On Writing and Music

Last day of 2008--it's snowing, I'm listening to the Classical Countdown on WQXR--#9 "most favorite work" is Verdi's "Requiem"--a very special piece of music for me: oh, so, many years ago, my father shared his passion for it with me. Hearing it takes me back to 1967--my father was engaged in a heroic fight against cancer & had gone to Italy for treatment. But before he had decided to go to Italy, he had bought a ticket to hear singers from La Scala (yes, the opera company in Milan, Italy) perform Verdi's Requiem in New York City ( yes, New York). I remember the ticket was $25.
Determined and dying, my father, who was in Rome, Italy, with his ticket for the NY performance by an Italian opera company of Verdi's "Requiem," debated what to do. Finally he decided to buy a plane ticket back to NYC, attend the performance, return to Italy. His father condemned him for his extravagance. At the time, I was living in Buffalo, NY, and pregnant with my first child. I don't really remember what I thought about my father's decision, but I trust I cheered him on! I do remember that he was totally transported and thrilled by the performance, as I still am.
Those of you, who have heard me talk about how I write every book to music know that it is a mystery to me which music will or won't "work" with a particular manuscript. Verdi's Requiem was 1/2 of the soundtrack for Corpses, Coffins, and Crypts: A History of Burial(named a Best of the Best Books for the 21st Century by the American Library Association). Only half because the writing/music would get too intense & I'd need to switch to of all things the music from a Broadway musical "Falsettos." Strange combination, I know, & I thought so at the time, but what works, works.
After too many holiday distractions, I'm finally back to writing Stirring Up The World: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, a Biography of a Powerful Friendship. Emmylou Harris's CD "All I Intended To Be," has become the "soundtrack."
Happy New Year to all!!!!!

The Season

We're all (except Linda's daughter, son-in-law, and newest grandchild, who will be in Minnesota) gathering in Natick, MA, for Christmas gift-exchange (like many people we drew names) and dinner at the home of Linda's son & family. Like many people we drew names for the adults & agreed to prudent gift-giving for the children.

In thinking about this time of year, here is what a very dear lifelong friend (whose mother was my Girl Scout leader many years ago) wrote via e-mail:
"I love the beauty of the season. Our tree and decorations bring out the nostalgia in me. Since packages are few (we draw names), old toys surround the tree. I find myself doing what Mother did. She took plates of cookies to elderly ladies in North Warren. I have chosen three who feel like gifts to me."

For a historical perspective, here is an excerpt from Elizabeth Cady Stanton's autobiography, Eighty Years & More: Reminiscences 1815-1897.
Note: she grew up in a wealthy family
"As St. Nicholas was supposed to come down the chimney, our stockings were pinned on a broomstick, laid across two chairs in front of the fireplace. We retired on Christmas Eve with the most pleasing anticipations of what would be in our stockings next morning. . . . The boys and girls of 1897 will laugh when they hear of the contents of our stockings in 1823. There was a little paper of candy, one of raisins, another of nuts, a red apple, an olie-koek, and a bright silver quarter of a dollar in the toe. If a child had been guilty of any erratic performances during the year, which was often my case, a long stick would protrude from the stocking. . . . During the day we would take a drive over the snow-clad hills and valleys in a long red lumber sleigh. All the children it could hold made the forests echo with their songs and laughter."

Winter Solstice and The Nutcracker

Happy Winter Solstice!

Today Sophie, Katrin & I had our second annual holiday excursion to see "The Nutcracker." Last year we went to George Balanchine's classic production at Lincoln Center. This year we went to Keith Michael's version performed by the New York Theatre Ballet at the Florence Gould Theater. The Balanchine is quite the spectacular, what with "growing" Christmas trees and all, but this was lovely & fun to compare the two with Sophie and Katrin!

On Thursday, Linda & I went to the 50th anniversary concert of the Shirelles, the first all-girl group to have a number one song on the Billboard (1960). At one point, Beverly Lee, one of the original four singers, performed an over-the-top jitterbug that had us all on our feet. She also talked about the pioneering women of blues & rock & roll--great women's history!

On Reading

Following up on my last post about the urging readers to consider the writer-the what/why/how she/he does in a piece of writing--check out Diana B. Henriques' front page article in today's The New York Times ("Madoff Scheme Kept Rippling Outward, Crossing Borders," 12/20/08). It's a skillfully crafted piece of narrative nonfiction--great example of my 3Cs of writings--Clear, Coherent, Compelling. As you read it, think about/identify--the rhetoric devices/strategies she uses, e.g. her use of repetition in the third paragraph after the subheading "The Scheme Collapses" near the end of the piece.

