On Reading the Little House Books

I have been reading aloud to Lucia the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I loved them as a child, and reread them many times. While I recoiled at the racist depictions of Native American Indians and African-Americans (the minstrel show in Little Town on the Prairie) and was able to filter them out, it never occurred to me until I was an adult how these books might affect American Indian and African-American children. Why not? I certainly was affected by reading a lot of classics and contemporary books that were demeaning to women and girls.

Lucia first learned about the Little House books when one of her classmates dressed up as Mary, Laura's older sister. When my father sent out my dolls that had been stored in his attic for over 20 years, I gave Lucia the dolls that I had named Laura and Mary (Fisher Price My Friend dolls from the 1970's). She asked again about the books. I told her that the stories were good, but that there were certain things I objected to. I decided to read them aloud to her with some editing involved plus age-appropriate discussion about those sections.


"Laura" and "Mary" in their little bed

A couple of years ago, I brought up the issue of the Little House books with an online community, and my qualms about reading aloud a beloved series that I nonetheless had problems with. No one came out and directly accused me of censorship, but the term was bandied about. I didn't think that was fair. I didn't say others shouldn't read the books or that they should be removed from the shelves. I talked about my misgivings about giving the books to my own daughter, for whom I am supposed to be a responsible, conscientious parent. When I decided to read the books to Lucia, it was with the idea that this would be her introduction to the stories. Later, when she was older and had more critical thinking skills in place, she could read the books in their entirety.

It's almost two months since Lucia and I started reading the Little House books together. We're on These Happy Golden Years with no plans to continue on to the dreary The First Four Years, published after the deaths of both Wilder and her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane. We've talked about the issues mentioned above, plus the settlers' sense of entitlement to the land, and I think Lucia understands them as much as a 6 1/2 year old can understand.

While she enjoys the stories, Lucia is most fascinated with the clothes described. Last night, she interrupted my reading aloud to ask "What's a polonaise?"

"I think it's a bodice like a basque," I replied.

Please feel welcome to share in the comments or your own blog posts your experiences of being alienated by books beloved to others or your struggles with "problem books" you enjoyed as children.

Crafty Thursday: Heralds of Spring

I just realized that it's Crafty Thursday! For the most part, I've been working on small dolls for the class auction project, but I recently completed two larger dolls for a custom order, and was able to list some dolls in the shop as part of my Heralds of Spring 2010 Collection. The Spring equinox doesn't officially begin until March 20, but I am ready to be done with winter. Bulb flowers are peeping through the soil, the forsythia has bumps on its branches, and the flowering white currant bush has survived another year. (Unfortunately, the flowering red currant bush died in the heat wave last summer despite my hope that it had simply fainted.) I am bringing forth my spring collection in anticipation of the end of chills.

The Pussy Willow and Forsythia dolls have already sold, but as of today, the Daffodil is still in the shop, pictured with a thimble for size comparison:


Daffodil Doll With Basket

If you go to the listing, you'll see that the daffodil comes out of its ball of felt "dirt."

Here is the Forsythia Doll with Blossom Child:


And here is the Pussy Willow:



What are your favorite early spring flowers?

Tanita Davis Wins Coretta Scott King Honor Award

I'm thrilled that author, blogger and friend Tanita S. Davis won the 2010 Coretta Scott King Honor award for Mare's War. You can find all of the rest of the American Library Assciation awards at the press release found here (good luck finding it merely by going to http://ala.org).

I need to get a sticker now... and make a cake, too. Tanita, I'm making you a cake!

Rainmom: A Blog About Parenting a Child With Autism

Rainmom is an assistant professor of religious studies and a mom of two children, of whom the elder has autism. When I went to college with her, I got to enjoy her stunning soprano voice in productions of La Boheme and The Marriage of Figaro. Now, I read her thoughtful, insightful blog about raising a child with autism, and though I don't often comment, I take courage and wisdom from it.

My daughter's challenges are different from her son's, but there is definitely overlap in what we deal with as parents. When Rainmom wrote, "The Ohio House of Representatives has voted that insurance companies cannot decline to cover expenses related to autism and diabetes" (Little Victories), I realized that I had better find out where Washington State stood in that matter. I found the Autism Society of Washington (where you can find explanations for the wide range of diagnoses from "classic" autism to Pervasive Developmental Disorder).

