes with predominately white students, they saw me as “trying to be white” or “snobbish.”  Don’t Say Ain’t’s author Irene Smalls and illustrator Colin Bootman had similar experiences.  Smalls was a child when schools in her native New York City were integrated, and Bootman, who was born in Trinidad, had to discard his accent and learn to speak “properly.” 

Sadly, many kids feel that they must choose between betterment of themselves and acceptance by their peers (and sometimes adults).  It’s a tough choice:  The opportunity of uplifting oneself is often seen as rejecting race, culture and community to be “white”; the consequences of the latter may result in remaining stuck in negative socioeconomic circumstances associated with race, not to mention living beneath ones’ full potential.  Some kids who do choose advanced education and opportunities may truly find themselves losing their cultural identity, or isolation from all groups. 

The problem is complex:  Kids need to grow to their level of potential; they also need the acceptance and experience of their peer groups.  They can have both, just as Dana realized in the book.  They only – and always – need the proper encouragement and affirmation from parents, teachers or mentors so they can find solutions to the problem without seeing compromise of their potential or cultural identity as their only solution.

Don’t Say Ain’t is available at all CCLS Libraries.  Please ask a Staff member for assistance.

You’re Getting Older, Mr. Grinch!

Now here’s something you probably didn’t know… The Grinch has turned fifty!  An article from the Seattle Times reports on a fiftieth anniversary edition of the classic Dr. Seuss book How the Grinch Stole Christmas!  The new edition contains the story and a retrospective by Dr. Charles D. Cohen, a collector of Dr. Seuss memorabilia. 

First published in 1957, Grinch has endured as both children’s literature and pop culture classic:  Say “Grinch” and people know who and what you’re talking about!  The Grinch, a crusty critter who perches atop a precipice above Whoville, is cross with the cacophonous Christmas carolers who colonize the city.  So his surly soul surmises a scheme to snatch the spirit of the state of Whoville!  An animated version of Grinch premiered on television in 1966 (a fortieth anniversary edition was released on DVD last year), and is still broadcast annually.  A film version was released in 2000.

Watching Grinch on TV was a tradition for my siblings and me growing up, along with A Charlie Brown Christmas and the Rakin-Bass animated Christmas specials.  Believe it or not, I didn’t come across the book version until my freshman year of college!  At a trombone studio Christmas party, one Professor William Cramer – a tall, lanky man with a booming, resonant bass voice – sat in an armchair and with a measured cadence, read Seuss’ clever rhyming story to us trombonist, who sat around him on the floor like little children!

Like Professor Cramer, an annual reading of Grinch is a neat tradition to start with your family!  (Many families in Victorian England started a similar tradition when A Christmas Carol was first published in 1843)  And for the Grinch fan and Dr. Seuss enthusiast, the 50^th anniversary edition is a must for your library!

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is available at all CCLS Libraries.  The 50^th anniversary edition referred to in the Seattle Times article is not yet available at CCLS.

Enjoy the Dr. Seuss website, and books available (for children and adults) at CCLS.

Mother Goose Hits the Road

Our very own Mother Goose (a.k.a. Ms. Judy) has been travelling around Clayton County visiting child care centers and sharing her rhymes and stories with children.  Although Mother Goose Day is on May 1st each year, she believes that these wonderful nursery rhymes should be shared year round.  Unfortunately, she could not find her goose, who likes to hide all the time, so she enlisted the help of her good friend Duck to go along on her travels to the different schools.  As you can imagine, Duck did not mind one bit.  Here is a picture of the two of them before a storytime:


These are some of our favorite Mother Goose books that you can share:

Here Comes Mother Goose by Iona Archibald Opie

My First Real Mother Goose Bedtime Book

Nursery Rhyme Book by Beatrix Potter

Teddy Bears' Mother Goose by Michael Hague

Dona Blanca and other Hispanic Nursery Rhymes and Games by Isabel Schon

Riddledy Piggledy by Tony Mitton

We have many Mother Goose and other nursery rhyme books in our collection.  Visit one of your local libraries to find these and more!  Remember, if you need help finding them there is always someone at each of our branches who will be more than happy to help you find just what you're looking for.

Deliciously Disgusting! Horrific Hors d’Oeuvres for Halloween

 

Halloween will be here in a few weeks, and if you’re planning a party or celebration, take a look at Roald Dahl’s Revolting Recipes for some culinarily gross food ideas! 

Roald Dahl wrote books for both adults and children.  I’ve had the pleasure of reading his books for both audiences.  Dahl was a great story teller who liked to shade his tales with dark humor and ironic twists that O. Henry would envy.  He is best known for his children’s books, several of which were made into movies:  Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and Giant Peach, Matilda and The Witches, to name a few.  According to Dahl’s widow Felicity, she suggested writing a book for children based on the foods that appear in his books.  Dahl found the thought daunting, but supplied his wife with a listing of every food from every book or story he had written.  After his death in 1990, Felicity collaborated with author/illustrator Quentin Blake and chef Josie Fison to create Revolting Recipes.  The menu of foods in this cookbook comes from the aforementioned books, as well as The Twits, The BFG, and the autobiographical Boy.   

