1956 - Frog Went A-Courtin'

The nineteenth book to be awarded the Caldecott Medal was Frog Went A-Courtin' retold by John Langstaff and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky, published in 1955 by Harcourt.  

It is explained in the beginning of the book that Frog Went A-Courtin' is based on a story that was originally written down in Scotland 400 years ago (460 years now) and has been passed down from grandparent to parent to child for generations through song.  According to John Langstaff, the version used in this book came from "different ballads that are sung in many parts of America and other countries about the frog and the mouse and their little animal friends."

Who was Feodor Rojankovsky?

Feodor Rojankovsky, who was also known as Rojan, was born in Mitavia, in what is now Latvia, on December 24, 1891.  He had two brothers and two sisters, all of whom were born throughout the Russian Empire as his father's job as a school administrator and teacher moved the family often.  

Rojan studied for two years at the private Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture before leaving to join the Imperial Russian Army during World War I in 1914.  While in the Ukraine during the Russian Revolution, he began working on children's book illustrations.  In 1919, he was conscripted into the White Army and became a prisoner-of-war in Poland.

After he was released, Rojan stayed in Poland and found work as the art director for a fashion magazine and a book publisher before moving on to Paris.  Between 1927 and 1941 he found work in advertising, film studios, and publishing firms.  While there, he released his first book for a Western publisher, Daniel Boone in 1931, which started his career as an illustrator.  Rojan emigrated to the United States in 1941 after the German occupation of France.

Rojan went on to illustrate over 100 children's books.  He became well known for his unique style of bright colors and high contrast as well as his drawings of animals and nature. It was a trip to the zoo at a young age that cemented his love of art: "l was taken to the zoo and saw the most marvelous creatures on earth: bears, tigers, monkeys and reindeer, and, while my admiration was running high, l was given a set of color crayons. Naturally, I began immediately to depict the animals which captured my imagination."

Feodor Rojankovsky died October 12, 1970 in Bronxville, New York.

The Illustrations

Frog Went A-Courtin' is a sweet story written in verse.  It tells the story of Frog asking Miss Mouse to marry him.  The illustrations alternate between black, white, and green and full color.

I love the fact that Uncle Rat goes out in a robe and slippers

Frog rode his horse to Miss Mouse's house and proposed to her only to be told they need her Uncle Rat's permission.  After explaining to Uncle Rat that they knew where the wedding breakfast would be held, what would be served, and that Old Miss Rat from Pumpkin Town would make the wedding gown, he agreed to allow his niece to marry Frog.

What follows next are all their animal friends arriving for the wedding.

Beetles, a raccoon, a snake, ants, a bumblebee, a goose, fleas and a fly all arrived.  As well as a baby chick.

The baby chick ate too much and became sick, so he had to be feed castor oil through a funnel. This was quite a party.

The last guest to arrive was an old tom cat who decided to put a stop to the party because...well, I guess because cats are jerks.

I assume everyone survived the cat attack.  In the end, Frog and Miss Mouse moved to France.

Frog is rockin' that beret.

The illustrations are colorful and beautifully realized. Rojan did a fabulous job of showing the details in the animals and giving them unique personalities.

1955 Caldecott Honor Books

Play With Me , by Marie Hall Ets 

Crow Boy by Taro Yashima

1955 - Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper

The eighteenth book to be awarded the Caldecott Medal was Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper translated from Charles Perrault's French version and illustrated by Marcia Brown, published in 1954 by Scribner, now a part of Simon and Schuster.

We're all familiar with the story of Cinderella, the young woman left to the whims of her mean stepmother and heartless stepsisters after her father passes away.  This version is a little different from Walt Disney's movie, Cinderella , and much lighter and more kid-friendly than the story found in Grimm's Fairy Tales .

Who is Marcia Brown?

Marcia Brown was born in Rochester, New York on July 13, 1918, one of three daughters of Reverend Clarence and Adelaide Brown.  The family moved throughout upstate and northern New York as her father accepted new ministries.  While living in Cooperstown, New York, Marcia discovered the artwork in the books at her local library and it was then that she decided to become an artist.

