From Alice to Ella: Female Protagonists in Children’s Literature
INF 385T
Lauren K. Burden
December 12, 2012
“The world was hers for the reading.”
― Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn From Alice and her adventures in Wonderland to the Cinderella who doesn’t need a
Prince Charming to do her any favors, female protagonists abound in the world of
children’s literature; however, for many years, “the ephemeral, the popular, the
feminine, the childish” was not considered true literature. The history of literature
shows how often women writers as well as works primarily composed for or
consumed by children were ignored and excluded from the cannon.1 The Victorian
era and, for the purposes of this exhibition, the publication of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s
Adventures in Wonderland signaled the beginning of the end for this limited
definition of literature. Not only did Carroll’s work introduce the world to the
irrepressible Alice and the sheer glee of nonsense, it elevated the status of children’s
stories from nursery tales to works of art.
If we accept, as Seth Lerer postulates, that “learning how to read is a lifetime, and
life-‐defining experience”2as well as the notion that children not only want to identify
with the protagonist of a story but also want to incorporate the morals and belief
systems of those stories into their lives, we begin to see the importance of strong
females in children’s literature. This importance is two-‐fold—first, such stories
provide role models for girls and help girls to answer questions such as “Who am I?
Who do I want to be? Are there people out there like me?”, and second, they show
all children, boys and girls alike, a world where women can be anything , whether
that be a mother, a writer, a warrior, even a small Swedish girl who can lift horses
over her head.
This exhibition aims to represent both the history of female protagonists as well as
the ways in which these characters are represented in four of the major genres of
1 Lerer, Seth. Children’s Literature: A Reader’s History from Aesop to Harry Potter. University of Chicago Press: Chicago, 2009. 7. 2 Lerer, Seth. Op. cit. 1.
children’s literature: contemporary realistic fiction, historical fiction, fantasy, and
series novels. Items for exhibition have been categorized first according to genre
and then chronologically within each grouping. Each of these genres has its own
unique characteristics and touchstones (although, given the popularity of stories
told in series, there is some overlap) as do the various eras within the timeline of
children’s literature.
The first component of the exhibition deals with contemporary realistic fiction, here
defined as works that have as a setting a time period contemporary with the date of
publication. Contemporary realistic fiction has always been one of the biggest
categories of children’s literature, beginning with morality tales and continuing
through the problem novels of the present day, and many of the most highly
regarded and critically acclaimed children’s books fall under this heading. Starting
off this grouping is Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, written in 1868-‐1869 and
dealing with one family’s domestic drama during the years of and immediately
following the American Civil War. Alcott’s novel not only portrays the often difficult
reality of growing up female during this time period, but also subverts some of the
traditional notions of femininity and what exactly constitutes “a woman’s work.”
Following along these same lines are L. M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables,
Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden, and Louise Fitzhugh’s Harriet the
Spy—all books centered around an outsider of a young woman searching to find her
identity and place in the world.
The next genre, historical fiction, is sometimes viewed as a mere subset of realistic
fiction but does merit attention as a separate entity all its own. Traditionally
defined as realistic fiction set in a time that predates that of its writing, typically by a
span of at least fifty years, historical fiction for children saw a great expansion of
themes, approaches, and topics in the second half of the twentieth century as the
focus shifted from stories of life on the frontier or at the boarding school to more
critical works dealing with some of the marginalized figures in history. Probably the
most famous works of children’s historical fiction with a female protagonist are the
“Little House” books by Laura Ingalls Wilder depicting the Ingalls family’s pioneer
life, but other representative works of the genre include Scott O’Dell’s Island of the
Blue Dolphins, Jean Craighead George’s Julie of the Wolves, and Elizabeth George
Speare’s The Witch of Blackbird Pond, all of which offer readers strong, independent
female characters who serve as counterexamples to Wilder’s paragon of girlhood.3
Currently one of the most popular genres of children’s literature is fantasy—stories
that contain elements of the fantastical, nonsensical, or supernatural. Fantasy
stories can take place entirely in what J. R. R. Tolkien called “secondary worlds,” in
both a realistic setting and a secondary world to which the characters are
transported, or in the everyday reality of the actual world into which fantastical
events, characters, and objects have been inserted. With its roots in fairy tales and
myth, fantasy has a long history but did not become commonly accepted into the
cannon until after the Romantic movement of the nineteenth century. As a genre,
fantasy is rife with female protagonists—such girls often serve as a kind of “tour
director” for the reader, deciphering the rules and boundaries of the secondary
world and making sense of all the nonsense. The epitome of the female fantasy
protagonist is, of course, Lewis Carroll’s Alice, both in her attitude towards her
predicament and the self-‐reliance she must discover in order to cope in
Wonderland. Lucy Pevensie of C. S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,
Meg Murry in Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, and Princess Ella in Gail Carson
Levine’s Ella Enchanted all follow in Alice’s footsteps as girls who not only survive
their brushes with the fantastical but thrive.4
The final genre represented in this exhibition contains some books written as parts
of a series. Some of these titles, such as the first Nancy Drew mystery The Secret of
the Old Clock, function in the same way crime procedurals on television do, with the
same set of relatively static characters appearing from book to book and only the
3 O’Sullivan, Emer. ‘Historical Fiction.’ Historical Dictionary of Children’s Literature. Lanham: Scarecrow Press, 2010. 23-‐24. 4 O’Sullivan, Emer. ‘Fantasy.’ Op. cit. 96-‐99.
