Theodosia, Daughter of Aaron Burr by Anne Colver - a Book Review

Theodosia, Daughter of Aaron Burr by Anne Colver

Anne Colver was born in Cleveland, OH, in 1908, and died in 1991. She also wrote under the name Polly Anne Graff. Her books are written for middle/upper elementary; many biographies and some fiction, and some on her own and some with others.  She wrote or contributed to these titles among others:

Helen Keller, Crusader for the Blind and Deaf

Helen Keller: Toward the Light – a Discovery bio

Bread-and-Butter Indian

Bread-and-Butter Journey

The Wayfarer’s Tree

Abraham Lincoln – a Discovery bio

Mr. Lincoln’s Wife

Louisa May Alcott

Borrowed Treasure

Thomas Jefferson, Author of Independence – a Discovery bio

Florence Nightingale, War Nurse – a Discovery bio

Bad Jack and the Lincoln Boys

Squanto, Indian Adventurer – American Indian bio published by Garrard

Yankee Doodle Painter

Plato: Brave Lipizzaner Stallion

The Spirit of ‘76

Old Bet

Nobody’s Birthday

Shamrock Cargo: A Story of the Irish Potato Famine

Lucky Four

Listen for the Voices: A Novel of Concord

Secret Castle

Anne Colver was thirteen when she first heard of Theodosia Burr, and decided someday to write her biography….Theodosia, Daughter of Aaron Burr, was her very favorite out of all the books she wrote because the idea was her first for a book. Anne attended Friends School in Washington, D.C. and Pine Manor Junior College, then graduated from Whitman College in Washington state. After writing five mysteries, she turned to historical fiction. The Early American period, the era of the Burr family, was one of her specialties. At the time of the writing of this book, Anne lived in Irvington-on-Hudson, New York, with her husband, Stewart Graff, a lawyer and writer, and their daughter Kate.

Theodosia, Daughter of Aaron Burr, was first published in 1941. The book is 182 pages long and is written on an upper elementary reading level.

This biography is divided into two parts: New York, 1783-1801; and Charleston 1801-1812. The book tells the story of the life of Theodosia, the daughter of Aaron Burr, and as we learn of her, we learn more about Aaron Burr from the perspective of his devoted daughter. The story begins with Theodosia being a young girl who is being schooled by her father to be an academic, disciplined learner. He made sure she was well-educated. He and she carried on beautiful letters to one another until her death. Quickly the story moves to her as a young woman who married Joseph Alston, a Southern man who eventually became the governor of South Carolina. At first as I read this, I thought maybe I wouldn’t keep the book, thinking that it was going to be a poorly written romance. But I’m so glad I didn’t give up on the story. Theodosia stayed loyal to her father through his political difficulties and throughout the criticism and trial after his duel with Alexander Hamilton. Through her eyes, the reader learns about the character of Aaron Burr, his personality, the suffering he endured, and his ultimate “self banishment.” The story is well-told and conveys so much about a little-known period of American history. Theodosia died young, supposedly in a shipping accident in 1812 during the beginning of the conflict of the War of 1812 as she traveled from South Carolina to be with her father as he returned to Boston from England.

I can highly recommend this book for those wanting to learn more about Aaron Burr, and his loving daughter Theodosia, and this turbulent period of American history.

Additional titles to add to your studies:

Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr - Anna Erskine Crouse and Russel Crouse, Landmark Book

Wide World of Aaron Burr – Helen Orlob

Aaron Burr – William Wise

Strange Island – Marion Havighurst

Magnificent Adventure – Emerson Hough

River Pirates – Manly Wade Wellman

Alexander Hamilton – Jean Fritz

Alec Hamilton, The Little Lion – Helen Higgins, Childhood of Famous Americans

Duel! Burr and Hamilton’s Deadly War with Words – Dennis Fradin

First Book of the War of 1812 – Richard Morris

Story of the War of 1812 – Red Reeder

Pirates, Planters, and Patriots: The Story of Charleston, South Carolina – Janice Holland

