Leaping Out of February and Into March

Happy Leap Day!

source

This lovely "Jack Be Nimble" from Eulalie Grover's Mother Goose is by American illustrator Frederick Richardson [1862 – 1937].

See the whole, beautiful book here, on Project Gutenberg.

Richardson is also known for illustrations of works by L. Frank Baum, Hans Christian Andersen, and Andrew Lang, to name a few.  To view more of his illustrations, go here.

A Little Limerick-y Nonsense for St. Patrick's Day

My daughter snapped this cute photo of my grandson with a fun Roald Dahl quote last week in San Diego - the quote is perfect for my St. Patrick's Day post today...

So how about this "Little Nonsense":  90 degree weather in Southern California. In March!  

Today is thankfully a bit cooler, but we really haven't had much of a winter this year. We're relishing the sun, but praying for rain as we enter a fourth year of drought.

Roald Dahl wasn't the only one who appreciated nonsense. Edward Lear was a master at it, especially with limericks - witty poems of five lines that have a specific and distinctive rhythm. 

When I think of limericks, I think of Ireland - maybe because the word sounds so Irish.  I discovered there are both a city and county of Limerick in Ireland, and that is where the limerick poem gets its name from.  But whether the poems actually originated there has long been up for debate.  

How about a limerick for St. Patrick's Day:

In Ireland you won’t find a snake 

In a field, a forest or lake. 

If you’re happy with that 

 Give thanks to St. Pat, 

He did it for everyone’s sake.


[source - Nothing But Limericks blog]

Luke Dingman icon 

Here's a silly limerick from Edward Lear:

There once were two cats of Kilkenny. 

Each thought that was one cat too many, 

So they started to fight 
And to scratch and to bite– 

Now, instead of two cats, there aren’t any.

And don't forget Mother Goose:

Hickory dickory dock, 

the mouse ran up the clock; 

the clock struck one 
the mouse ran down; 

hickory dickory dock!

Try writing your own limerick, following these rules...

1- The five lines have a specific pattern: the first, second and fifth lines (the longer lines) rhyme; and the third and fourth (shorter) lines rhyme. (AABBA) 

2 - This five line poetry also follows a syllable count. 
Line 1: 7-10 syllables 
Line 2: 7-10 syllables 
Line 3: 5-7 syllables 
Line 4: 5-7 syllables 
Line 5: 7-10 syllables

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Do you have a favorite limerick?

MOST MEMORABLE LITERARY MOTHERS

Richer than I you can never be -- 

 I had a Mother who read to me.

-Strickland Gillilan (1869-1954)

My Top 10, in no particular order:

"Marmee" from Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)

Illustration by Jessie Wilcox Smith

"Money is a needful and precious thing--and when well used, a noble thing--but I never want you to think it is the first or only prize to strive for. I'd rather see you poor men's wives, if you were happy, beloved, contented, than queens on thrones, without self-respect and peace." 
-Marmee

Caroline Ingalls, "Ma", from the Little House books (Laura Ingalls Wilder)

Garth Williams, illustrator

Ma was trembling, and she began to laugh a little. “To think,” she said, “I’ve slapped a bear!”

Mrs. Darling, from Peter Pan (J.M. Barrie)

source

(Mrs. Darling was, after all an example to Wendy, who tried her best to be a Mother to the Lost Boys - telling them stories and making them take their medicine.)
Mrs. Darling first heard of Peter Pan when she was tidying up her children’s minds. It is the nightly custom of every good mother after her children are asleep to rummage in their minds and put things straight for next morning, repacking into their proper places the many articles that have wandered during the day. If you could keep awake (but of course you can’t) you would see your own mother doing this, and you would find it every interesting to watch her. It is quite like tidying up drawers. You would see her on her knees, I expect, lingering humorously over some of your contents, wondering where on earth you picked this thing up, making discoveries sweet and not so sweet, pressing this to her cheek as if it were as nice as a kitten, and hurriedly stowing that out of sight. When you wake in the morning, the naughtiness and evil passions with which you went to bed have been folded up small and placed at the bottom of your mind and on the top, beautifully aired, are spread out your prettier thoughts, ready for you to put on. 
-J.M. Barrie

The Mother Rabbit in The Runaway Bunny (Margaret Wise Brown)

Clement Hurd, illustrator

Once there was a little bunny who wanted to run away. 
So he said to his mother, "I am running away". 
"If you run away", said his mother, "I will run after you. For you are my little bunny".

The Missing Mother Bird from Are You My Mother? (P. D. Eastman)

"I must get something for my baby bird to eat!" she said.  "I'll be back."
The egg jumped and jumped...out came the baby bird! 
"Where is my mother?" he said...
"You are not my mother!  You are a SNORT!" 

(The baby bird, to our great relief, is finally reunited with his mother by end of the story!)

The Inuit Mother in Mama, Do You Love Me? (Barbara Joosee)

Illustrated by Barbara Lavallee

"Mama, do you love me?"  

"Yes, I do, Dear One."  

"How much?"

The Brave Mother in Heckedy Peg (Audrey Wood)

Illustration by Don Wood

The mother kissed her children good-bye and said, "Be careful, and remember -- don't let a stranger in and don't touch the fire."

(This story is about seven children named Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday; a witch who intrudes on the peace of their cottage; and a spell only the children's mother can break.)

Mrs.  Molly Weasley from the Harry Potter books (J. K. Rowling)

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Howler: (from Mrs. Weasley) "RONALD WEASLEY! HOW DARE YOU STEAL THAT CAR? I AM ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED! YOU'RE FATHER'S NOW FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, AND IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT! IF YOU PUT ANOTHER "TOE" OUT OF LINE, WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT HOME! And Ginny, dear, congratulations on making it into Gryffindor. Your Father and I are so proud." [From Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets]

And of course, we have to give honorable mention to Lily Potter - Harry's Mother - even though she has already died in the books...

“Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. Love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves it's own mark. To have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever.”
-Dumbledore [From Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone]

Mrs. Murry from A Wrinkle In Time (Madeleine L'Engle)

"No, Meg. Don't hope it was a dream. 
I don't understand it any more than you do, but one thing I've learned is that you don't have to understand things for them to be."

"Mama" from Mama's Bank Account by Kathryn Forbes

Forbes was a radio scriptwriter before she began writing short stories. Mama's Bank Account, her most well-known work, was published in 1943 and revolved around the daily struggles and aspirations of a Norwegian family living in San Francisco in the 1910s.

Mama looked at me.  
"Is no account”, she said. “In all my life, I never been inside a bank.” 

And when I didn’t – couldn’t answer, Mama said earnestly: “Is not good for little ones to be afraid – to not feel secure.”

"HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!" and thanks to all my Facebook followers who posted their favorite literary Moms.

Here are a few more that I had to give "honorable mention" to:  Charlotte the Spider, from Charlotte's Web (E.B.White); Mrs. Rabbit - Peter Rabbit's mother (Beatrix Potter); Little Bear's Mother (Else Holmelund Minarik); Mama from All-of-a-Kind-of-Family (Sydney Taylor); Frances the Badger's Mother (Russell Hoban); Mrs. Moody from the Little Britches series (Ralph Moody); Max's mother from Where the Wild Things Are (Maurice Sendak); Critter's mother (Mercer Mayer); Betsy, Tacy, and Tib's moms (Maud Hart Lovelace); Mrs. Hamley from Wives and Daughters (Elizabeth Gaskell); Dowager Duchess of Denver - Lord Peter Wimsey's mother (Dorothy Sayers); Aunt Betsy Trotwood, who adopts David Copperfield (Charles Dickens); and of course Marilla Cuthbert, who adopts Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery).

One more adoptive "Mother" - Horton the Elephant from Horton Hatches the Egg (Maysie is probably one of the worst literary mothers!) and Horton Hears a Who (Dr. Seuss).

What about Mother Goose?  Go here.

SIX GEESE A-LAYING for New Year's Eve!

Tomorrow is the start of a New Year! In Greece, Christmas gifts are exchanged on January 1st, St. Basil's Day.  Basil is one of the four Fathers of the Greek Church (Basil, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Gregory of Nyssa are collectively referred to as the "Cappadocian Fathers").  Tradition holds that St. Basil is supposed to visit all Greek homes on the first day of the year, bearing gifts and toys. Vasilopita, "Sweet Bread of Basil" is prepared and a coin is baked into the ingredients. The person who gets a slice that contains the coin is considered blessed for the New Year. (recipe HERE)

Back to the Sixth Day of Christmas:  Today - geese. (Tomorrow - swans!)  You can click here to read my past post about Mother Goose books, but I'm really excited to share six "Gossie" books with you!

"Gossie is a gosling.  A small, yellow gosling who likes to wear bright red boots.  Every day."

These simple, sweet board books are perfect for preschoolers.  Gossie, Gertie, Ollie, Peedie, and BooBoo will help your child learn about friendship, siblings, and sharing.

I've enjoyed perusing author/illustrator Olivier Dunrea's website.  He lives in a tiny remote village on the western edge of the Catskills Mountains on the Upper Delaware River. The house he lives and works in is called "Henwoodie" - the Henhouse. Henwoodie is a large Arts & Crafts style house surrounded by an acre of gardens, lawns, and terraces.

He says about his Gossie books:  "Gossie & Friends began in 2001 with sketches of goslings while I was staring out the studio window watching Canada geese fly overhead, honking loudly. A pair of red rubber toy boots sat on my bookshelf for some strange reason. As I sketched goslings I started drawing them wearing red rubber boots. And that is how the idea for Gossie and her "bright red boots" came to life."

Gossie


Gossie and Gertie


Ollie


Ollie the Stomper



Peedie


BooBoo


[this blog reposted from December, 2010]

JESSIE WILCOX SMITH, MAGAZINES AND CHILDREN'S BOOKS

By chance, at the age of 20, Jessie Wilcox Smith found out she had a talent for drawing.  In 1889 she started her career as an illustrator in the advertising department of The Ladies Home Journal. She had been a kindergarten teacher prior to that, and it's apparent from her artwork that she idealized mothers and children, even though she never married or had children of her own.

For many, Jessie Wilcox Smith's artwork inspires a sense of nostalgia.  This is possibly because her illustrations appeared on the covers of GOOD HOUSEKEEPING Magazine every month from 1917-1933!  I especially love the covers that feature children reading and being read to...

As far as children's books, she illustrated over 40, including A CHILD'S GARDEN OF VERSES; LITTLE WOMEN; HEIDI; THE JESSE WILCOX SMITH MOTHER GOOSE;'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS; and two of George MacDonald's fantasies: AT THE BACK OF THE NORTH WIND and THE PRINCESS AND THE GOBLIN.  She is probably best known for Charles Kingsley's WATER BABIES.

Click here to see her illustrations of the various fairy tales from this book by Penrhyn W. Coussens.

Click on these Links for more information:
SEE MORE JESSE WILCOX SMITH GOOD HOUSEKEEPING COVERS
SEE JESSIE WILCOX SMITH ILLUSTRATIONS FROM OTHER MAGAZINES
ABOUT HER ART STYLE
BIOGRAPHY