Another example is Eve Merriam's Independent Voices, a collection of narrative nonfiction poems about Benjamin Franklin, Elizabeth Blackwell, Frederick Douglass, Henry Thoreau, Lucretia Mott, Ida B. Wells, Fiorello H. LaGuardia. In "A Note to the Reader," Merriam writes: "The portraits are in verse, yet no instance has any 'poetic license' been taken. Every incident and description, to the best of my knowledge, is based upon true happenings and not hearsay. But if that is so, if the sketches are in no way fictionalized, then why not have represented them in factual prose? Because I felt that through the condensation and heightened speech of verse, history might come more alive and these actual independent voices might resound once again--lively, familiar, ringing clear." Readers who read her note (although many won't, I have sadly discovered from my teaching), will be in a position to have a dialogue with her about her feeling that "history might come more alive" through "the condensation and heightened speech of verse."

On reading

Recently in my Issues in Children's Literature class, I coined the phrase the "narcissistic reader" in response to the all too common practice of privileging a reader's opinion without considering what the writer was trying to do/create/convey, etc. & why. The same applies to illustrators.
I'll write more about this later.

Nonfiction Writer

Last night, I came home with straw on the back of my black pants & make-up on my face. Why? I was interviewed at a turkey farm in East Windsor, NJ, for a History Channel Holiday Special hosted by Lewis Black that will air in 2009. The set was outside; my seat, a bale of hay; the background, barns with turkeys whose "gobbles" provided the background soundtrack. Interviewed about what, you might be wondering. The producer contacted me after discovering my new book Thanksgiving: The True Story. The actual interview, however, focused on turkeys with question ranging from the history of turkeys to the pressure to cook the "perfect" turkey to a discussion about the gel in the tip of brown feathers that if broken leaves a mark on the turkey's skin that looks like a bruise, thus 90% of all turkeys today are white. Fortunately, although my head is into Stirring Up The World (my forthcoming bio of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony), I had spent the morning prepping for the interview--a day in the life of a nonfiction writer!!

Birthday Celebration

Today Sophie is 5 years old! Depending on extenuating circumstances, we celebrate a "birthday season" instead of a one-day-event. That is what we did this year--on Sat. we hosted a family gathering (picture is Sophie, having just finished frosting the vanilla bunny cake I made for her, with me, my three daughters-in-laws and Linda; for some reason I can't upload the picture of my three sons performing the birthday rap that she had requested??); Sunday was a joint gala with one of her friends at a studio in NYC, and today it's chocolate chip cookies with her kindergarten class & her "special dinner" with her parents. Students in my Issues in Children's Literature class will recognize the "snowflake" hanging in the door & the decorations in the second picture(the unfrosted bunny cake is at the far end and a popcorn bunny cake is at the close end)--yes, I made them & Sophie added decorative touches--Elizabeth's visual instructions stuck!
Tomorrow afternoon I'm being interviewed at a turkey farm for a History Channel special, "Surviving the Holidays with Lewis Black"--meaning I'm needing to get my head back into Thanksgiving, in particular turkeys, & I wondering--What does one wear to be interviewed at a turkey farm?

Odetta

Today in my classes at Queens, I going to talk about Odetta, whose obituary I just read in the New York Times. Why? 1. She's an inspiring role model; 2. I'm hoping to motivate teachers to add the indispensable music of the civil rights movement to their predictable February lessons on Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr.; 3. I'm committed to honoring the panoply of people who were an integral force in the civil rights movement. Here is a link to an interview with Odetta:
http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/arts/20081203_odetta.html?hp
I met Odetta twice--once at a New Year's Eve concert at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. We met in the bathroom--just the two of us. Ever gracious, even upon exiting a toilet stall, she took both my hands as I thanked her for her soul-stirring performance. (No, I didn't worry that she hadn't yet washed her hands, &, yes, I had the impulse to never wash mine again.) The second time was in Washington, DC, at a music workshop with a member of the a cappela group, Sweet Honey in the Rock. A totally unpretentious Odetta sat in a circle with the rest of us. She asked what I did & was pleased to hear about my recently published picture biography of her friend and sister activist, Fannie Lou Hamer. That's when I asked her for her autograph, which she graciously wrote on the only piece of paper we could scrounge up--a receipt for a bank withdrawal.