South Carolina – Bernadine Bailey

Young Explorers’ New York: Maps of Manhattan – Lavinia Faxon

This is New York – M. Sasek

(All rights reserved. Sandy Hall 2018 – If you would like to copy this review and use it somewhere, please request permission. Thank you)

Angel Girl by Laurie Friedman, illustrations by Ofra Amit

Angel Girl by Laurie Friedman, illustrations by Ofra Amit

Book Review by Sandy Hall

“Herman lives in a labor camp. It is 1942, and the Nazis have made him a prisoner. He is forced to work long hours. His only food is soup made of water. Soon he loses the will to go on.

“Then she appears. A young girl on the other side of the barbed-wire fence – an angel girl, bearing food and hope in the most hopeless of times. She seems like a miracle.

“For Herman, the miracles have just begun…..

“Based on a true tale of survival, Angel Girl is a story of love, hope, and the strength of the human spirit.” (quoted from the dust jacket)

This beautiful story is told by Laurie Friedman and illustrated by Ofra Amit. Published in 2008, the book tells the story of a young Polish Jewish boy of eleven caught up in the events of World War II. His mother tells him to say he is sixteen when they are taken to a concentration camp. He lives and works in the camp with the men but gradually loses hope. A young girl outside the camp begins to appear each day and throws him an apple. When the camp is liberated, he never sees her again…..that is, until one day…….

You may want to watch this youtube video about this boy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULcvUxd_Ngo. Although there has been much written and said about this story being untrue since the book was published, including Herman who later admitted it was not true, still it is a beautiful story. The book was removed from publication, which is probably why I found an ex-library copy at a thrift store. If it was reprinted without claiming to be a true story, it would perhaps then be an enjoyable read as fiction.

Laurie Friedman wanted to be an author since she was in third grade. She was born in 1964 and grew up in Arkansas. She attended Tulane University where she studied literature, and also studied at Sorbonne University in Paris, France. She spent many years writing for the advertising industry and as a free-lance writer for newspapers and magazines. Friedman has written many books for children including the Mallory McDonald chapter books and The Mostly Miserable Life of April Sinclair. I have not read or seen those but they seem to be typical modern realistic fiction. She writes, “It makes me feel better when I read about a character going through something similar to what I’m going through, and seeing how that character handles the situation.” Laurie also have written some rhyming children’s picture books.

Ofra Amit “has illustrated several children’s picture books in Israel…..Angel Girl is her first children’s picture book in the United States. She hopes the illustrations will help bring this inspiring story into readers’ hearts. Ms. Amit lives in Sede Warburg, Israel.” (from the dust jacket) She is one of Israel’s premiere illustrators and has won many awards. Her work is very modern and abstract which I don’t normally enjoy.  Her drawings of people’s faces are always with long noses and wide-set eyes. In the case of this book’s illustrations, these sad faces work perfectly with the text. She conveys the fear, struggles, and hopelessness of the concentration camp without being too vivid.

Over the years, many moms of elementary children have asked for books about the Holocaust that would be appropriate for their families. Often it’s difficult to find books that tell the story without being too harsh for younger, more sensitive children. I think there are two sides to this issue of exposure to such horrors. Those who died and those who survived should never be forgotten. The depravity of man can sink to a very low point which usually doesn’t help a child to know. And yet, these stories of survival, courage, and the strength of humankind in the worst of difficulties should be told. And stories like this the one in this book show the providence of God even in the hardest of circumstances. This book should definitely be pre-read by a parent before sharing it with your children. Then be ready to discuss the mature content in light of historic events. I think if my own children were young, I would wait until age 10 and older, even though this is a picture book. And we would read it along with our studies of world history and those tragic events.