After toying with the idea of becoming a doctor, Brown decided to teach instead and in 1935 she enrolled at New York State College for Teachers. While in college, she continued to grow as an artist and contribute to the college's literary and humor magazines.  Brown served on the art staff of the school's magazines State Lion and State College Echo as well as co-editor-in-chief of The Statesman. She graduated in 1940 with majors in English and Drama.

After graduating, Brown taught high school in Cornwall, New York before taking on a job in the New York Public Library's Central Children's Room in 1943.  While there, she was exposed to a huge selection of books and gained storytelling experience.  

The Little Carousel, Brown's first book, which she both wrote and illustrated, was published in 1946. The following year, Stone Soup (Aladdin Picture Books) was published and went on to become a 1948 Caldecott Honor Book,  

Brown would have five more books named Caldecott Honor books: 1949's Henry, fisherman;: A story of the Virgin Islands, 1950's Dick Whittington and His Cat, 1951's Skipper John's Cook, 1952's Puss in Boots, and 1953's Steadfast Tin Soldier. 

Cinderella was Brown's first Caldecott Medal winning book, but she would go on to win two more (more on those books in later blog posts).

Brown's chosen forms of media include woodcuts, pen and ink, and gouache.  

Marcia Brown is currently living in California.

The Illustrations

This version of Cinderella was originally written by Charles Perrault (1628-1703), a French author who specialized in fairy tales based on pre-existing folk tales.  His best known works include Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Puss In Boots, The Sleeping Beauty, and Blackbeard.  Many of his stories were rewritten by the Brothers Grimm.

The illustrations in this book definitely have an old French feel to them. 

 Looking at the prince, my first thought was "Oh, he's a fancy boy, isn't he?"

The colors are muted and have a lot of gold, blue and shades of red.

While each version - Perrault, Grimm, and Disney -  all differ a bit, they contain a lot of the same elements.  Including the stepsisters who made Cinderella wait on them and dress them for the party she wasn't allowed to attend.

Cinderella's Fairy Godmother, who was her godmother who just happened to be a fairy, appeared after her stepmother and stepsisters left for the ball.  She turned Cinderella's rags into a gown, a pumpkin into a coach, mice into horses, and a rat into a coachman.

The rules were the same, she had to be home before midnight or her gown would turn into rags and her coach back into a pumpkin.

In this version, I did like that at the ball, Cinderella went out of her way to be kind to her stepsisters, talking to them and offering them lemons and oranges.  Of course, they didn't recognize her, but they remembered the beautiful woman who was so kind to them.

The ball was a two night event and on the second night, Cinderella was having so much fun, she forgot to watch the time.  As the clock struck midnight, she rushed from the castle, leaving her glass slipper behind.

The prince searched high and low for the woman who would fit the glass slipper.  Yes, the stepsisters tried, but it didn't fit.  No one cut off their toes or their heels (seriously, Brothers Grimm?)

Cinderella watched her stepsisters try it on before asking if she could try.  Her stepsisters and stepmother laughed, but the men who brought the slipper had been instructed to have every woman in the kingdom to try it on.  

Of course, the slipper fit.  And then Cinderella reached into her pocket and pulled out the matching slipper.  At that moment, her fairy godmother appeared, waved her wand, and turned Cinderella's rags into a gown.  Her stepsisters recognized her as the woman at the ball and fell to their knees, begging her forgiveness.  Cinderella asked the to stand and told them she forgave them and all she asked in return is that they love her.  

Cinderella married the prince and lived happily ever after.  She even opened the castle to give her stepsisters a home and she found them lords of the court to marry.

I don't know.  Maybe I'm cynical.  Maybe I'm Cinderella'd out.  But this book didn't do much for me. I appreciate Marcia Brown's talent, she really is a wonderful illustrator and author, as evidenced by her 6 Caldecott Honor books and 3 Caldecott Medal winning books, and my love of Stone Soup is well known, but I'm not quite sure what it was about this book that set it so high above all the other books that came out in 1954.

 This is definitely a much more kid friendly version of Cinderella than the Brothers Grimm and it is a beautiful alternative to the Disney version.  I really love how Cinderella treats her stepsisters.  What causes this story to stand above the other versions is Cinderella's generosity to the women who had been so cruel to her.  It is a wonderful lesson in forgiveness and kindness.