Sophie, Reading and Writing

This weekend we had a Sophie-Sleep-Over. It is fascinating to observe her progress in reading & writing after a few months in kindergarten--she knows many "sight words," carefully uses her knowledge of phonics to sound out words, and is writing sentences such as "You are good." "You are bad." "You have a bad dog." (No, we don't have a dog.) She wrote the sentences on "tickets" that she gave me & Linda when we played a game Sophie organized--"pool." Sophie was the life guard, I was the swimmer, who periodically needed to be rescued, & Linda sat by the pool reading the Sunday New York Times (her condition for playing). We got the "You are bad." tickets for talking to each other, instead of "swimming" and reading. We celebrate Sophie's 5th birthday on 12/8. It's a cliche, I know, but my, how time flies!
I have no memories of learning how to read, although I'm pretty sure I was never taught phonics. My only school-reading-memory is feeling utterly humiliated when my third grade teacher, Miss Anderson, called out the names for reading groups and I wasn't in the "top" group with all my friends. As for writing, I learned during the days of the Peterson method & was never able to replicate that lovely orderly legible script. (My brain was always ahead of my hand, I suspect.)
On the last day of November & before a very busy week, Linda & I drew great tiles during our nightly Scrabble game--note: my "adenoid" and Linda's "heaven." (as always, click on pic for a larger image). p.s. don't worry about "zone" just missing the "triple word" square--remember we don't keep score. Happy December!

"The First National Thanksgiving"

Today's mail brought a note from another old friend, Eric Sandblade, who wrote "We in York think we created Thanksgiving as evidenced by two enclosed recent newspaper articles."
I noted the 12/18/1777 event on p. 35 of Thanksgiving: The True Story. For additional information here's a link to June Lloyd's article, "First National Thanksgiving Proclaimed in York in 1777. http://ydr.inyork.com/ydr/opinion/ci_11053199
Here's a link to a photograph by Beverly Pfingsten of the historic marker:
http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=4549

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! My son David & his wife are spending Thanksgiving week in Colorado with old friends. Today when they called to wish us a Happy Thanksgiving, David exuberantly described seeing a huge herd of elk grazing in Rocky Mountain National Park. He and 8-year-old Bevan and 3-year-old Lyndall & their father Richard joined with other people who were peacefully walking among the peaceful elk! In New Jersey, we took a walk in the woods and came upon a rafter of wild turkeys--15 in all.
(click on picture for larger image)
My book Thanksgiving: The True Story put me back in touch with Bob Schaeffer, an old friend, really old as in we had play dates, before they were called play dates, in the early 1950s. Here is a link to his column in The East Hampton Press.
http://www.27east.com/story_print.cfm?id=180357

On Tues. 11/18/20 I did an interview via email with Glenn Evans, a reporter for the Longview News-Journal, Longview, Texas. You can read his piece at http://www.news-journal.com/search/content/features/stories/2008/11/19/11192008_truly_thankful.html
Check out the very cool "click-2-listen" feature at the top of the article "Table Talk: Experts discuss the origins of Thanksgiving traditions."
In the last paragraph, the reporter misattributed a quote from me to "Oliver," and the newspaper printed a correction in Friday's paper. I relate that incident because educators/librarians frequently ask me about "accuracy," i.e. how to ensure it, check for it, etc. There's no surefire way, I reply, because unintended things--new discoveries, mistakes, etc.--happen to even scrupulous writers. So, check, double-check, & maintain a healthy skepticism.
Elizabeth Bird, senior children's librarian, New York Public Library, posted a review at http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog/1790000379/post/1070036907.html
Check out what Jeremy Brunaccioni wrote at: http://blogs.scholastic.com/kid_lit/2008/11/picture-book--2.html
Fran Hawk at http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/nov/25/ideas_make_children_feel_special62882/
Terri Schlichenmeyer at: http://tri-statedefenderonline.com/articlelive/articles/3317/1/Book-Review-Thanksgiving-The-True-Story/Page1.html

Jen Robinson's review

For some time, I have recommend Jen Robinson as the go-to person for insightful & terrifically written reviews of children's books. Because I admire her intelligence and thoroughness, I was thrilled to read her review of Thanksgiving: The True Story. Here is the link:
http://jkrbooks.typepad.com/blog2008/11/thanksgiving-the-true-story-penny-colman.html