basic plot changing so that it is not necessary for readers to read the books in
sequential order. Others, like Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy-‐Tacy series, follow one
character over the course of her life and must be read in order so as to maintain the
chronological narrative. Many of the works found in the other categories could also
make an appearance here, as books in series continue to appeal to children of all
ages; however, the titles included in this grouping exemplify the series approach.
Specific attention was paid to the representative editions of the novels, with first
editions being sought for exhibition, unless the copy specifics of a later edition
created additional interest (as in the case of A Wrinkle in Time). Attempts to find
either holographic or typescript drafts of some of the representative works were
also made so as to show the circular nature of the writing process and the editorial
and authorial changes made during this process. Representative works were
selected not only for their place in the canon of children’s literature but also for
what each work said about girlhood, the place of females in society, and the
evolution of depictions of female protagonists.
It is to be hoped that “From Alice to Ella: The Female Protagonist in Children’s
Literature” shines a larger spotlight on the importance of female main characters in
children’s books and the ways in which these books instruct and shape children’s
notions of femininity and women’s place in this world. Perhaps through this exhibit
children of all ages will discover a kindred spirit like Anne Shirley, a sense of
wonder like Alice, or the delicate balance of femininity and strength of Jo March.
Perhaps they will discover, as author Stephen King puts it, “the uniquely portable
magic of books.”
Contemporary Realistic Fiction
1. Alcott, Louisa May (1832-‐1888). Little Women, Part One, 1868, Little Women, Part Second, 1869. Boston: Roberts 2 volumes, illus. 18cm Publisher’s advertisements bound in. Ex libris John Stuart Groves; in double slip case; v. 1 inscribed “P. Fox, Oct/68”; v. 2 inscribed “Rosamond from Fairy’s mother, May 1885” First editions of Alcott’s most famous work, Little Women, in the original two parts (the second volume was published as Good Wives in Great Britain). Both parts were combined in 1880 and have been published as one volume since then. Little Women is commonly regarded as a classic of nineteenth century American children’s literature, and it demonstrates a uniquely American vision of family life and the “work” of women. A fictionalized autobiography of its author, Louisa May Alcott, the story centers on the lives of the March daughters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—and the everyday triumphs and struggles they encounter during the years of the American Civil War. In its portrayal of the girls as real people rather than mere moral exemplars, Little Women broke from the moral tale tradition of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and showed its protagonists as being “different…from their earlier counterparts.”5 Lender: Harry Ransom Center, the University of Texas at Austin Institution Call Number: PS 1017 S5
5Lerer, Seth. Op. cit. 232-‐234.
2. Alcott, Louisa May (1832-‐1888). Holographic draft of two chapters from Little Women, Part Second, “Our Foreign Correspondent” and “Heartache”. These drafts contain material for the second volume of Little Women, written by Alcott in 1869, which begins three years after the close of the first volume and follows the March daughters into womanhood, careers, and marriage. “Our Foreign Correspondent” deals with the youngest March, Amy, and her travels in Europe while “Heartache” is concerned with the main character Jo’s rejection of romance with her childhood friend and neighbor Laurence (known as Laurie in the book and as Teddy to Jo herself). Alcott wrote the second volume in response to the tremendous success of Volume 1 and to provide financial security to her family, not because she had any particular desire to continue the story; like her protagonist Jo, Alcott had higher expectations for her literary career that were somewhat thwarted by her gender.6,7 Lender: Concord Free Public Library, Concord, MA. Finding Aid Information: Vault A35, L.M. Alcott, Unit 1, Folders 5 and 6
3. Spyri, Johanna (1827-‐1901). Heidi, the Shirley Temple Edition, 1959. New York: Random House 252 p., illus. 20cm Inscribed: Cidy Laurence. With dust jacket. Heidi is a bildungsroman in an Alpine setting that focuses on the titular Heidi and her childhood in both the Swiss Alps and the city of Frankfurt, Germany. Written 6 O’Sullivan, Emer. ‘Louisa May Alcott.’ Op. cit. 23-‐24. 7 ‘Louisa May Alcott Papers [1847]-‐1887.’ June 10, 2006. Finding aid at the Concord Free Public Library, Concord, MA. http://www.concordlibrary.org/scollect/fin_aids/LMAlcott.html. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
originally in German, it is now known primarily through the 1937 film version starring Shirley Temple and the 1975 Japanese animated adaptation. This particular edition of Heidi, known as the Shirley Temple Edition, is illustrated with photographs from the 1937 film and was published as part of a 1959 Random House series concerned with book versions of famous Temple films.8 Lender: Harry Ransom Center, the University of Texas at Austin Institution Call Number: PZ 7 S772 H66 HRC-‐TA
4. Montgomery, L.M. (1874-‐1942). Anne of Green Gables, 1908. Boston: L.C. Page & Co. viii p., 1 l., 429 p. front., 7 pl. 20 cm. L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables, the first novel in her eight book series following the life of the orphaned Anne Shirley, recounts the adventures of young Anne after her adoption by Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, a middle-‐aged brother and sister who were expecting a boy orphan to help them with their farm, not the red-‐headed hellion they were mistakenly sent. Though originally intended for an adult audience, Anne of Green Gables has become a classic of children’s literature with readers of all ages captivated by Anne’s escapades and individuality. Anne does not fit into quaint Avonlea with her bright red hair, flair for the melodramatic, and exuberant joy for life. Anne’s journey from orphaned outsider to beloved center of the family as well as the way in which she brings life and excitement to the Cuthberts’ household reflect, perhaps, “Montogery’s own lessons to female readers: that there is a place for the female imagination, that artistry is not merely artifice, but a gift for the drama and the dare.”9