1955 Caldecott Honor Books
Marguerite De Angeli's Book of Nursery & Mother Goose Rhymes illustrated by Marguerite de Angeli Wheel on the Chimney illustrated by Tibor Gregely, written by Margaret Wise Brown
The Thanksgiving Story illustrated by Helen Sewell, written by Alice Dalgliesh

1953 - The Biggest Bear

The sixteenth book to be awarded the Caldecott Medal was The Biggest Bear by Lynd Ward, published in 1952 by Houghton.

The Biggest Bear introduces us to Johnny Orchard, a young man growing up on a farm with his parents and his grandfather.  Every time Johnny walks to town to get a piece of maple sugar, he passes barns with big bearskins hanging on them and he's jealous.  It's not fair that the other men in town are able to get a bear but no one in Johnny's family has one.  So, the young man gathers up his shotgun and heads into the woods.  Of course, nothing goes as planned.

Who was Lynd Ward?

Photo courtesy Facebook

Lynd Kendall Ward was born on June 26, 1905 in Chicago, Illinois to Harry F. Ward, a Methodist minister and the first national chairman of the ACLU, and Harriet May "Daisy" Kendall Ward.  He was the second of three children, he had an older brother, Gordon, and a younger sister, Muriel.

Not long after he was born, Ward developed tuberculosis.  His family moved to Sault Ste. Marie in Canada for a few months so he could recover before moving to Oak Park, Illinois.  He continued to suffer from symptoms throughout his childhood.

After his first grade teacher pointed out that Ward spelled backwards was "draw", Ward decided to become an artist. After completing grammar school in 1918, a year early, Ward and his family moved to Englewood, New Jersey.  He became the art editor for his school newspaper and yearbook while attending Englewood High School.  This was also where he learned the practice of linoleum-block printing.

After graduating with honors, Ward went on to study art at Columbia Teacher's College and while there, met May Young McNeer on a blind date.  After they graduated, Ward and McNeer married on June 11, 1928 and toured Europe for their honeymoon.

After four months of traveling, the couple settled in Leipzig, Germany where Ward studied etching, lithography, and wood engraving.

The Wards returned to the United States in 1927.  The following year, his first commissioned work was Dorothy Rowe's The Begging Deer: Stories of Japanese Children.  He went on to illustrate his wife's book Prince Bantam, published in 1929, Little Blacknose by Hildegarde Swift, and an illustrated edition of Oscar Wilde's poem Ballad of Reading Gaol.

After coming across Otto Nuckel's Destiny: A Novel in Pictures (Dover Fine Art, History of Art), a wordless novel, Ward was inspired to create his own and Gods' Man: A Novel in Woodcuts (Dover Fine Art, History of Art) was published in October 1929, the week before the Wall Street Crash.  He went on to do five more wordless novels: Madman's Drum (1930), Wild Pilgrimage (1932), Prelude to a Million Years (1933), Song Without Words (1936), and Vertigo (1937).  These books can still be purchased in collections:



Ward also worked in watercolor, oil, brush and ink, lithography, and mezzotint, in addition to his woodcuts.  He went on to illustrate over a hundred children's books and in 1932, Ward founded Equinox Cooperative Press.  He was a member of the Society of Illustrators, the Society of American Graphic Artists, and the National Academy of Design.  
Ward died on June 28, 1985 at his home in Reston,Virginia.

The Illustrations

Johnny Orchard lives on the farm closest to the woods with his parents and his grandfather.  His grandfather planted apple trees behind the barn, they're the only apple trees in the valley and they're called Orchard's orchard.
But Johnny has one embarrassment.  When he walks into town, he passes barns with bearskins nailed on the side to dry out.  It seemed like every man in town had shot a bear.

Mr. McClean had shot a bear every fall for three years.

But neither Johnny's father nor his grandfather had ever shot a bear.  And so Johnny grabbed his shotgun and went into the woods searching for his own bear.  But what he found was a friend.

Love, love LOVE these illustrations!  How cute are these pictures?

