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Charlotte Zolotow
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From: MARVYPIG at aol.com <MARVYPIG>
Date: Fri, 6 Jun 1997 11:05:27 -0400 (EDT)
What an amazing body of work by one person! My comments on her work come from the viewpoint of a mother and grandmother. We bought 'Big Sister and Little Sister' shortly after it was published and my daughters loved it because it was THEM! My mother, reading the book to our girls, said that was just the way it had been with her sisters, so for our family, the book was
"true". We loved 'Over and Over' because it served as a launching pad for discussion: "will we go to Gramma's? where does the Easter Bunny live? can I have a costume this year? remember how we..." A few years later, when child
#3 saw his mother and sisters sitting in a row on the couch feeding their babies, he wanted a doll, so he too could feed his baby. That was when the wonderful 'William's Doll' was published. It was the only book to address the issue that little boys could nurture, or that not every male was only interested in cars and sports. I also loved the book because of it's size, just the right size for a small person to hold while sitting in Dad or Mom's lap.
Things changed and her books seemed less true for our family. We now were a big mixed race family in a more urban setting. Oh, middle sisters and brothers (now no longer the "littles") had the same close relationships with the new little sibs, and the younger boys wanted dolls like their big brother, so those books remained high on the "Can we read...?" list. But the new books were large sized, the kind the teacher or storyhour librarian holds up to the circle of listeners, not quite so cosy for snuggling with Mom in the rocking chair, or reading alone in your own little chair. The illustrations (e.g. 'The Seashore Book' )were stunningly gorgeous but seem to overwhelm the text. I have not bought any of her recent books because when buying a gift and thinking, "The parents will like it, but will the child LOVE it?" the answer is no.
How much, if any, control does an author have over size and illustrations of her work? This book-buying mother and grandmother is curious.
Marvera Murphy then living outside Boston, now living in Sarasota, FL
Received on Fri 06 Jun 1997 10:05:27 AM CDT
Date: Fri, 6 Jun 1997 11:05:27 -0400 (EDT)
What an amazing body of work by one person! My comments on her work come from the viewpoint of a mother and grandmother. We bought 'Big Sister and Little Sister' shortly after it was published and my daughters loved it because it was THEM! My mother, reading the book to our girls, said that was just the way it had been with her sisters, so for our family, the book was
"true". We loved 'Over and Over' because it served as a launching pad for discussion: "will we go to Gramma's? where does the Easter Bunny live? can I have a costume this year? remember how we..." A few years later, when child
#3 saw his mother and sisters sitting in a row on the couch feeding their babies, he wanted a doll, so he too could feed his baby. That was when the wonderful 'William's Doll' was published. It was the only book to address the issue that little boys could nurture, or that not every male was only interested in cars and sports. I also loved the book because of it's size, just the right size for a small person to hold while sitting in Dad or Mom's lap.
Things changed and her books seemed less true for our family. We now were a big mixed race family in a more urban setting. Oh, middle sisters and brothers (now no longer the "littles") had the same close relationships with the new little sibs, and the younger boys wanted dolls like their big brother, so those books remained high on the "Can we read...?" list. But the new books were large sized, the kind the teacher or storyhour librarian holds up to the circle of listeners, not quite so cosy for snuggling with Mom in the rocking chair, or reading alone in your own little chair. The illustrations (e.g. 'The Seashore Book' )were stunningly gorgeous but seem to overwhelm the text. I have not bought any of her recent books because when buying a gift and thinking, "The parents will like it, but will the child LOVE it?" the answer is no.
How much, if any, control does an author have over size and illustrations of her work? This book-buying mother and grandmother is curious.
Marvera Murphy then living outside Boston, now living in Sarasota, FL
Received on Fri 06 Jun 1997 10:05:27 AM CDT