On teaching about Thanksgiving

The technology worked--mostly--during the Skype conversation yesterday. As always, it was interesting and fun to talk with readers/teachers about my process for writing nonfiction books, in this case Thanksgiving: The True Story. I'm about to leave for San Antonio, Texas, to present at the master class, The Potential of Nonfiction, at the National Council of the Teachers of English, but I wanted to quickly follow up on a question from a 1st grade teacher re how to teach Thanksgiving in light of my book.
There are multi-entry points: e.g.
*Harvest festivals, in particular page 25-29, on p. 26-27 I point out that the Wampanoag celebrated harvest festivals throughout the year & give thanks every day;
*Sarah Josepha Hale & her campaign to get Thanksgiving declared a national holiday (chapter 3);
*Traditional gathering of family & friends (chapter 5);
*Food, including a discussion about regional and ethnic contributions to the traditional Thanksgiving menu that I describe on pages 109-119;
*Changing activities (chapter chapter 6);
*Many meaning (chapter 8); what Thanksgiving means for some Native Americans, including the Day of Mourning that I discuss on pp. 73-74, ill. p. 76;
*Emergence of the iconic "Pilgrim & Indian" story (chapter 4); ), etc.
*Any one of the illustrations could also serve as a springboard for a discussion of Thanksgiving.
*Fascinating tidbits such as the the story of Fantasticals, the first parade, first professional football game, and a ball where dancers wore vegetable costumes.
*Etc.

Skype conversation

Today I'm having a conversation via Skype with graduate students in Jan Kristo's children's literature class. A professor of Reading and Language Arts, University of Maine, Jan teaches this course off site in Pittsfield, Maine. All the students have read Thanksgiving: The True Story. In an email Jan wrote that they will be particularly interested in my research process.
She also wrote that gkisedtanamoogk, a Wampanoag from Mashpee, MA, who teaches Native American studies at the University of Maine, will be attending the class. In an earlier discussion with Jan's class he spoke about "the view from the ship versus the view from the land." His name is pronounced Key set TAH NAH mook (with a long o sound). We're scheduled to talk for an hour, although I'm certain we could happily talk much longer--it's all so fascinating! This is my first Skype conversation so fingers crossed that the technology works! (Yes, I did a trial call last week.)

Book talk

Everyone is welcome to attend my PowerPoint book talk Thanksgiving: The True Story at Teachers College, Columbia University
Tues, Nov. 18th, 4-6 p.m. (don't worry about coming in late)
Room 309 on the 3rd floor of Gottesman Library

Note: enter TC at the main entrance on 120th street, turn right & walk down the hall to the library.

Ellipses

We had a lively discussion in my Issues in Children's Literature class at Queens College about the use of ellipses. It seems that young writers are being taught to use ellipses to indicate increasing tension, a use that was new to me. Several of the teachers in the class, reported that students fill their writing with ellipses; but, why not--it's easier than creating the effect through actual writing! Today I checked out Grammar Girl: http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/ellipsis.aspx

She cites The Chicago Manual of Style. I double-checked my copy, the 15th edition:
11.45 Faltering or interrupted speech. Ellipsis points may be used to suggest faltering or fragmented speech accompanied by confusion or insecurity. In the examples below, note the relative positions of the ellipsis points and other punctuation. (For ellipsis points used to represent omitted text, see 11.51-65.)

"I. . . I . . . that is, we . . . yes, we have made an awful blunder!"
"The ship . . . oh my God! . . .it's sinking!" cried Henrietta.
"But . . . but . . .," said Tom.

TV interview

Yesterday Joanne Santiglia, a top-notch reporter for NY1, came to my house to interview me about Thanksgiving: The True Story. I'm always a bit on edge before interviews, worried about answering questions crisply etc. but Joanne--knowing that one of my books is Rosie the Riveter: Women Working on the Home Front in World War II--started off by sharing her excitement from the day before about filming the Veterans' Day ceremony in Fort Lee, NJ, where the VFW honored women war workers! Then she said she was "enchanted by the turkeys on the cover" of Thanksgiving & we were off and running. Thanks Joanne! In the picture, she is setting up the shot. Hummm, I'm trying to link to her story about the women war workers but it's not working--you can find it at www.ny1.com, click on "nj news"