8 O’Sullivan, Emer. ‘Johanna Spyri.’ Op. cit. 237-‐238. 9 Lerer, Seth. Op. Cit. 237-‐239.
Lender: Harry Ransom Center, the University of Texas at Austin Institution Call Number: PZ 3 M767 An12
5. Montgomery, L.M. (1874-‐1942). Holographic draft of Rilla of Ingleside, March 11, 1919-‐August 24, 1920. Rilla of Ingleside is the final book in the chronicles of Anne Shirley-‐Blythe and focuses primarily on Anne’s youngest daughter, Rilla. It takes place during the First World War, telling the story of the Canadian homefront through the eyes of a fifteen year-‐old girl. Lending Institution: University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada Institution Call Number: XZ5 MS A004 6. Burnett, Frances Hodgson (1849-‐1924). The Secret Garden, 1911. London: William Heinemann vii[I], 306 [6] p., incl. advertisements at the end, [8] leaves of color plates; 21 cm. First edition. Illustrated by Charles Robinson. With printed tissue guard sheets. Advertisements on the half-‐title verso and last six pages. Inscription on front pastedown ‘Helen McSwiney, Xmas 1911 from W Rendell.’ Pub. Green pictorial cloth gilt, top edges stained in black with green pictorial endpapers. Generally regarded as Frances Hodgson Burnett’s masterpiece (she is also known for A Little Princess and Little Lord Fauntleroy), The Secret Garden opens with young Mary Lennox, a rich, spoiled orphan, being sent from India to England after the death of her parents from malaria. At her new home in the English countryside, she meets her bedridden cousin Colin and the young groundskeeper Dickon, and the three children discover the “almost magical agency of a secret garden…shut up since the death of Colin’s mother” a decade earlier. The Secret Garden is notable not only
for its rich prose and lush description but also for the transformation of the decidedly unlikeable Mary into a genuine friend and young woman.10 Lending Institution: Cotsen Children’s Library, Princeton University Institution Call Number: COTSEN 4214 7. Smith, Betty (1896-‐1972). A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, 1943. Philadelphia: The Blakiston Company 3 p. l., 367 p., 20 cm First edition. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn tells the story of Francie Nolan, a young girl growing up in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn in the opening years of the twentieth century. Like Anne of Green Gables, Smith’s novel was not initially intended as a children’s book but has gained a wide youth readership over the ensuing decades. It follows both Francie’s growth from a child to a college student as well as the growth and changes of her neighborhood (at that time a very poor immigrant stronghold). Tree is notable for not only its realistic depiction of the immigrant experience in America but also for its unique depiction of adolescent female life.11 Lending Institution: Harry Ransom Center, the University of Texas at Austin Institution Call Number: HRCMIN 601646 HRC-‐TA 8. Smith, Betty (1896-‐1972). Typescript draft of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Extensive drafts of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn are available through the University of North Carolina’s archives. These folders contain typescript drafts with editor’s notes and corrections by Smith.12 Lending Institution: University of North Carolina Finding Aid Information: Betty Smith Papers-‐ Series 3, Folders 441-‐446 9. Fitzhugh, Louise (1928-‐1974). Harriet the Spy, 1964. New York: Harper & Row 298 p. illus. 21 cm. 10 O’Sullivan, Emer. ‘Frances Hodgson Burnett.’ Op. cit. 56. 11 ‘A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.’ Novels for Students. Ed. Sara Constantakis. Vol. 31. Detroit: Gale, 2010. 278-‐301. 12 ‘Betty Smith Papers, 1909-‐1971’. Finding aid at the Wilson Special Collections Library of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC. http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/s/Smith,Betty.html. Retrieved November 30, 2012.
