 |
Marianne Clay |
From about age 9 to whenever I became too self-conscious to give an honest
answer, when someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I told them:
I wanted to write books and illustrate them. My ambition came directly from
the books by children's book author and illustrator Lois Lenski. I read them
all because we had a treasure trove of her titles on our bookshelf, all sent
to us by our Great Aunt Bert.
Totally unlike Nancy Drew whose adventures I popped like candy and whose
fearlessness and speedy roadster I envied, Lois Lenski's stories took me to
places and lives I knew nothing about, like the sharecroppers growing cotton
in Arkansas in Cotton in My Sack, or the family of struggling strawberry
farmers in Strawberry Girl, or the West Virginian coal mining family in Coal
Camp Girl. Such is the power of a well-told tale that I still vividly recall
the plight of these books' young main characters and their often worn-out and
worried parents. But my experience is hardly unique. We can all cite books
whose powerful stories transformed our lives.
R. John Wright, whose Nursery Alice graces our cover, has been creating
characters from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland books. "These two books
are among the most enchanting in the entire world of children's literature,"
John says. "Carroll was a creative genius, and the illustrations by Tenniel
are no less inspired. We have wanted to tackle this project for many
years."
Then consider Hitty: Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field. More than 75
years after this book won a Newbery Medal, it continues to enchant a new
generation and to inspire the making of more Hitty dolls. Virginia Ann
Heyerdahl files a Hitty report on page 52, while on page 34, Toni Fitzgerald
presents the new phenomenon surrounding the Riley doll. This "urban toddler"
from Kish & Co. is stirring collectors to create Riley stories, outfits,
and adventures. What fun everyone is having. To add a little more frivolity
to the mix, we're asking you to create outfits for Helen Kish's Riley paper
doll on page 37.
So turn the page, and let the fun begin!
Marianne Clay
Editor
|