There are some recipes that sound quite delicious, and appear normal, like Strawberry-Flavored Chocolate-Coated Fudge, Nutty Crunch Surprise, onion rings, spare-ribs and chicken soup.  But then there are the truly revolting recipes: Stink Bug Eggs, Snozzcumber, Hot Frogs, Fresh Mudburgers and Hair Toffee to Make Hair Grow on Bald Men!  Yes, it’s all normal, edible food, but made in such a way to appear truly disgusting, and, though not Dahl or Mrs. Dahl’s intention, possibly suitable for Halloween! 

 

The recipe I’d like to make is the Enormous Crocodile, from the picture book of the same name.  It’s basically an egg salad sandwich styled to look like a crocodile with his mouth open, baring all of his almond-shaped teeth!  The recipe appeals to both the model maker and the cook in me. 

Check out this cookbook while considering the buffet for your Halloween get together, or anytime you want to serve something to gross out your guest!  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ More ghastly gastronomy can be found in the follow-up to Revolting Recipes, Roald Dahl’s Even More Revolting Recipes, available through PINES.  Click here to see Roald Dahl titles available at CCLS.

Even more macabre munchies are discussed in this recent article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  Click here for the recipes, and see photos of the dishes here.

Still want more haunted haute cuisine?  Check out Ghoulish Goodies, a new collection of Halloween recipes available at CCLS.

 

Pinocchio in Geppetto’s Workshop

 

The carpenter Geppetto decides to make a beautiful wooden marionette, one that will dance, fence and turn somersaults.  Be he doesn’t count on his creation coming to life, with a mischievous and disobedient spirit to boot! 

Forest Park has revived its display featuring a puppet of the character Pinocchio.  The puppet is manufactured by Folkmanis, the folks who make the little rabbit puppets featured in our Easter Bunny Parade display.  Inspired by the promotional picture on the Folkmanis website, the display shows Pinocchio sitting in Geppetto’s shop, contemplating adventure instead of his chore of sweeping the floor.  The display was the first use of our display case for dioramas.  Former Branch employee Ashley Martin helped to build the wall and flooring. 

Carlo Collodi’s novel The Adventures of Pinocchio has inspired many film and television adaptations, most notably the 1940 Disney animated film, as well as some literary adaptations.  Click here to view CCLS’s listing (Parents:  The listing found through the link contains titles that are Adult Fiction and Non-fiction).  The e-book can be downloaded from the Project Gutenberg website. 

Stop by the Forest Park branch through the month of September to see Pinocchio in Geppetto’s workshop!

Check out “The Dangerous Book for Boys”

All 6 Clayton County public libraries now own this book (J 031.02)written by Conn Iggulden which was a Number One best seller on Amazon-UK. It’s chock full of things boys used to know and do. 

Of course some of these activities require parental supervision! Janice

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

The much anticipated seventh Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, will be released Saturday, July 21.  Anxious readers will be lined up at bookstores, mailboxes, and libraries to get their hands on a copy of this much talked about book, which is the last book in the series.  There has been a great deal of speculation as to how the series will end.  Who will prevail, Harry or Voldemort (He Who Must Not Be Named)?  Will the story continue after Harry graduates Hogwarts School?

Children and teenagers are invited to participate at the Headquarters Library in our Harry Potter Release Party on July 21 at 10:00 a.m. where you can discuss the books with other Harry Potter fans.  People who attend the event will have a chance, by random drawing, to be the first ones to check out copies of the book.  Take part in some Potter-esque games and activities and eat some wizardly treats.  Advance registration is required, so call the library to reserve your space at 770-473-3850.

VRP 2007 – Forest Park Branch Display

 

 

Reading takes you everywhere, and the Forest Park Branch’s VRP display shows the real and imaginary places where reading can take you!

Forrest the Bear sits in for the VRP Bear.  The book he reads takes him to different cities and countries around the world, represented by models and collectibles contributed by our staff.  Above his head is an imaginary world where dinosaurs roam, school buses fly and Aladdin rides his magic carpet!

Here are a few photos of our display, but stop by the Branch to get the full effect!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VRP 2007 – The American Kasper Theatre

The Forest Park Branch hosted the American Kasper Theatre on Monday June 4. The American Kasper Theatre, founded by Franklin Bunn, is a puppet theater that features the adventures of a silly fellow named Kasper.

Kasper is a character from German puppet theatre. Mr. Bunn went to Germany to learn about puppetry and how to perform shows using Kasper. When he returned to the United States, he began the American Kasper Theatre, performing shows around Georgia using Kasper and his different friends!

 

Below are some pictures from Monday’s performance.

The show begins!

 

Kasper pays his Grandmother a visit on her birthday.

It’s the Witch! She wants to steal Kasper’s money, but he has a surprise for her!

Mr. Bunn shows the Kasper puppet to an eager audience member!

 

Visit the American Kasper Theater website: http://www.americankasper.com/