Many years ago, I made a journey to Israel to study at the Jerusalem Institute of Holy Land Studies. Our group took a day to visit the Yad Vashem, a museum in honor of those Jews killed in the Holocaust as well as a memorial of the Gentiles who came to the aid of many Jews. Being there was a humbling experience, even for me as a young adult. How pampered we are with our “first-world problems.” I admired the courage of Gentiles who helped to hide Jews at the risk of their own lives. At the Yad Vashem, I saw children visiting with their families despite the utter terror of the large photos and videos. The Jews want their families to remember, to know. Perhaps we are a little too removed here in America, both geographically and historically, from this kind of persecution. I don’t know….it will be up to you as parents to know and to tell in your own time what happened there so long ago.

Other books have been written for children and young people on the Holocaust and World War II that show the awful, fearful side, but also tell of courage, survival, the struggles to rebuild, the sacrifices made for others. These books, I believe, help to balance the dark side of this historic event with light. I don’t think it hurts to think through how I would act in the same situations, and to help our children ponder that as well. Would I follow the example of those who faced the evil and countered it with good?

Another picture book along this theme that I have included in my library is Elisabeth by Claire A. Nivola. This book tells the story of a young Jewish girl who loved her doll very much but had to made the difficult decision to leave her behind when her family is forced to flee Germany during World War II. Eventually, that doll finds its way back to her. I highly recommend this title; it is less graphic about the Holocaust than Angel Girl  and still helps you see the providence of God in an amazing way.

Another picture book that I recommend is Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot by Margot Theis Raven, although it takes place just after World War II. When Stalin blocked all ground routes coming in and out of Berlin, Americans and Britains helped to fly in supplies. This is the true story of a seven-year-old girl and one of the pilots who brought hope to the children.

The Yellow Star: The Legend of King Christian X of Denmark, written by Carmen Agra Deedy, and illustrated by Henri Sorensen, retells the story in picture book form of King Christian and the Danish resistance to the Nazis in World War II. This story is a legend, and there is no proof this story is true, but it “has been passed down through the years as fact. It's a story about the kind of leader you always want to serve, who is thoughtful, intelligent, and loves his people. This is a great short story to use in the study of WWII.” (Amazon review)

Irena Sendler and the Children of the Warsaw Ghetto by Susan Goldman Rubin and illustrated by Bill Farnsworth. “Irena Sendler, a Polish social worker, helped nearly four hundred Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto and into hiding during World War II.” (amazon review)

One Thousand Tracings: Healing the Wounds of World War II. When author/illustrator Lita Judge found hundreds of tracings of feet in her grandmother’s attic, she was intrigued and moved to share the story behind them. Judge bases this quiet, moving story of kindness and healing on her own family's history. After World War II, her grandparents organized a relief effort from their Midwest farm and sent care packages to more than 3,000 desperate people in Europe. In each spread, a young girl describes how she helps Mama with the packages. The stirring art in Judge's first picture book includes not only beautiful, full-page watercolor paintings of a family making a difference but also dramatic collages of black-and-white photos, newspaper cuttings, letters that Judge found in her grandparents' attic, and the foot tracings sent by Europeans desperate for shoes. There is no talk of the enemy. Judge focuses on the dramatic, realistic details of those in need ("We have only one pair of boots and must take turns") and the strength of those who fought "a battle to keep families alive" after the military battles were over. (amazon review)

The next step up from a picture book that I would recommend is the short chapter book The Little Riders by Margaretha Shemin, illustrated by Peter Spier. "Take care of the little riders," says Johanna's father to the eleven-year-old when he leaves her with his parents for an extended vacation in their Dutch village. And Johanna does. She loves the twelve metal figures on horseback who ride forth each hour from the clock on the ancient church tower. She would do anything to protect them, anything. And on night she risks her life to prove it. Set during the Second World War when the German army occupied Holland, The Little Riders is an exciting, moving adventure story, just right for reading aloud. (Amazon review)

If you do find Angel Girl and read it, please let me know your thoughts.

(all rights reserved. Sandy Hall 4/7/2018. Please ask permission to publish this elsewhere. Thank you.)