We're still waiting for appointments to have our daughter assessed this spring. It's possible that she'll get a diagnosis that will help her obtain the services she needs, but it's also possible that like my youngest brother, she will be classified an "enigma."

I want Lucia to get the help she needs. I want her to have friends who accept her, quirks and all. It's very painful to see her run up to children, eager to be friends, and watch them shrink away from her into their parents. I understand why they do that, and I certainly don't like it when anyone invades my personal space. Still, I internally grumble, "Where are all those exuberant, extroverted kids when I need them? They're allegedly supposed to be in the majority."

July 25, 2010: Now that Lucia is older, I feel it is no longer appropriate to write about her. I decided not to delete older posts, but I want to respect her privacy by not writing about her in a public forum, even if she does have a pseudonym. If you have been reading the blog for awhile and wonder what is going on these days, please feel free to contact me through email.

Blessed Nine Years

Today is Bede's and my nine year wedding anniversary. We celebrated by dropping Lucia off at school and then taking time off work to go to IKEA. We have dreams of shelving units in our basement so that the storage area downstairs resembles a pantry more than a dumping ground of boxes. Tonight we had a class parent meeting. We were able to go out for desserty types of drinks afterward. We talked about our goals and hopes for the next nine years. I said, "I want to write a book that makes me proud." Bede would like to launch a game line.

In nine years' time, Lucia will be fifteen going on sixteen. That bends and stretches my mind into uncomfortable positions. I can barely fathom it. I think that if I didn't have a child, I'd be more oblivious to time's passage. Watching someone grow so quickly reminds me how brief our little lives are, and how much I want us all to be here for as long as possible.

Kindness to Animals in Stories

I've always been a fan of fairy tales where the main character's kindness to animals helps him or her become the hero of the story.
The Queen Bee, by the Brothers Grimm is a good example. Baba Yaga and the Girl With the Kind Heart is another. Sometimes the main character is even mighty, and displays the wisdom of having humility even when one is rich and powerful, such as the legend of King Solomon and the Bee. You'll notice that the Solomon story has a similar motif as that of "The Queen Bee."

Those are some of my favorite stories in which compassion toward animals (and in the case of Baba Yaga, toward things too!) is rewarded. What are yours?

Shepherdesses and Valentines

It's not "Crafty Thursday" anymore, but I was sick with strep throat all yesterday and missed out on most of the day. I'm recovering! So, here's my post:

I'll admit that I didn't have anything particular planned to feature for Valentine's Day (over a month away, too), but when the team leader of NaturalKids announced a "Valentine's Day challenge" it occured to me that I could make little shepherdesses with hearts on their capes. The heart theme would be in keeping with Valentine's Day, but the shepherdesses themselves could have more versatile for storytelling and display. Here is a photo of the first four shepherdesses I made:



This is my favorite photo of the shepherdesses:


Speaking of Valentine's Day, does anyone else recall the book The Blue Valentine (as opposed to the album by Tom Waits)? I believe it's the one by Gwen Schultz. When I did some internet digging, I found author Laurel Snyder's post about it, wondering if anyone else recalled its existence. It looks as if the library system where I can't place holds has a copy, and that it is indeed the book I remember.

No Pressure...

Oh, Just Answer the Question, Honey is a New York Times article by Edward Wyatt about a new game show that features "academic geniuses" 6-12 years old answering questions for prizes. At each level of competition, the parents choose whether or not their children will advance to the next level.

Oh my. A few years ago, I watched Spellbound, the spelling bee documentary released in 2002. I was dismayed by the overwhelming pressure some of the parents put on their children to win the National Spelling Bee. (Remember the grandfather who pledged to feed 5000 people in India if his grandson won?)

The Scullery Boy Remembers

Happy New Year! I'm pleased to announce that my short story, The Scullery Boy Remembers, is now published in Enchanted Conversation, an online journal of fairytales. The theme of the premiere issue is Sleeping Beauty. I was inspired by this passage from the Grimms' version of the story:

The horses, too, went to sleep in the stable, the dogs in the yard, the pigeons upon the roof, the flies on the wall; even the fire that was flaming on the hearth became quiet and slept, the roast meat left off frizzling, and the cook, who was just going to pull the hair of the scullery boy, because he had forgotten something, let him go, and went to sleep.