The Election, 2008

Yippppeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Jonathan took Sophie with him to vote. When we arrived for dinner & election-watching, she exuberantly announced that she voted!
"For whom," I asked--"Obama," she replied.
There are many exciting aspects of the election results. In my classes at Queens College, CUNY, last night, I was delighted by the reports from my students--many classroom teachers & one middle school librarian--of the energy & excitement of their young students! Keep them engaged, I said, design projects, lessons, etc. that involve them/educate them about the process of transition. e.g. how/why/who BO appoints--engaged, informed citizens are the lifeblood of democracy!!!! I also talked about/honored the black & white women of the civil rights movement--Fannie Lou Hamer, Ella Baker, Septima Clark, Joan Browing, Virginia Durr, Pauli Murray, etc. FYI: my 32-page biography, Fannie Lou Hamer and the Fight For the Vote is out-of-print, but available from on-line bookstores & in libraries. My chapter "Mary Mcleod Bethune: Passionate Educator," including the story of her dramatic election night confrontation with the Klu Klux Klan is in Adventurous Women: Eight True Stories About Women Who Made a Difference. Also check out Women of the Civil Rights Movement by Linda Barrett Osborne; it's accessible & loaded with photographs. For a longer read, get Freedom's Daughters: The Unsung Heroines of the Civil Rights Movement from 1830 to 1970 by Lynne Olson in full of inspiring true stories. Both AW & FD are in print & available from local and on-line bookstores & libraries.

Book Festival & VOTE

I was on panel on Writing about Writing & Girls in History at the 3rd Annual Delaware Book Festival.
Check out the "Thank you for coming to the Delaware Book Festival" treat that I, and other authors/illustrators, found in our hotel room. Yes, it's a white and milk chocolate box filled with M & Ms!!!! (I "posed" it to show the inside.) The terrific festival was sponsored by the Delaware Division of Libraries, Delaware Center for the Book. The chocolate was delicious!!!
Tomorrow is election day--VOTEVOTEVOTEVOTEVOTEVOTE
We're watching returns with Sophie, her parents, and her other grandparents who are visiting from Zurich, Switzerland.

Thanksgiving books, Delaware festival, voting

The publisher of Thanksgiving: The True Story asked me to recommend some of my favorite books for Thanksgiving. They're listed at:
http://us.macmillan.com/NewsDetails.aspx?id=9637&publisher=holtbyr

I'm looking forward to participating in the Delaware Book Festival this weekend. (http://debookfestival.lib.de.us) Saturday morning, I'm on a panel, Women in History, with Laurie Halse Anderson and Cathy Gourley. Of course, I'll be mentioning the fact that Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony addressed the Delaware General Assembly in 1881 as part of an effort to amend the state constitution to allow woman suffrage. No such luck. In 1920, Delaware had the opportunity to be the final state needed to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment, but didn't & the honor passed to Tennessee, which did, by one vote cast by a young legislator, who voted according to his mother's wishes!!

REMEMBER: The fight for women's right to vote was hard and hard; the victory narrow--VOTE on Tues, November 4, 2008

Books signing

I spent several fun hours on Saturday, signing books at Borders in Stroudsburg, PA (Route 80 to exit 302, right at the light, down the hill to the "Shoppes at Stroudsburg" mall on the left.) As always, the bookstore manager, Linda Crooks (pictured), set up a wonderful display of my books. The place was abuzz with excitement as people poured in(there was a fierce rainstorm outside) to join in the fun and games of a Halloween event Linda had organized--"Spooktacular."

Podcasts, students, booktalks

A middle school librarian, Kristy McCarthy, recently gave an interesting presentation in one of my classes at Queens College, about how she uses podcasts in her library. There are two useful examples on her library website: 1. samples of podcasts that she helped students create are found under "Student Projects"; 2. her personal podcast booktalks are found under "Podcasts."
http://westburyschools.org/middle_school/library/Welcome.html

Music, Art, Reading & Writing

Re my 10/16/08 post: The teacher, Marie Russell, who uses Vivaldi's Four Seasons" in her classroom sent me this picture of the autumn results, "Turning Nature into Art: Inspired by Vivaldi's 'Four Seasons'" (click on picture for larger image). She wrote, "The culminating activity was putting all four seasons plus the Vivaldi report together into a book which they were able to take home." The second picture is of her students' project about Pablo Picasso that included using a recycled water bottle in a sculpture.
"As you might have gathered," she wrote in her e-mail," I love to bring in music and art into the curriculum and always try to find a way to incorporate reading and writing."