J. Walker McSpadden’s Romantic Stories for Young People

J. Walker McSpadden’s Romantic Stories for Young People,

a series about the history of specific US states

Very little information is available online about this author, J. Walker McSpadden. He was born on May 13, 1874, in Knoxville, TN, the third child of Wilkie and Margret. He graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1897. Somehow he met and fell in love with a young lady from Binghamton, NY, and on December 16, 1902, he and Inez McCrary married in her home town. They had one son, Chester Ford, and one daughter, Florence, who died in NYC at age 37 in 1948. At some point he lived at 137 Grove St., Montclair, NJ. Several of the adult books he wrote center around there.  McSpadden evidently also lived in NYC and was a member of the National Arts Club of NYC; his involvement there prompted his book for children, Famous Painters of America, in 1916. He is mentioned in the 1917-1918 edition of Who’s Who in New York, a Biographical Dictionary of Prominent Citizens of New York City and State, edited by Herman W. Knox.  Although he is mentioned in such a prestigious list, it seems strange that so little is known of his life. He registered for the draft in 1917, but there is no record of him going to war or receiving a veteran’s pension. McSpadden traveled a lot; his name is listed on several ships’ records, from France, England, Hawaii, and other far-flung places. World Cat lists him as an author, editor, translator, author of introduction, composer and adaptor. He died on February 9, 1960 and was buried near my home town in Johnson City, NY.

McSpadden was a prolific writer, authoring several hundred books, mostly for children. He wrote the series “The Romantic Story of…..” about various states, twelve in all. They include: Michigan, Illinois, Massachusetts, Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Texas, New York, California, and Virginia. I believe that is all that he did; I can’t find any more listed anywhere. Each book is about 120 pages, published by J.H. Sears & Company in the 1920s, and illustrated by Howard C. Hastings. These books are true “living” books, a story within a story. I have read three of them so far and stayed up way past my bedtime to finish them. The Michigan story was about a family traveling by ship through the Great Lakes from Chicago to New York state. And if you know your geography, that journey included Lake Michigan, up through the Straits of Mackinac, Lake Huron, then down the Detroit River past the city of Detroit, and on to Lake Erie and eventually Lake Ontario. All along this journey the father in the story tells his children the history of the state of Michigan. The Pennsylvania title tells of a Boy Scout troop that is camping for a week in the wilds. Two of the boys take refuge from a storm in the cave of a “mountain man” who tells them the history of Pennsylvania. Each book is like this – a story within a story. Each one gives the highlights of the state’s history. McSpadden deals fairly with the Native Americans’ plight, defending their right to their land, telling in a balanced way how they were treated by settlers as well as of their raids and massacres.

I learned so much from these books, especially Michigan, even after having lived in Michigan for many years. Obviously, states’ histories overlap, so as you read you see the connections in their histories. The books are well-written in short chapters, excellent vocabulary, but in story form to make them interesting to young people. I think these books could be used as spines in your study of a state. The topics covered for each state are like looking across the mountain tops, seeing the high points of each period of history. Then further study could be done on each of the events or people mentioned. I’m surprised these have not been listed on any quality lists of children’s history books. I picked up one copy at Half Price Books recently and immediately ordered the rest on Amazon, Abebooks, and Ebay.

If you want to know more about the illustrator of these books on the states, Howard L. Hastings, he is discussed here: https://www.pulpartists.com/Hastings.html

The introduction to these books on the states was written by McSpadden,

“This series of ‘Romantic Stories of the States’ is addressed to everyone, young and old, who is not ‘dead of soul,’ as Scott so aptly put it a century ago. Most of us would resent being called unpatriotic, and yet how many of us know the story of our native state? How many of us have stopped to trace the colorful adventures of the hardy pioneer fathers and mothers who laid the first hearthstones in the wilderness?

“If we trace the story of each one of our states back to Colonial times, we find that the well-springs of history bubble over with adventure and romance. Truth is indeed stranger than fiction, as the reader will find repeatedly in following these tales of bygone days. And in the writing of them, we have adhered closely to historical fact, oftentimes gathering the local color from some ancient volume which was published only a few years after the occurrences – as for example the narratives of the travels of the explorer himself.

