They Were Strong and Good by Robert Lawson was the fourth book to be awarded the Caldecott Medal. It was published in 1940 by Viking Books. This book contains the real life stories of Lawson's parents and grandparents. He tells how people from all over the world, from different corners of America, came together to become a family.
Who was Robert Lawson?
Born in New York City in 1892, Robert Lawson attended the New York School of Fine and Applied Arts from 1911 - 1914. He started working as an illustrator in 1914 when his illustration for a poem about the invasion of Belgium appeared in Harper's Weekly. His illustrations went on to appear in Ladies Home Journal, Everybody's Magazine, Century Magazine, Vogue, and Designer. During World War I, he served in the American Camouflage Corps along with several other artists designing camouflage for the military. After the war, Lawson married Mary Abrams, a fellow author and illustrator, in 1922 and returned to work as an illustrator.
Lawson illustrated his first children's book, The Wonderful Adventures of Little Prince Toofat, in 1922. He went on to illustrate some well-known and beloved children's books, including The Story of Ferdinand ,Mr. Popper's Penguins and 1939 Caldecott Honor Book Wee Gillis (New York Review Children's Collection)
. In all, he illustrated 40 books by other authors and 17 books that he himself wrote.
Lawson is important in the world of children's literature because he is the only person to win the Newbery and Caldecott Medals. He won the Newbery Medal for Rabbit Hill (Puffin Modern Classics)
and he wrote one of my personal favorite books from my childhood:Ben and Me: An Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin by His Good Mouse Amos
.
Robert Lawson died at in 1957 at his home in Westport, Connecticut. He was 64.
. In all, he illustrated 40 books by other authors and 17 books that he himself wrote.Lawson is important in the world of children's literature because he is the only person to win the Newbery and Caldecott Medals. He won the Newbery Medal for Rabbit Hill (Puffin Modern Classics)
and he wrote one of my personal favorite books from my childhood:Ben and Me: An Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin by His Good Mouse Amos.Robert Lawson died at in 1957 at his home in Westport, Connecticut. He was 64.
The Illustrations
They Were Strong and Good is not your typical storybook. But as Lawson himself is quoted as saying "I have never, as far as I can remember, given one moment's thought as to whether any drawing that I was doing was for adults or children. I have never changed one conception or line or detail to suit the supposed age of the readers." And I can confirm that this book is just as enjoyable for an adult to read as any child.
The book's Foreword sums up the entire book in one sentence:
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It is as simple and fascinating as that. The illustrations are all black and white ink drawings, beautifully done and full of emotion.
The book begins with Lawson's Mother's Father. He was a "Scotch sea captain":
He sailed his ship Eliza Jane Hopper from New York to the Carribbean, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Isthmus of Panama. Lawson told of the gifts his grandfather would bring his friends from those faraway places.
Lawson's Mother's Mother was a "little Dutch girl" living on a farm in New Jersey. One day she rode with her father in a wagon full of ham, corn, cabbages, and other goods to sell at the wharves in New York. While there, she met a Scotch sea captain:
They married and went to the Caribbean for their honeymoon. After learning that sailing didn't agree with her, Lawson's maternal grandparents moved far away from the sea, settling in Minnesota where they had many children, including Lawson's mother.
His mother did not like the Indians in Minnesota who would walk into their house without knocking and sit on the kitchen floor until you gave them food. She did not like the loud lumberjacks who would fight in town and make noise. So, her parents sent her to a convent to go to school where she learned embroidery, painting, and how to speak French, Spanish, German, and Italian. But it was her quiet, gentle nature that made her a fit for gardening and beekeeping:
Lawson's Father's Father was "an Englishman who lived in Alabama". He was a preacher who made a living from traveling and fighting "the Powers of Evil." While traveling from town to town fighting Satan, he came to a town where he met a young woman who he would marry:
Lawson's Father's Mother thought he "had a fine loud voice and that he fought Satan very well" and they married and had many children, including Lawson's father.
Personally, I feel that Lawson's father's story is the most fascinating. He grew up in Alabama and had a slave boy his own age and two dogs. The boys and the dogs spent all day out hunting. When the Civil War broke out, Lawson's father was only twelve years old, so he had to stay home while Lawson's father's father went to fight the Yankees. Lawson's father got a job working in a store for a wealthy store owner. When word came that the Yankees were getting close, Lawson's father volunteered to ride the store owner's horse to safety, along with $2000 in gold wrapped in a belt he wore under his clothes. He rode for two days, past deserters and runaway slaves to the safety of the store owner's brother's home. He was given a $5 reward for his hard work. At the age of fourteen, Lawson's father lied about his age and joined General Joseph E. Johnston's army as a guidon bearer, he would carry a small red flag on a long stick and either sit on a mule or stand where the battery was placed.