Students and scientific reasoning and Sue Kirch

Here is a link to a short video in which Sue Kirch, a science educator at New York University, discusses the question: Can elementary school students engage in scientific reasoning? See my 9/29/08 entry, for a summary of Sue's recent presentation at the Nonfiction Institute at the University of Maine.
http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/videos/susan_kirch

Click on "comment" at the bottom of the entry to read Sue's response to questions I emailed her after I viewed her video. If you have questions for Sue, feel free to post them on the comment page & she'll respond.

Music, Teaching, Writing

Last night in my Issues in Children's Literature class at Queens College, a teacher described how she plays Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" throughout the school year & ties in lessons & activities. She said that her students love the whole experience. I love the idea!

I grew up in a musical family (raised one, too): I remember going to sleep to the sounds of my father, Norman Morgan, playing the piano. My mother, Maritza Morgan, played the cello & was the music editor at the Chautauquan Daily, the newspaper for Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua, New York, for years. My tastes range from country (love Dolly) to soul/blues to classical--right now I'm listening to a new recording of Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto--so gorgeous, perfect antidote to worrying about the state of the country & the world.

There's a sound track for everything I've ever written, i.e., I write to music. What kind? Depends & I never know until some mysterious process kicks in & the "right" music "reveals" itself to me. And I mean mysterious, e.g. I'm writing Stirring to Nanci Griffith's CD "Clock without hands." Here's what's mysterious about that: I've never particularly responded to her music. In fact, I only have that CD because it has her song, "Pearl's Eye View (The Life of Dickey Chapelle)," one of the women I wrote about in Where the Action Was: Women War Correspondents in World War II. (My son Jonathan told me about the song.) In April, I had retrieved the CD to include it in "Celebrating Women," my PowerPoint presentation about my 20-year quest for monuments, markers, and memorial to historic women. During a multi-tasking moment, I was listening to it & working on Stirring & they glommed (now there's a good Scrabble word). Now, in a Pavlovian way, when I've carved out writing time--I put on "Clock without hands" & play it over and over and over until my writing time is up. Note: Recently for my b-day, my son David & his wife Crystal gave me Emmylou Harris's CD "All I Intended To Be"--hummmm, Emmylou may nudge Nanci aside--I'll keep you posted.

I'll write another post detailing the sound track for my other books. During school visits, I used to bring a tape of 4 excerpts & 4 books & ask kids to listen & match the excerpt with the book. It was always lively & fun. Not sure why I stop, probably because I like to keep myself, thus my presentations, fresh.

Writing, Words, and Scrabble

The act of writing is putting one word after another. That's why we should start teaching writing by teaching youngsters--to LOVE words, one by one.
We play Scrabble most every night at bedtime, even when that means starting a game at 11 p.m. Last night I started the game with a 7-letter word--"touring." Also check out "zygote"

"You just can't be afraid."

What an intense time--I'm writing about the Civil War & I'm following the worldwide financial meltdown & I'm noting the ugly crowd reactions to inflammatory rhetoric by SP, J & CM. To keep focused and steady, I turn, as always, to the life lessons I've learned from historic women. For this situation, I've turned to Frances Perkins (1880-1965) secretary of labor during the Great Depression and World War II, and the architect of some of the most far-reaching and important reforms and social legislation ever enacted in America, including the establishment of Social Security. Here's an excerpt from my biography of Frances Perkins (A Woman Unafraid: The Achievements of Frances Perkins):
Several years before her death, Perkins had talked about the state of the world. 'I hear people say that the world is in a crisis . . . . I think crisis has occurred in the world's history many times, I'm glad to say that in those other crises we didn't have radio, television, and the movies to run it up until everybody died of terror . . . . You can't do any of those things we did in the early part of the century in you're afraid . . . . You just can't be afraid . . . if you're going to accomplish anything.'"
Although A Woman Unafraid is out of print, I have copies. If you'd like one, send me an email & I'll send you an autographed book for the price of postage and handling.