First edition. In Louise Fitzhugh’s Harriet the Spy, eleven year-‐old Harriet would rather watch others and write about them in her book than participate in the world around her. One day, her book becomes public knowledge and young Harriet becomes the target of her classmates’ derision. Harriet the Spy presents its readers with yet another budding young writer, but it also “[seems] to break all the old rules of sincerity and sentiment.” Unlike her forebears, Harriet utilizes irony and comes to the conclusion that, sometimes, honesty is not always the best policy. Fitzhugh’s novel has come to be seen as a departure from traditional children’s literature norms and the beginnings of the modern book for children.13 Lending Institution: University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Institution Call Number: 813F578 OH 9ZAR09D27S04TPK
10. Konigsburg, E.L. (1930-‐ ). From the Mixed-‐Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, 1967. New York: Atheneum 162 p. illus. 22 cm. 1st edition, illustrated by E.L. Konigsburg E.L. Konigsburg has the distinction of being one of only five authors to win the American Library Association’s John Newbery Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature twice and is the only writer to have won the Medal and a Newbery Honor in the same year. Her first Newbery winner was From the Mixed-‐Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler—the story of siblings (led by eldest sister Claudia) who run away from home and find themselves staying at the Metropolitan Museum on Art in New York City. Like much of Konigsburg’s work, From the Mixed-‐Up Files… has a strong, articulate, and highly intelligent female protagonist searching for a sense of identity and is primarily a character study. Lending Institution: Perry-‐Castañeda Library Youth Collection, the University of Texas at Austin Institution Call Number: YOUTH PZ 7 K8352 FR
13 Lerer, Seth. Op. cit. 307-‐310.
Historical Fiction
11. Brink, Carol Ryrie (1895-‐1981). Caddie Woodlawn, 1935. New York: The Macmillan Company x, 270 p. incl. front., plates. 22 cm 1st edition, illustrated by Kate Seredy Caddie Woodlawn, a fictionalized account of the youth of author Carol Ryrie Brink’s grandmother Caroline, won the Newbery Award in 1936 and ushered in the “pioneer girl” genre of children’s literature most commonly associated with Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Little House” series. The novel covers two years in the life of young Caddie as she and her siblings grow up in the frontier wilderness of 1890s Wisconsin. Caddie is a redheaded free spirit who has been allowed to run wild with her brothers instead of being groomed as a lady with her sisters. The constant tension between Caddie’s rough ways and the gentility of her mother and sisters serves as a major conflict in the novel, and in the end, Caddie tames her wild ways and becomes a more “refined” version of herself. In this way, Caddie Woodlawn is much like Anne of Green Gables with its focus on “girlhood”—that transitional, exploratory time before societal conventions must rein in the imagination and adventures of youth.14 Lending Institution: Perry-‐Castañeda Library Youth Collection, the University of Texas at Austin Institution Call Number: YOUTH PZ 7 B78 CAD
14 Edenborg, Kate Roberts. "Caddie Woodlawn." Girl Culture: An Encyclopedia. Ed. Claudia A. Mitchell and Jacqueline Reid-‐Walsh. Vol. 1. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2008. 212-‐213.
12. Wilder, Laura Ingalls (1867-‐1957). These Happy Golden Years, 1943. New York, London: Harper & Brothers 5 p. l., 299, [1] p. col. front., illus. 21 cm. First edition—the end of the “Little House” books. Inscribed “Property of Miss Joan Oliff, 215 Devoe Avenue, Yonkers, New York”. Original dust jacket. The final book in the “Little House on the Prairie” series, These Happy Golden Years, recounts Laura Ingalls Wilder’s marriage with Almanzo Wilder and their life in Missouri. The entire series focuses on the Ingalls family’s daily pioneer life and their travels to new, more distant locations on the American frontier. The series has been sustained wide popularity since its publication and has resulted in a huge multi-‐media franchise of mass-‐marketing, museums, and the long-‐running television show starring Melissa Gilbert as young Laura.15 Lending Institution: Harry Ransom Center, the University of Texas at Austin Institution Call Number: PZ 7 W6461 TH 13. Wilder, Laura Ingalls (1867-‐1957). Holograph of “Pioneer Girl” manuscript—These Happy Golden Years tablet. The manuscript for “Pioneer Girl” appears to be the original from which the “Little House” series was written. These tablets, written in first person, contain the story line for Wilder’s books.16 Lending Institution: The State Historical Society of Missouri
15 O’Sullivan, Emer. ‘Laura Ingalls Wilder.’ Op. cit. 265-‐266. 16 Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-‐1957). The State Historical Society of Missouri. http://shs.umsystem.edu/manuscripts/invent/3633.html. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
Finding Aid Information: Laura Ingalls Wilder Papers, C3633, Folder 6
14. Speare, Elizabeth George (1908-‐1994). The Witch of Blackbird Pond, 1958. Boston: Houghton Mifflin 249 p. 22 cm First edition. Decorated endpapers. Sixteen year-‐old Kit Tyler moves from the “heathen island” of Barbados to the Puritan community of Wethersfield, Connecticut at the beginning of the Newbery Award-‐winning The Witch of Blackbird Pond. Kit suffers from massive culture shock as she is ostracized by the townspeople of Wethersfield and is charged with witchcraft after befriending an old Quaker woman who is also suspected of being a witch. Speare’s second novel is notable not only for its heavily researched historical realism but also for the strength of Kit’s character and the unique direction her quest for identity takes.17 Lending Institution: Harry Ransom Center, the University of Texas at Austin Institution Call Number: PZ 7 S7376 WI 15. O’Dell, Scott (1898-‐1989). Island of the Blue Dolphins, 1960. Boston: Houghton Mifflin 184 p. ; 22 cm First edition. Island of the Blue Dolphins is a female robinsonade based on the true story of a Nicoleño Indian named Juana Maria who was marooned for eighteen years on an island off the coast of California in the mid-‐nineteenth century. A winner of the Newbery Award in 1961, the novel was the first published by O’Dell and is a prime
17 Thuente, Mary Helen. ‘Beyond Historical Fiction: Speare's "The Witch of Blackbird Pond".’ The English Journal , Vol. 74, No. 6 (Oct., 1985). 50-‐55.