During a big battle near Atlanta, Lawson's father was shot in the leg. By the time he was well again, the Yankees had won the war and he walked back to Alabama. The store was gone and with no work, Lawson's father moved to New York City at the age of sixteen to make his fortune. There, he met a young woman visiting from Minnesota. She didn't make fun of his southern accent or the way he limped.
They married, had many children, and one of those children was Robert Lawson.
I found this to be a sweet book written by a man very proud of his heritage. In this day and age when it seems like everyone I know met their significant other in college, at work, or online, it was fascinating to me to think that a Scotch sea captain and a little Dutch girl from New Jersey, a young man traveling the south fighting Satan and a small town southern woman, and a Civil War veteran from Alabama and a quiet, gentle woman from Minnesota happened to meet in New York City and from all that came this incredibly talented author and illustrator to share their stories.
The book's Foreword sums up the entire book in one sentence:
It is as simple and fascinating as that. The illustrations are all black and white ink drawings, beautifully done and full of emotion.
 |
| The characters: Top Row - Lawson's maternal grandfather, maternal grandmother, mother Bottom Row - Lawson's paternal grandfather, paternal grandmother, father |
He sailed his ship Eliza Jane Hopper from New York to the Carribbean, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Isthmus of Panama. Lawson told of the gifts his grandfather would bring his friends from those faraway places.
Lawson's Mother's Mother was a "little Dutch girl" living on a farm in New Jersey. One day she rode with her father in a wagon full of ham, corn, cabbages, and other goods to sell at the wharves in New York. While there, she met a Scotch sea captain:
They married and went to the Caribbean for their honeymoon. After learning that sailing didn't agree with her, Lawson's maternal grandparents moved far away from the sea, settling in Minnesota where they had many children, including Lawson's mother.
His mother did not like the Indians in Minnesota who would walk into their house without knocking and sit on the kitchen floor until you gave them food. She did not like the loud lumberjacks who would fight in town and make noise. So, her parents sent her to a convent to go to school where she learned embroidery, painting, and how to speak French, Spanish, German, and Italian. But it was her quiet, gentle nature that made her a fit for gardening and beekeeping:
Lawson's Father's Father was "an Englishman who lived in Alabama". He was a preacher who made a living from traveling and fighting "the Powers of Evil." While traveling from town to town fighting Satan, he came to a town where he met a young woman who he would marry:
Lawson's Father's Mother thought he "had a fine loud voice and that he fought Satan very well" and they married and had many children, including Lawson's father.
Personally, I feel that Lawson's father's story is the most fascinating. He grew up in Alabama and had a slave boy his own age and two dogs. The boys and the dogs spent all day out hunting. When the Civil War broke out, Lawson's father was only twelve years old, so he had to stay home while Lawson's father's father went to fight the Yankees. Lawson's father got a job working in a store for a wealthy store owner. When word came that the Yankees were getting close, Lawson's father volunteered to ride the store owner's horse to safety, along with $2000 in gold wrapped in a belt he wore under his clothes. He rode for two days, past deserters and runaway slaves to the safety of the store owner's brother's home. He was given a $5 reward for his hard work. At the age of fourteen, Lawson's father lied about his age and joined General Joseph E. Johnston's army as a guidon bearer, he would carry a small red flag on a long stick and either sit on a mule or stand where the battery was placed.
During a big battle near Atlanta, Lawson's father was shot in the leg. By the time he was well again, the Yankees had won the war and he walked back to Alabama. The store was gone and with no work, Lawson's father moved to New York City at the age of sixteen to make his fortune. There, he met a young woman visiting from Minnesota. She didn't make fun of his southern accent or the way he limped.
They married, had many children, and one of those children was Robert Lawson.
I found this to be a sweet book written by a man very proud of his heritage. In this day and age when it seems like everyone I know met their significant other in college, at work, or online, it was fascinating to me to think that a Scotch sea captain and a little Dutch girl from New Jersey, a young man traveling the south fighting Satan and a small town southern woman, and a Civil War veteran from Alabama and a quiet, gentle woman from Minnesota happened to meet in New York City and from all that came this incredibly talented author and illustrator to share their stories.
1941 Caldecott Honor Book
by Clare Turlay Newberry
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