Unfortunately, Johnny learns that keeping a bear for a pet is not a very good idea.  He gets into the milk meant for the calves, the mash meant for the chickens, the apples in the orchard, and so much more.  And it only gets worse as he grows, this bear starts getting into the pantry, destroying the neighbor's corn, the bacon and ham in another neighbor's smokehouse, and the maple syrup collected by yet another neighbor.

A bear just does not make for a good pet.  Then the day comes when the neighbors go to Johnny's father to discuss the problem of Johnny's bear.

I love all the expressions in this illustration.  The anger from the neighbors, the confusion from the bear, and concern from Johnny.

Johnny and his father decide it is time to take his bear back to the woods.

Johnny took his bear deep into the forest and explained that he must go back to live with the other bears.

But, of course, the bear doesn't listen and returns home. Johnny takes him out into the woods again.  And again, the bear returns. 

Trying a different tactic, Johnny loads his bear into a boat and takes him out to a wooded island.

But when Johnny went outside the next morning to do his chores...

Johnny and his father talked again and they decided there was only one option.  

Johnny took his bear and his shotgun into the forest, but his hands shook so hard, he had trouble loading his gun.  Then his bear caught a scent.

The bear took off, dragging Johnny behind him, and didn't stop until he found the lump of maple sugar hanging in a large trap, causing the trap to close with him and Johnny inside.

A group of men come running and are surprised to find a young boy in their trap with a bear.  These men had set the trap to catch a bear for their zoo.  They are surprised at the size of Johnny's bear, he is bigger than they ever imagined, and the offer a safe home for him where Johnny can visit whenever he wants.

Which he does, often, and brings maple sugar to share.

The Biggest Bear is a sweet story that seems a bit dated by today's standards.  

I am not a hunter and no one in my immediate family hunts, but I live deep in hunting country and I have no problem with it.  However, I do know a lot of people who do not believe in hunting and would find this book, where the idea of a bearskin as a trophy, would be horrifying.

Nothing about this book offended or upset me, I found it charming and the illustrations delightful.  I love how Ward showed emotion, even human-like emotion on the face of the bear.  

Ward is known for his "wordless novels" and, judging from these illustrations, I can only imagine how amazing those books are.  I may have to check those out of the library next.

1953 Caldecott Honor Books
Puss in Boots illustrated by Marcia Brown, text translated from Charles Perrault by Marcia Brown

One Morning in Maine (Picture Puffins) by Robert McCloskey

Ape in a Cape: An Alphabet of Odd Animals by Fritz Eichenberg

The Storm Book illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham, written by Charlotte Zolotow

Five Little Monkeys by Juliet Kepes

1952 - Finders Keepers

The fifteenth book to be awarded the Caldecott Medal was Finders Keepers by William Lipkind and Nicolas Mordvinoff, published in 1951 by Harcourt, now a part of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

In Finders Keepers, we meet Nap and Winkle, two dog friends digging in the yard.  When they come upon a bone, they argue over who it belongs to.  Nap claims it is his because he saw it first, but Winkle claims ownership because he touched it first.  In order to end their disagreement, the canine friends approach a farmer, a goat, a barber, and a big dog for advice.  What comes next is one of the strangest, unpleasant children's books I've ever read.

Who were Will and Nicolas?

For a couple of reasons, this has been the most difficult blog post I've had to write so far.  The first problem I've run in to is the lack of information I was able to find on the writer, William Lipkind, and illustrator Nicolas Mordvinoff.  As you can tell, I was unable to find a photograph of either man.  As for William Lipkind, he was born on December 17, 1904 in New York City.  He graduated from Columbia University in 1937 and worked as an anthropologist before becoming a writer and illustrator.  Lipkind passed away on October 2, 1974.

Nicolas Mordvinoff was born on September 27, 1911 in St. Petersburg, Russia.  Seven years later, his family moved to France.  While studying at the University of Paris, Mordvinoff sold cartoons and illustrations to French publications.  In 1934, he moved to the South Pacific where he spent many years painting, developing his own style.  While in Tahiti, Mordvinoff met author William Stone who convinced Mordvinoff to illustrate his book Thunder Island.  