example of his specialty—historical novels with non-‐European American narrators, survival plots that include a criticism of destructive periods of American history, and strong central characters with an intense personal morality.18 Lending Institution: The deGrummond Collection, University of Southern Mississippi Institution Call Number: PZ7.O237 Is 16. O’dell, Scott (1898-‐1989). Draft of Island of the Blue Dolphins. The first page of this draft is manuscript with the rest in typescript. Contains notes and corrections from O’dell and editor on a draft of Island of the Blue Dolphins.19 Lending Institution: Children’s Literature Research Collection, Free Library of Philadelphia Institution Call Number: FLP.CLRC.ODELL, Folder 1 17. George, Jean Craighead (1919-‐2012). Julie of the Wolves, 1972. New York: Harper & Row 170 p. ill. 22 cm. First edition. Winner of the 1972 Newbery Award, Julie of the Wolves is a survival story of a young Inuit woman torn between cultures when a “child marriage” is thrust upon her. Julie, whose Inuit name is Miyax, escapes to the tundra and learns how to communicate with wolves, thus saving her life. Julie of the Wolves reflects George’s own interest in both wolves and Inuit culture and has been the subject of much controversy regarding the forced marriage plotline.20 Lending Institution: The deGrummond Collection, University of Southern Mississippi Institution Call Number: PZ7.G2933 Ju
18 O’Sullivan, Emer. ‘Scott O’Dell.’ Op. cit. 187. 19 ‘Scott O’Dell Papers.’ Finding aid at the Children’s Literature Research Collections, the Free Public Library of Philadelphia. http://libwww.freelibrary.org/ead/view.cfm?name=Odell. Retrieved December 8, 2012. 20 O’Sullivan, Emer. ‘Jean Craighead George.’ Op. cit. 110.
18. George, Jean Craighead (1919-‐2012). Typescript first draft of Julie of the Wolves. Typescript, corrected first draft. 157 pages.21 Lending Institution: Children’s Literature Research Collection, University of Minnesota Institution Call Number: BOX MF340, Folders 53-‐55
Fantasy 18. Carroll, Lewis (1832-‐1898). Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, 1866. London: MacMillan and Company [12], 192 p. : ill. ; 20 cm. (8vo) The so-‐called "first (recalled) issue of the First edition," printed for Macmillan by the Oxford University Press and subsequently condemned by the author. HRC bookplate: From the Lewis Carroll collection of Warren Weaver. Most of front free endpaper cut away. Inscribed: Metropolitan Convalescent Institution, Children's Branch, August 1866; inscribed: Alice Cousins. This copy was purchased by L.C. Kent-‐Morgan in a second-‐hand bookstore in Bangalore, India in 1950 and subsequently acquired by Weaver. In this edition preliminary leaves [5] and [6] (pages [9]-‐[12] at front) exist in two states: variant A, with the first line of the last stanza of the prefatory poem beginning "Alice! A childish ..." and variant B, in which the line begins "Alice! a childish ..." HRC copy is variant A; with signed binding (ticket on back paste down): Bound by Burn, 37 & 38 Kirby St. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland can be seen, along with Little Women, as the beginning of a new era of female protagonists in children’s literature. Alice is not the effortlessly “good” girl of the morality tales; she is curious, open, and spontaneous and often feels quite heightened emotions as she falls “down the rabbit hole” and navigates the fantasy world of Wonderland. While laced with humor, the tale of Alice’s adventure is often fraught with danger, and the fantastical creations of Carroll made nonsense a worldwide phenomenon. The copy seen in this exhibition is a rare true first edition of Alice, printed for Macmillan but suppressed by Carroll himself because of issues with the print quality.22 21 ‘Jean Craighead George Papers.’ Finding aid for the Children’s Literature Research Collection, the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN. http://discover.lib.umn.edu/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-‐idx?c=umfa;cc=umfa;q1=jean%20craighead%20george;rgn=main;view=text;didno=CLRC-‐32. Retrieved December 8, 2012. 22 O’Sullivan, Emer. ‘Lewis Carroll.’ Op. cit. 60-‐62.
