Want to contribute? Send your interesting facts about Appalachian books to Tina L. Hanlon. (Tell us your source of information.)
Contributors: M. Katherine Grimes, Ferrum College, Ferrum, VA (MKG) -- Tina L. Hanlon, Ferrum College, Ferrum, VA (TLH) -- George Ella Lyon, Lexington, KY (GEL) -- R. Rex Stephenson, Ferrum College (RRS) -- Judy A. Teaford, Mountain State University, Beckley, WV (JAT)
Birdseye, Tom. A Regular Flood Of Mishap. Illus. Megan Lloyd. New York: Holiday House, 1994. Birdseye got his idea for the story about a little girl causing a sequence of messy mishaps when his three-year-old daughter made a mess trying to bake bread for the family by herself. More background and two illustrations at www.tombirdseye.com.
Birdseye, Tom. Soap! Soap!
Don't Forget the Soap!: An Appalachian Folktale.
Illus. Andrew Glass. New York: Holiday House, 1993.
The author heard his father tell "The Forgetful Boy" many
times around the campfire in the mountains of NC. One day he began
telling the tale himself when he forgot to take a book to read to his
fifth grade class, and it gradually evolved into the version in this
book. More background and illustrations at www.TomBirdseye.com.
Birdseye, Tom and
Debbie. She'll Be
Comin' Round the Mountain. Illus. Andrew Glass.
New York: Holiday House, 1994.
This popular song was originally a Black spiritual and was sung by
railroad workers in the 19th century. But who is SHE comin' around
that mountain? When Birdseye's family sang this song during a
visit from his daughter's playmate, they got the idea that it is about
old friends getting together. Tootie visits the Sweet family in
this comical picture book. More background and two
illustrations at www.tombirdseye.com.
Compton,
Joann. Ashpet:
An Appalachian Tale. Illus. Kenn Compton. New
York: Holiday House, 1995.
At the Symposium on Contes De Fees (Fairy Tales of Charles
Perrault) in Richmond, VA, on October 18, 1997, Ken Compton discussed
the influence of cartoons on his illustrations. He admitted that
Doc Ellison's son is a Dudley Do-Right look-alike. (TLH 10/97)
In the illustration of Ashpet washing clothes in a tub on bent knees, a lantern
sits atop the fireplace mantel. This is significant because Widow Hooper,
furious that the fire has let go out in the fireplace, sends her daughter Myrtle
and then Ashpet to Granny's to "borry" some fire. (JAT
8/00)
Compton,
Joann. Sody
Sallyratus. Illus. Kenn Compton. New
York: Holiday House, 1995.
In this tale the Dudley Do-Right look-alike is the character Jack of the
Jack Tales. (TLH 10/97)
Giovanni, Nikki. Knoxville, Tennessee. Illus. Larry Johnson. New York: Scholastic, 1968 (text copyright), 1994 (illustrations copyright).
The
illustrations for the two spreads reading "and lots of barbecue and
buttermilk" and "and homemade icecream" are inverted. (MKG
2/04)
Lyon,
George Ella. ABCedar:
An Alphabet of Trees. Illus. Tom Parker. New York: Orchard, 1989.
Tom Parker, who did the illustrations, flies the traffic helicopter in
Ithaca, NY, or did at the time of that book. (GEL 8/01)
Lyon,
George Ella. Come a Tide. Illus. Stephen Gammell. New York: Orchard Books, 1990.
Stephen Gammell enjoys including representations of himself and other
real people in his illustrations. The left-hand side of the title
page includes a picture of George Ella Lyon (far left) and Stephen
Gammell (next to George Ella Lyon). (JAT 11/97)
Lyon,
George Ella. Counting on the Woods. Illus.
Ann Olson. New York: DK Publishing, 1998.
The author's hand is depicted on the front page. (from GEL to TLH 8/01)
Lyon,
George Ella. Mama
is a Miner. Illus. Peter Catalanotto. New York:
Orchard, 1994.