On Writing & Usefulness

After a break for my son Jon's electrifying performance of his powerful songs Monday night (you can find him of FaceBook), I've been hunkered down in my basement office working on Stirring Up The World. Since last week, I've been "piling up pages," to quote Linda, in large part because my Wed. night classes at Queens College, CUNY, haven't met for two weeks, due to religious holidays--having a stretch to immerse myself is such a treat.
A couple of weeks ago, I met a retired New York City librarian who told me--insisted, in fact-- that applying the word "usefulness" to a book is the "kiss of death" for librarians, a "code" in a book review that indicates that the reviewer didn't want to write something negative, but couldn't write something positive. Whoa! If that's the case, then it seems to me that there is a huge gap between what many readers seek & teachers need and librarians who shun "usefulness."
No school for Sophie today so we're off to the Bronx Zoo!

Nonfiction Institute with Sue, Sy and Nic

On Friday, Sue Kirch and I "swam" (i.e., we drove through almost non-stop, heavy rain there and back) from New York City to Maine for the 2nd Annual Nonfiction Institute (NI) at the College of Education & Human Development, The University of Maine on Saturday. I'm on the board of the NI and was the keynote speaker last year. Sue is a biologist who made original contributions to the field of immunology. (She also comments on my science-related blogs, e.g. , why cranberries float, 10/08/07, and caterpillar eggs & newborns, 3/21/08.) Luckily for everyone who cares about science education (& we all should!), seven years ago Sue decided to devote her impressive training and experience (and engaging personality) to science education. We met in 2003 when she joined the faculty in the Department of Elementary and Early Childhood Education at Queens College, the City University of New York. Currently she is on the faculty at New York University in the Department of Teaching and Learning.
Jan Kristo, professor, Reading and Language Arts, University of Maine, and head of the NI, set the perfect tone for the day with an inspiring call to action to promote/use nonfiction literature in classrooms. Then Sue gave her fascinating presentation "Question! Investigate!: Using Science Trade Books to Support Inquiry in the Classroom." She illustrated her points with examples from nonfiction books and hands-on activities. In addition everyone got a sticker with the picture of a three-legged stool, a visual representation of a holistic view of science: the word "science" is on the seat, each leg represents the three aspect of a holistic view --knowledge, method, worldview.
In planning the NI, we asked Sue for a list of authors whose books reflect this holistic view of science. Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop were at the top of her list. Sy is a naturalist, author, documentary script-writer and radio commentator. Nic is a photographer and writer. He also has a Ph.D. in biology, and, like Sue, changed directions from lab-based research to doing the photography and writing for books about natural history.
As collaborators, Sy and Nic have shared adventures in remote places to produce award-winning books, including Quest for the Tree Kangaroo. They have also produced books under their own name, e.g., Sy wrote The Man-Eating Tigers of Sundarbans and Nic wrote Nic Bishop Frogs.
Sy and Nic presented in the afternoon and held all of us spellbound with dramatic stories and stunning photographs.
Standing in the top picture from left to right are: Mary Evans, award-winning science teacher in Bangor & NI board member; Jan Kristo, professor, Reading and Language Arts, University of Maine, and head of the NI; Sy Montgomery; Sandip Wilson, professor, Literacy and Elementary Education, Husson University, Bangor, Maine & NI board member; Marcia Boody, Maine Literacy Partnership Trainer; Nic Bishop; Sue Kirch; Penny Colman; Amy Cates, who admirably handled all the arrangements for the conference. In these pictures, I'm signing books for people and answering questions. Deb Schuller, Ph.D. (standing to my left), is Literacy Coordinator and Coach K-2 for two elementary school in central Maine. Her colleague, Carol Crothers, is sitting to my right. Behind me is William Jackson, another elementary school literacy coach. The people standing on the left side of the first two pictures are waiting to have Nic and Sy sign books.

On Writing

I've been bouncing between my "outside" and "inside" self, i.e., my "outside" is when I'm teaching, meeting people, giving speeches, signing books, i.e. externally focused. This week had many "outside" days, e.g. On Tues, I did my first book event for Thanksgiving: The True Story, a fun topic because it elicits wonderful reminiscences from the audience. My "inside" is when I'm immersed in my writing, e.g. doing research someplace, working in my basement-with-windows-writing space.
Actually, the reality is that when I'm in the throes of writing (right now I'm deep into my joint biography of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony) my "inside" self is always "on": to quote Linda--"They're always with you, aren't they?!"
"Yes!" A couple of nights ago, I worked late & finished a chapter, however, periodically the ending "woke me up" to "chat" about whether or not it really worked--by morning I ("we"?) had revised the ending, which I then entered into my manuscript. As readers of my blog know, the ultimate test of whether or not something "works" is whether or not it "sets" me up to move forward--happily my revision did just that.