Lending Institution: Harry Ransom Center, the University of Texas at Austin Institution Call Number: PR 4611 A7 1865 WEA
19. Baum, L. Frank (1856-‐1919). The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, 1900. Chicago, New York: George M. Hill 4 p. l., [11]-‐259 p., 1 l. : col. ill., col. plates ; 22 cm. HRC copies 1-‐2 [GRO] are second state with all textual errors corrected; bookplate of John Stuart Groves; hardbound. Copy 1 in slipcase. Illustrations by W.W. Denslow. L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was originally conceived as a “modernized” fairy tale and was the “first full-‐length original fantasy that drew on American themes and sources.” His tale of Dorothy Gale’s journey to the magical land of Oz was intended by Baum to be representative of the liberation of American children’s literature from the confines of the European tradition. His iconic protagonist Dorothy represents, in some ways, the frontier spirit of America, and his other images (the Yellow Brick Road and the Emerald City) and characters (the Cowardly Lion, the Wicked Witch of the West, etc.) have made an indelible mark on the collective American psyche. Lending Institution: Harry Ransom Center, the University of Texas at Austin Institution Call Number: PZ 8 B327 Wo co. 1 20. Lewis, C.S (1898-‐1963). The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, 1950. London: Geoffrey Bles 172 [4] p., [I] leaf of color plates: illus.; 20.5 cm. First edition. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes. Publisher’s binding with blue boards stamped in silver with gray color-‐printed pictorial dust jacket. The first book in Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe introduces readers to the four Pevensie children and their adventures in the mythical world of Narnia. The youngest of the Pevensie siblings, Lucy, acts as the
reader’s initial guide into the world of Narnia and proves to be the wisest and most compassionate of the family. With the help of the great lion Aslan, the Pevensies defeat the evil White Witch and free Narnia from her tyrannical reign. At once an allegory for the Passion of Christ as well as a seminal work of children’s fantasy, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is frequently regarded as an entryway for readers to the world of high fantasy and science fiction, notably the novels of J.R.R. Tolkein.23 Lending Institution: Cotsen Children’s Library, Princeton University Institution Call Number: COTSEN 20730 21. L’Engle, Madeleine (1918-‐2007). A Wrinkle in Time, 1979 c1962. New York: Yearling, 1979 16th Dell Printing. [10], 211 [3] p.: 19.5cm. Inscription on half-‐title ‘For Jonathan Leff—Tesser well—Madeleine L’Engle’ Binding: Pub. Yellow color-‐printed pictorial wrappers. A Wrinkle in Time, the 1963 Newbery Award-‐winning novel by Madeleine L’Engle, tells the story of teen Meg Murry and her search for her missing physicist father. The characters travel through time, dimensions, and space in order to confront an evil entity that is trying to destroy the universe. A Wrinkle in Time combines elements of fantasy, science, and theology to weave its sweeping tale while simultaneously focusing on Meg’s search for identity and discovery of her own individuality. The copy on exhibition here is notable for its inscription from L’Engle, “Tesser well”-‐-‐her signature phrase which also appears in Rebecca Stead’s 2010 Newbery winner When You Reach Me.24 Lending Institution: Cotsen Children’s Library, Princeton University Institution Call Number: COTSEN 14049 22. L’engle, Madeleine (1918-‐2007). Draft of A Wrinkle in Time. Typescript edited draft of Chapters 1-‐12 of A Wrinkle in Time.25 Lending Institution: The deGrummond Collection, University of Southern Mississippi Finding Aid Information: Collection DG0605, Box 8, Folders 6-‐9 23 Grenby, M.O. Children’s Literature. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2008. 144-‐169. 24 O’Sullivan, Emer. ‘Madeleine L’Engle.’ Op. cit. 156-‐157. 25 ‘Madeleine L’Engle Papers.’ Finding aid at the deGrummond Collection, the University of Southern Mississippi. http://www.lib.usm.edu/legacy/degrum/public_html/html/research/findaids/lengle.html. Retrieved November 30, 2012.