Peter Catalanotto found out, after coming to Harlan County to go into a
coal mine [to prepare] for Mama
is a Miner, that his grandmother was born in Harlan County, where
his great-grandfather was a coal miner. His second cousin was my best
friend in the neighborhood growing up. (GEL 8/01)
Lyon,
George Ella. Who Came Down that Road?
Illus. Peter Catalanotto. New York:
Orchard Books, 1992.
The mother and child in that book are the author and her son Joey. (GEL
to TLH 8/01).
Rylant,
Cynthia. The
Relatives Came. Illus. Stephen Gammell. New
York: Bradbury Press, 1985.
In Rylant's book, Gammell is the man in the green and white striped
shirt, blue jeans, and red tennis shoes playing the guitar in the
picture of a group of people playing instruments and singing. Look
for Gammell's likeness in other picture books. (JAT
11/97)
Rylant, Cynthia. When I Was Young in the Mountains. Illus. Diane Goode. New York: Dutton, 1982.
Even though this book won a Caldecott Honor, Rylant was unhappy with the illustrations; she felt they were too neat. Curiously, Rylant and Goode worked together again in 2002 on Christmas in the Country (New York: Blue Sky Press). Notice the marked difference in the style of illustrations Goode used in the later book. (JAT 3/04)
Seabrooke,
Brenda. The
Haunting of Holroyd Hill. New York: Puffin
Books, 1995.
Brenda Seabrooke's dog Kipling's Raj is the model for Raj in this story
of mystery and suspense. (JAT 9/00)
Stephenson,
R. Rex. Jack's
Adventures with the King's Girl. Orem, UT:
Encore, 1999.
In 1978, shortly after a trip to Richmond, VA, to perform the Jack
Tales, I received a call from Mrs. Berkeley Williams. She asked
rather shyly if I knew who she was. I said, "You're the wife
of the illustrator of Richard Chase's Jack Tales book." She
said I was correct and she wondered if I would like to have an original
drawing that her husband made for the book, and the sculpture of the
head of Jack he used to make his illustrations. Naturally, I said
yes. Both artworks are now part of the archives of the Jack Tale
Players at Ferrum College. This is why we have always been able to
use the picture of Jack walking in front of the mountains as our logo
and backdrop, in our performances and publications. (See the cover
of Jack's
Adventures with the King's Girl. or the
Jack Tale Players
web site.) (RRS 9/01).
Walh, Jan. Tailypo! Illus. Will Clay. New York: Henry Holt, 1991.
The photograph hanging on the wall above the old woodsman's bed is based on Wil Clay's first wife. Clay thought of her character as a possible girlfriend who was poorly treated. Clay chose to use the owl in place of a cuckoo bird in the clock because he wanted a larger, more interesting bird. (JAT, telephone interview with Mr. Walh, Toledo, Ohio, 02/10/2003)
Ware,
Cheryl. Flea
Circus Summer. New York: Orchard Books,
1996.
Cheryl Ware had to change the original title Sea
Monkey Summer, because there actually is a company that sells kits
that are supposed to grow what they call "Sea Monkeys."
(JAT 11/97)
Whitaker,
Kent. Why are the Mountains Smoky? Neat
Facts About the Southern Appalachian Mountains. "The
inspiration for [the] book came from my son. During travels in search of the
perfect barbecue he asked a million questions from the back seat of the jeep.
How tall is a mountain? Why are black bears black? What kinds of trees grow in
the mountains and even, Why are the mountains smoky? (JAT, email from author
09/10/05)
Wooldridge,
Connie Nordheilm. Wicked Jack. Illus. Will Hillenbrand. New York: Holiday House, 1995.
On the cover illustration, the iron tongs on the front of the forge
spell "MOM." The illustrator Will Hillenbrand said that
he thought Jack was so wicked only a mother could love him. He
also gave Jack a pig for a sidekick in the story because Hillenbrand's
mother had had a pet pig. (TLH, from talk at Van Wert, Ohio county
library, 7/30/01)
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Last Update: 07/04/2007 10:48 PM
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