In 1946, Mordvinoff moved to the United States.  According to one blog post I found, Lipkind and Mordvinoff met through Lipkind's wife, who worked at the New York Public Library.  The two men discussed writing a picture book together while sharing a drink one night.  Mordvinoff saw a red cat on a windowsill and suggested they write about that.  Lipkind felt the book needed more to it and later that evening, Mordvinoff saw a redheaded boy on the street and from that came their first collaboration, Two Reds, in 1950.

The following year they collaborated again on Finders Keepers and then The Christmas Bunny in 1953 and The Little Tiny Rooster in 1960.

Nicolas Mordvinoff died on May 5, 1973 in Hapmton, New Jersey.

The Illustrations

The other problem I ran into writing this post is that I just didn't like the book. It started out with the fun premise of two dogs trying to decide who got the bone they dug up, things got a little strange when they went to ask for advice and everyone they met was kind of a jerk before the book takes, what I consider, a dark turn.

The illustrations in Finders Keepers are done in four colors: red, black, a golden-beige, and white.  I enjoyed the way Nap and Winkle are drawn, they're not any particular breed, but a couple of friendly looking mutts you would see on any farm.

After digging up a bone in the yard, Nap and Winkle start to argue over who gets the treasure.  Nap saw it first, but Winkle touched it first. When they see a farmer driving up the road with a load of hay they decide to ask him.

Seriously, what were the farmer and his horse smoking?

The farmer tells the two dogs that if they help move his cart out of the rut it is in, he'll see what he can do to help.  So, the two dogs help push the wagon out and when they are done they ask the farmer again who gets the bone. 

The farmer's response?

"Bone? Who cares about a bone? Here's something better than a bone."

The farmer then tossed the dogs a forkful of hay.

That was kind of a jerk response and the dogs didn't know what they were supposed to do.  But that's okay, because at that moment a goat walked down the road.   They ask the goat who he thinks the bone belongs to.  The goat tells them he will take care of it after he eats some hay.

The most horrifying illustration I've seen thus far.

The goat then proceeds to eat all the hay the farmer gave the dogs and responds:

"Bone? Who cares about a bone? I'll give you some good advice instead.  Don't go chasing after a goat unless your teeth are sharper than his horns."

And he skips away.

Jerk.

Nap and Winkle continue down the road and come upon an apprentice barber and decide to ask him what he thinks about bone ownership.

I'm sure this will go well.

After the dogs ask their question, the barber tells them he will trim their hair and then help them.

And because a barber is the same thing as a dog groomer, they came out looking great.

After he finished butchering their style, Nap and Winkle asked him about the bone.  The barber's response?

"Bone? Who cares about a bone? Hair that is neat is better than meat."

And then he left.

But don't worry, Nap and Winkle were not left alone for long because a big dog came down the road.

Two dogs with a bone asking a strange big dog for advice as to what to do with said bone...I'm sure this will end in a silly fun way.  Right?

 The big dog convinces them to show him their bone and he very generously offers to take care of it for them. Yup.  Not surprisingly the big dog takes their bone.

So, that leaves poor Nap and Winkle to watch helplessly as their ignorance is rewarded with theft, right?

No.

They jumped the dog and attacked him.

Seriously, this book ends with a DOG FIGHT!

Of course, Nap and Winkle win and end up sharing the bone.

I understand that this is meant to be a funny story and, well, I guess I don't have the same sense of humor people in the early '50s had.  But I didn't find anything funny or endearing about this story or the animals.  Yes, the big dog at the end was the biggest jerk in a book full of jerks, but ending the story with a dog fight just felt violent, not funny.

The best thing I can say about this book is that I did like the illustrations of Nap and Winkle in the beginning and the use of the four color palette was interesting but nothing else about this book makes me want to share it with any child I know.

1952 Caldecott Honor Books

Mr. T. W. Anthony Woo - The Story of a Cat and a Dog and a Mouse - Library Binding by Marie Hall Ets
Skipper John's Cook by Marcia Brown
All falling down illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham, written by Gene Zion
Bear Party (Picture Puffin books) by William Pene du Bois
Feather Mountain by Elizabeth Olds