23. McKinley, Robin (1952-‐ ). Beauty, 1978. New York: HarperCollins 247 p. ; 21 cm First edition. Robin McKinley’s Beauty is a retelling of the traditional fairy tale “The Beauty and the Beast” using the first-‐person voice of Honour, the renamed protagonist of the tale. Honour fits squarely in McKinley’s tradition of “girls who do things,” starting off as an unlikely hero but finally discovering a sense of identity and strength. Like much of McKinley’s work, Beauty is careful to make a feminist point while mixing the fantastical with the mundane.26 Lending Institution: The deGrummond Collection, University of Southern Mississippi Institution Call Number: PZ8.M1793 Be 1978b
24. McKinley, Robin. The Hero and the Crown, 1984. New York: Greenwillow Books 246 p. ; 24 cm. First edition. Dust jacket. The Hero and the Crown, winner of the 1985 Newbery Award and the prequel to McKinley’s The Blue Sword, tells the story of Aerin, the daughter of the king of Damar and a northern witch-‐woman who attempts to find some purpose in her life by teaching herself to hunt the small dragons troubling the kingdom’s farmers. When a real dragon attacks, Aerin and her faithful horse Talat face it alone, and she is injured, leading her to mage Luthe for healing. She discovers her real destiny is to
26 Addison, Jim. ‘McKinley, (Jennifer Carolyn) Robin.’ Cambridge Guide to Children's Books in English. Ed. Victor Watson. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2001. 456.
defeat her uncle, an evil northern sorcerer, and save Damar from complete annihilation. 27 Lending Institution: Harry Ransom Center, the University of Texas at Austin Institution Call Number: PZ 7 M1988 HE 1984
25. Dahl, Roald (1916-‐1990). Matilda, 1988. London: J. Cape 240 p. : ill. ; 25 cm First edition. “Printed by MacKays of Chatham, Ltd. Chatham, Kent” on verso of title page. Bookplate of Emily McQuade. Matilda, one of the final works of the prolific writer Roald Dahl, portrays the story of young Matilda Wormwood, a little girl with special abilities and despicable parents. Matilda is persecuted not only by her parents but also by the headmistress of her school, Miss Trunchbull, and manages to escape their clutches thanks to her unique telekinetic skills. Though Dahl is a sometimes controversial figure, he is immensely popular with children and his books tap into familiar motifs of children’s literature, including orphans, cruel guardians, and magical happenings.28 Lending Institution: Harry Ransom Center, the University of Texas at Austin Institution Call Number: PZ 7 D1515 Mat 1988 26. Pullman, Phillip (1946-‐ ). The Golden Compass, 1996. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, distributed by Random House 399, [5] p. ; 22 cm.
27 Johansen, K.V. ‘The eighties: Diana Wynne Jones, Brian Jacques, John Bellair, and Robin McKinley.’ Resource Links June 2003: 30+. 28 O’Sullivan, Emer. ‘Roald Dahl.’ Op. cit. 78-‐79.
First edition. "Originally published as: Northern lights"-‐-‐t.p. verso. Signed by the author on the title page. Young Lyra is the female protagonist of Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, first introduced in the novel The Golden Compass. Lyra and her companion Will combat the forces of good and evil as well as love and hatred in this epic adventure, sometimes described by Pullman as “Paradise Lost for teenagers.” The Golden Compass won wide critical acclaim and is considered a modern classic of children’s literature.29 Lending Institution: Cotsen Children’s Library, Princeton University Institution Call Number: COTSEN 34668 27. Levine, Gail Carson (1947-‐ ). Ella Enchanted, 1997. New York: HarperCollins 232 p. ; 22 cm. First edition. A retelling of the Cinderella story, Elle Enchanted was a Newbery Honor book in 1998. In this version of the familiar tale, Ella struggles with the gift of obedience a well-intentioned but misguided fairy gave to her when she was born. Ella’s enemies discover the secret of her “gift” and turn it into a curse. By sserting her independence and using her quick wits, Ella is able to conquer her curse and set herself free.30
Lending Institution: Perry-‐Castañeda Library Youth Collection, the University of Texas at Austin Institution Call Number: YOUTH PZ 7 L578345 EL 1997
29 O’Sullivan, Emer. ‘Phillip Pullman.’ Op. cit. 208-‐209. 30 Louie, Belinda. ‘Ella Enchanted.’ Language Arts. October 1998. Vol. 76, 2. 180.
Series Fiction
28. Keene, Carolyn. The Secret of the Old Clock, 1930. New York: Grosset & Dunlap v, 210 p., [1] leaf of plates : ill. ; 20 cm. First edition. Illustrated endpapers. The Secret of the Old Clock is the first installment of the long-‐running Nancy Drew, Girl Detective series. The Nancy Drew mysteries were published by the Stratemeyer Syndicate under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene which was also used for the Hardy Boys series. Nancy Drew is considered one of the first female action heroines and uses her intelligence and daring to solve mysteries and crimes committed in her hometown of River Heights. Despite some critics’ derision of her impossible perfection, Nancy Drew is an independent-‐minded and accomplished young women who has served as a role model for many young women over the past 80 years.31 Lending Institution: Perry-‐Castañeda Library Youth Collection, the University of Texas at Austin Institution Call Number: YOUTH PS 3521 E27 S47 29. Lovelace, Maud Hart (1892-‐1980). Betsy-‐Tacy, 1940. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company 5 p.l., 112, [1] p. front., illus. 23 cm. First edition. Illustrations by Lois Lenski. Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy-‐Tacy series are based on the author’s own childhood in Minnesota and were initially told to her daughter as bedtime stories. The series publication spanned fifteen years, beginning with Betsy-‐Tacy in 1940 and ending with Betsy’s Wedding in 1955, and followed Betsy’s adventures from the age of five all the way to marriage.32