“In each instance the story is followed from earliest Colonial times to the dawn of statehood. We enter the primeval forest or the pathless plain, and we witness, step by step, its slow emergence and transformation into a busy, thriving commonwealth. This book is not intended as a history, as much as a series of historic incidents, or sidelights which reveal the spirit of the times.

“It is addressed both to young folks who revel in adventure, and to their elders - the man and woman who hearken back with pride to their native heath, although they may have been absent from it for many years, and now want their children to know something of its rich past. To all such we hope the book will come with the memory-laden fragrance of a breeze from the mountains or across the prairies ‘back home’.

To still a third group of readers, this series is offered – the harassed librarian or teacher who is often asked questions in regard to local history. They know that while it is easy enough to get material about the United States as a whole, the occurrence closest home is often most elusive.

“These stories may be called adventures in patriotism. They are culled from a wealth of material in our heroic past, in the hope and belief that they will bring back to us all, whether young or old, something of the rich heritage which clings to our native soil.”

Some have raised the question about the word “romance” in the titles of these books. These are definitely not romantic stories like those in cheap novels of today. A romance is “in traditional literary terms, a narration of the extraordinary exploits of heroes, often in exotic or mysterious settings. Most of the stories of King Arthur and his knights are romances. A romance is a novel or other prose narrative depicting heroic or marvelous deeds, pageantry,….usually in a historical or imaginary setting.” (www.dictionary.com). These were popular in the High Middle Ages and early modern ages, and again in the late 1800s into the mid-1900s.

McSpadden wrote many other books for children and young people. He authored a book about Robin Hood, holidays, operas and musical comedies, animals of the world, Hawaii, stories from Dickens, stories from Wagner, the quest for gold and many others. He also translated such books as Pinocchio, and wrote introductions for books such as The Three Muskateers. Now that I know what a great writer he was, I am keeping my eyes open for more. They are well-worth owning!

(all rights reserved. Sandy Hall 4/5/2018. Please ask permission to publish this elsewhere. Thank you.)

All Sail Set, A Romance of the "Flying Cloud" by Armstrong Sperry

All Sail Set, A Romance of the “Flying Cloud” written and illustrated by Armstrong Sperry, introduction by William McFee. Published by John O. Winston Company, c. 1935, 171 pages. Upper elementary reading level.

Best known for his book Call It Courage, American writer Armstrong Sperry wrote many biographical and historical fiction books especially for boys. He was born in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1897, the same year as my grandfather! Sperry received his art training at Yale, and then was drafted into the U.S. Navy toward the end of World War I. During his boyhood, he had read and enjoyed the works of Herman Melville, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Jack London, so after the war he traveled extensively in the South Pacific. These experiences definitely influenced his writings. In the late 1920s, after his marriage, he illustrated for advertising, including Campbell’s soup. He illustrated the dust jacket for the first edition of Tarzan and the Lost Empires by Burroughs.

Sperry’s great-grandfather was a sea captain and undoubtedly passed on his love for the sea and stories of sea travel. Armstrong wrote All Sail Set and it won the Newbery Medal in 1936. After this he lived in the Southwest for a time and was inspired to write several novels about that area. His earlier travels in the South Pacific set the stage for his Newbery Medal winner Call It Courage in 1940.  This was the story of a young boy on a Polynesian island who had been branded a coward because of his fear of the sea, even though his name is Stout Heart. He goes out alone on his canoe, faces storms, stays on a deserted island, and eventually returns home. When accepting the medal for this book, Sperry said, "I had been afraid that perhaps in Call It Courage, the concept of spiritual courage might be too adult for children, but the reception of this book has reaffirmed a belief I have long held: that children have imagination enough to grasp any idea, and respond to it, if it is put to them honestly and without a patronizing pat on the head."

Armstrong Sperry died in 1976. Some of his books, both fiction and nonfiction, include:

Call It Courage

All Sail Set

Wagons Westward

John Paul Jones: The Pirate Patriot

Storm Canvas

The Rain Forest

Little Eagle: A Navajo Boy

Frozen Fire: A Story of the Amazon Jungle

Coconut: The Wonder Tree

The Voyages of Christopher Columbus, a Landmark book

The Amazon: River Sea of Brazil, a Rivers of the World book

Hull-Down for Action

Captain Cook Explores the South Seas, a World Landmark book

River of the West: The Story of the Boston Men, a Winston Adventure book

Black Falcon

All about the Jungle, an Allabout book

All about the Arctic and Antarctic, an Allabout book

All about Captain Cook, an Allabout book

Lost Lagoon

The Boy Who Was Afraid

One Day with Tuktu, an Eskimo Boy

One Day with Manu

One Day with Jambi in Sumatra

Thunder Country

Understanding Egypt

Great River, Wide Land: The Rio Grande Through History

Danger to Windward, about Nantucket Whaling

South of Cape Horn: a Saga of Nat Palmer and Early Antarctic Exploration

He illustrated The Story of Hiawatha by Chaffee, Thunderbolt House by Pease, and Boat Builder by Judson, among many others

This book, All Sail Set, is a story told by Enoch Thacher in his old age, of his adventures on the Flying Cloud, the very fast clipper ship built by the famous Donald McKay in the early 1850s. The introduction to the book, written by William McFee, sets the stage to this exciting tale of drama on the high seas.

“The maritime history of New England in the first part of the nineteenth century has certain features not found elsewhere in the world. A stormy, difficult coast; a hardy race of men, who were also born traders; an almost unlimited supply of oak and pine suitable for shipbuilding, and a network of manufacturing centers – all these combined to produce a shipping community second to none. It is not enough to have ships coming into harbor and merchants with cargoes to consign. True maritime prosperity arises when men take naturally, without immediate thought of money making, to ship and shipbuilding, when whole families are so saturated with seafaring thoughts that it becomes the natural way of life for boys to adopt, and the girls accept as part of their existence the absence of their husbands and sweethearts for long voyages.”

This is the environment in which Enoch Thacher grows up. At the age of 15, he signs on with the first voyage of the Flying Cloud, after helping Donald McKay work on its design. The story of this voyage and its record-breaking speed is told in a manner that makes it believable, without being over-sensational.  Thacher learns courage, faces an enemy on board, and earns respect as the story proceeds. The adventures of the crew sailing around the southern tip of South America and on to San Francisco do not follow the typical exaggeration and stereo-typing of other books about the sea. It’s easy to see how Sperry’s travels caused his writings to “ring true.” The book includes a lot of black-line illustrations done by Sperry, including informational diagrams of the clipper ship. There is also a Nautical Glossary, “a first aid for the landlubber” at the back of the book. I highly recommend this book for ages 9 to 12, especially for boys.

Recommended additional books/resources to aid your studies:

America Travels by Alice Dalgliesh

Clipper Ship Days by John Jennings, a Landmark book

When Clipper Ships Ruled the Seas by James McCague, How They Lived series

Meet the Men Who Sailed the Seas by John Dyment, a Step-Up book

Clipper Ships and Captains by Jane Lyon, an American Heritage book

Clipper and Whaling Ships by Tim McNeese

Seabird by Holling Clancy Holling

The Story of the Clipper Ships by R. Conrad Stein, a Cornerstones of Freedom book

South of Cape Horn: a Saga of Nat Palmer and Early Antarctic Exploration by Armstrong Sperry

Full Hold and Splendid Passage: America Goes to Sea 1815-1860 by Bill Bonyun

Voyage of the Javelin by Stephen Meader

Clipper Ship by Thomas Lewis, an I Can Read History book

Bluewater Journal by Loretta Krapinski

Yankee Clippers: The Story of Donald McKay by Clara Ingram Judson

Donald McKay and the Clipper Ships by Mary Ellen Chase, a North Star book

The True Adventures of Daniel Hall by Diane Stanley

Whaling Days by Carol Carrick

Harvest of the Sea by Walter Buehr

The Story of the New England Whalers by R. Conrad Stein, a Cornerstones of Freedom book