31 O’Sullivan, Emer. ‘Nancy Drew.’ Op. cit. 180. 32 O’Sullivan, Emer. ‘Maud Hart Lovelace.’ Op. cit. 165.
Lending Institution: Perry-‐Castañeda Library Youth Collection, the University of Texas at Austin Institution Call Number: YOUTH PZ7 L5961 BE
30. Lindgren, Astrid (1907-‐2002). Pippi Longstocking, 1950. New York: Viking Press 158 p. illus. 21 cm. First English edition. Translated from the Swedish by Florence Lamborn. Illustrated by Louis S. Glanzman. The final redhead in this exhibit (children’s literature being populated with an abnormal amount of them), Pippi Longstocking was Swedish author Astrid Lindgren’s first book in her series about the anarchic little orphan who is independently wealthy, not subject to adult supervision or rules, and lives and behaves just as she wants. Pippi serves as the ideal fulfillment of every child’s dream to be free; as such, the novel, though condemned by some commentators at the time of its publication, is now seen as a forward-‐thinking work celebrating children’s autonomy.33 Lending Institution: Perry-‐Castañeda Library Youth Collection, the University of Texas at Austin Institution Call Number: YOUTH PZ 7 L6585 PI 1950 co. 2 31. Cleary, Beverly (1916-‐ ). Ramona and her Father, 1977. New York: Morrow 186 p. : ill. ; 21 cm First edition. Illustrated by Allen Tiegreen. Though Beverly Cleary is the author of numerous works of domestic fiction for middle grade readers, perhaps her most beloved books are the series featuring the 33 O’Sullivan, Emer. ‘Astrid Lindgren.’ Op. cit. 159-‐160.
Quimby sisters, Beezus and Ramona. The series focuses on the hardships of school and family life in suburban America, and the title found in this exhibition (Ramona and Her Father) depicts the difficulties children face when a parent loses his or her job.34 Lending Institution: Perry-‐Castañeda Library Youth Collection, the University of Texas at Austin Institution Call Number: YOUTH PZ 7 C5792 RAI 32. Cleary, Beverly (1916-‐ ). Draft of Ramona and her Father. Typescript draft and galley copy of Ramona and her Father.35 Lending Institution: Children’s Literature Research Center, University of Minnesota Finding Aid Information: CLRC-‐1019, Box MF 207 33. Lowry, Lois (1937-‐ ). Anastasia Krupnik, 1979. Boston: Houghton Mifflin 113 p. : ill. ; 22 cm. First edition. The first in a series of nine books centering on a precocious girl from Boston, Anastasia Krupnik recounts a year in the life of young Anastasia as she deals with the death of her grandmother and the birth of her little brother Sam. Though Lowry is probably best known for her Newbery Award-‐winning books Number the Stars and The Giver, her Anastasia series remains a perennial favorite for their humorous depiction of a quirky female protagonist.36 Lending Institution: Perry-‐Castañeda Library Youth Collection, the University of Texas at Austin Institution Call Number: YOUTH PZ 7 L9673 AN
34 O’Sullivan, Emer. ‘Beverly Cleary.’ Op. cit. 67. 35 ‘Beverly Cleary Papers.’ Finding aid for the Children’s Literature Research Collection, the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN. http://discover.lib.umn.edu/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-‐idx?c=umfa;cc=umfa;q1=beverly%20cleary;rgn=main;view=text;didno=CLRC-‐1019. Retrieved December 8, 2012. 36 O’Sullivan, Emer. ‘Lois Lowry.’ Op. cit. 165-‐166.
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Collection, the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN. http://discover.lib.umn.edu/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-‐idx?c=umfa;cc=umfa;q1=beverly%20cleary;rgn=main;view=text;didno=CLRC-‐1019. Retrieved December 8, 2012.
Edenborg, Kate Roberts. "Caddie Woodlawn." Girl Culture: An Encyclopedia. Ed.
Claudia A. Mitchell and Jacqueline Reid-‐Walsh. Vol. 1. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2008. 212-‐213.
Grenby, M.O. Children’s Literature. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2008.
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Collection, the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN. http://discover.lib.umn.edu/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-‐idx?c=umfa;cc=umfa;q1=jean%20craighead%20george;rgn=main;view=text;didno=CLRC-‐32. Retrieved December 8, 2012.
Johansen, K.V. ‘The eighties: Diana Wynne Jones, Brian Jacques, John Bellair, and
Robin McKinley.’ Resource Links June 2003: 30+. Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-‐1957). The State Historical Society of Missouri.
http://shs.umsystem.edu/manuscripts/invent/3633.html. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
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