When Nantucket Men Went Whaling by Enid Meadowcroft, a How They Lived book

Whaler ‘Round the Horn by Stephen Meader

American Practical Navigator by Nathaniel Bowditch

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham

Down to the Sea: A Young Peoples’ Life of Nathaniel Bowditch, the Great Navigator by Louise Hall Tharp

Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana

The Voyager’s Stone by Robert Kraske, about sea currents

Trail Blazer of the Seas by Jean Lee Latham, about Matthew Maury and his story of sea currents

Wandering Albatross (Birds of Antarctica) by Jennifer Dewey

Albert the Albatross by Syd Hoff, An Early I Can Read book

Tierra del Fuego: A Journey to the End of the Earth by Peter Lourie

San Francisco by Jean Fritz

Plants That Changed History by Joan Elma Rahn

The Money Trees, the Spice Trade by George Massalman

(Book review by Sandy Hall. All rights reserved. August 26, 2017)

We Live in the City - by Lois Lenski

We Live in the City by Lois Lenski

One of the Roundabout America series. Published by Lippincott in 1954.

Second/third grade independent reading level; interest level lower.

My phone rang one day recently; it was my sister calling from upstate NY. She was at a church rummage sale, and there were old books. Did I want them? Fifty cents each. I asked her to read off the titles so I could make a decision on each one. “We Live in the City by Lois Lenski”! Yes! Yes!!! First edition too! I’ve watched sales for these Roundabout America books for 40 years!

Lois Lenski was born in 1893 in Springfield, Ohio, the fourth of five children born to Reverend Richard and Mrs. Lenski. The adults in her life encouraged her artistic talent. After high school graduation, she attended Ohio State University, graduating with a degree in education. She then studied art in New York City and in London. After her marriage to Arthur Covey, she began to carve out time from family life to pursue her art as well as writing. Many of her children’s books were based on her own family growing up as well as her own children. The places they lived also inspired several books including the Roundabout America series. She wrote,

” Through all my poems run the same themes, concepts and values that rear again and again in my stories. It is of interest to note that my very first book, Skipping Village, was originally titled: A Child's Town. This theme - a child and his town, or a child and his environment - can be traced through all my books. It is obvious in two of my latest picture books, At Our House and I Went For a Walk, and is behind all of Mr. Small's activities. It runs through my historical books, which portray children and family life in early periods of our history, and it is the basic theme behind my Regional and Roundabout America books. Whether a short picture book, a scholarly historical study, or an interpretation of some phase of life in contemporary America, my books are essentially family stories, reflecting the child in his environment.”

Lenski wanted her stories to draw the reader to empathy. Her characters’ experiences served as examples of personal growth. She felt that all people are to be respected, regardless of their social background, no matter how they live, no matter how much they own or lack. In that sense, her books are very appropriate for today’s climate of prejudice and racial unrest. Some currently criticize her work as unrealistic, naïve, and too simplistic, as well as inaccurate historically, especially in relation to interactions between whites and non-whites.

She won the Newbery Medal for Strawberry Girl in 1945 and the Children’s Book Award for Judy’s Journey in 1947. Lenski also illustrated books for other authors such as The Little Engine That Could  by Watty Piper, 1930, and the first four books in Maud Hart Lovelace’s well-loved Betsy-Tacy series. Lois died in Florida in 1974.

Her books make nice easy read-alouds to early elementary children. Some titles are very rare; others are easily accessible.

Some of her books include: (books followed by * are titles I own)

Mr. Small  books – picture books*

Seasons books – picture books

Phebe Fairchild, Her Book – 1936 Newbery Honor book

A-Going to the Westward*

Bound Girl of Cobble Hill

Ocean-Born Mary

Blueberry Corners*

Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison – 1941 Newbery Honor book*

Puritan Adventure*

Roundabout America series

We Live in the South

Peanuts for Billy Ben*

We Live in the City*

Project Boy

Berries in the Scoop*

We Live by the River

Little Sioux Girl

We Live in the Country

We Live in the Southwest

We Live in the North

High-Rise Secret*

Regional series

Bayou Suzette

Strawberry Girl*

Blue Ridge Billy*

Judy’s Journey*

Boom Town Boy*

Cotton in My Sack*

Texas Tomboy*

Prairie School *

Mama Hattie’s Girl

Corn-Farm Boy*

San Francisco Boy*

Flood Friday*

Houseboat Girl*

Coal Camp Girl

Shoo-Fly Girl

To Be a Logger

Deer Valley Girl*

And many others, including an autobiography, Journey Into Childhood*, published in 1972.

We Live in the City is one of the Roundabout America series. 128 pages in length. The book is divided into 3 parts: Newsboy Mike, Penthouse Girl, and Shoeshine Boy. Lenski has included two original poems at the start of each section.  Lenski’s blackline illustrations are scattered throughout. The book does not say, but I believe the story takes place in the 40s or 50s. Also, the city is not named but seems to be New York City or some other big city in the Northeast.

From the forward:

“Here is a world within a world. A world of a few streets between a park and a river in a great city. Here the streets are noisy with traffic; the subway rushes underground.; the elevated shakes the house and rattles the windows. Many homes are tucked away in tall apartment houses and three- and four-story flats. Here many children live and work and play on the streets. They are very much at home there. Let us make them our friends.”

In part 1, we first meet Mike Flynn, the city newsboy, from Irish descent. He is a young boy working to help support his family by selling papers. What an industrious young man he is! He’s working hard to earn enough money to buy a good warm coat for himself. He also takes some side jobs shoveling snow. A young lady comes to purchase a paper and Mike befriends her. She is the little girl in part 2, Penthouse Girl. Shirley is well-to-do, friendly and polite. She goes to the bakery to get her birthday cake, insists on carrying it herself, but she trips over her little dog and the cake falls and is smashed. Mike comes to the rescue. Later Shirley leaves for the summer to go to Maine on holiday. Mike also met a boy named Angelo in part 1, and Angelo is the main character in part 3. Angelo works as a shoeshine boy to bring in some extra money for the family. Mike helps him learn how to be a good businessman and successful in his new enterprise. Angelo’s family has to leave their tenement building because they are behind in the rent. They move all of their possessions out onto the sidewalk and sit down, no place to go. But Mike comes along and takes them all home, and his father helps Angelo’s father find work and a place to stay so all ends well.

Obviously, the plot is simplistic and would appeal only to younger children. Some of the vocabulary might have to be explained to children who do not live in a city: fire escape, taxis, shoe shine boy, tenement, dumb-waiter, icebox.  It’s a sweet story with an optimistic feel despite the hardships of Mike and Angelo in contrast to Shirley. But even then, Shirley is kind-hearted and unspoiled.

An example of Lenski’s poetry from the book:

In the City

The buildings are tall,

The people are small –

              In the city.

The noises are loud,

There’s always a crowd –

              In the city.

The cars move fast,

Great trucks jolt past –

              In the city.

Up in the sky

The pigeon fly –

              In the city.

East or west,

I like it best

              In the city.

Recommended additional books/resources to aid your studies:

The Bobbsey Twins’ Search in the Big City by Laura Lee Hope

City Book by Lucille Corcos

A Walk in the City by Rosemary Dawson

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

Subway by Larry Brimner

Newspapers by Leonard Everett Fisher

The First Book of News by Sam & Beryl Epstein

Maisy Goes to the City by Lucy Cousins

The Story of the Empire State Building by Patrick Clinton

The Inside-Outside Book of New York City by Roxie Munro

This is New York by M. Sasek

The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden

The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge by Hildegarde Swift

The Scots and Scotch-Irish in America by James E. Johnson

Just Like Max by Karen Ackerman

The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone – on the topic of industriousness

Jam & Jelly by Holly & Nellie by Gloria Whelan – on the topic of industriousness

(Book review by Sandy Hall. All rights reserved. August 15, 2017)