On another note: here's a quote that's particularly relevant for our times, I think.
Every moment is an organizing opportunity, every person a potential activist, every minute a chance to change the world.
Dolores Huerta

Why Women Should Vote

FYI: A suffrage press in Hornell, NY, published this flier in 1913, 7 years before women finally won the right to vote. The list of facts are a window into the arguments that were being used by the anti-suffrage forces; for example, the arguments that women did not want to vote, i.e., Fact No. 4 & 9, and that women's suffrage would lead to increases in divorce and crime, i.e. Fact No. 10, 11, 12.
(Click on the image to enlarge it.)

Cross references

After giving two speeches yesterday, I hunkered down today to work on Stirring. In the process I read a comment about Susan B. Anthony by Charles Dudley Warner.
Charles Dudley Warner, I said to myself, I "know" him. That's because in Thanksgiving: The True Story I quoted his account in Being a Boy (1877) of his pie-making chores: "For days and days before Thanksgiving the boy was kept at work evenings, pounding and paring and cutting up and mixing (not being allowed to taste much), until the world seemed to him to be made of fragrant spices, green fruit, raisins, and pastry,--a world that he was only allowed to enjoy through his nose. How it filled the house with the most delicious smells."

In 1869, Warner was a newspaper editor in Hartford, Connecticut, and attended a Women's Rights Convention that had been organized by Isabella Beecher Hooker. In a post-convention letter to a friend, Hooker quoted Warner: "Said one of our editors, Charles Dudley Warner, a man of finest taste and culture, when he had been praising the dignity and power of the whole platform: 'Susan Anthony is my favorite. . . .You could see in her every motion and in her very silence that the cause was all she care for, self was utterly forgotten."

Yesterday, a question during my talk to the James Michener Society prompted a conversation about Michener's admiration for Dickey Chapelle; a cross reference because Chapelle is one of the women I featured in Where the Action is: Women War Correspondents in World War II. That night I spoke to a group of women on a BookWomen Reading Retreat. One of the books they read was a novel about the Triangle Shirtwaist fire; a cross reference to A Woman Unafraid, my biography of Frances Perkins who witnessed that fire and later said "I felt I must sear it not only on my mind but on my heart as a never-to-be-forgotten reminder of why I had to spend my life fighting conditions that could permit such a tragedy." Perkins, of course, did just that as the U.S. secretary of labor where she was the architect of some of the most far-reaching social/reform legislation ever enacted in America, including the establishment of Social Security.
An interesting exercise--especially with all the current buzz about high achieving women--is to compare and contrast Perkins's experiences/policies/achievements during her tenure (1933-1945) and the experiences/policies/achievements of the current secretary of labor, Elaine Cha0 (2001- ). Interestingly, perhaps, ironically both women are graduates of Mount Holyoke College.

Why Women Should Vote

Like me, many of you have undoubtedly received the piece with photographs, "Why Women Should Vote" that is being widely forwarded via email. Just today, I received five forwards with long lists of email addresses. I forwarded it to the students in my masters class Nonfiction Literature for Children as a piece to evaluate for classroom use when we meet tomorrow. I'm thrilled that there's so much interest in the extraordinary story of the fight for women's suffrage. Currently I'm writing about the 19th century fight in Stirring Up The World. Next I'm writing Shout the Revolution: Women's Fierce Fight for the Vote, 1910-1920. ("Shout the Revolution" is the title of a song written by suffragist while they were in prison. See below for the words.) Consequently I've got books piled high everywhere! Here a few I recommend for those of you eager to learn more: Seneca Falls and the Origins of the Women's Rights Movement by Sally G. McMillen; The Road to Seneca Falls: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the First Woman's Rights Convention by Judith Wellman; African American Women in the Struggle for the Vote, 1850-1920 by Rosalyn Terborg-Penn; Woman Suffrage & Women's Rights by Ellen Carol Dubois; Jailed for Freedom: American Women Win the Vote by Doris Stevens, edited by Carol O'Hare; Iron-Jawed Angels: The Suffrage Militancy of the National Woman's Party, 1912-1920 by Linda G. Ford; Failure is Impossible: Susan B. Anthony in Her Own Words by Lynn Sherr; Sisters: The Lives of America's Suffragists by Jean H. Baker.
FYI: Also I've posted a number of blog entries re women's history.

"Shout the Revolution" was sung to the then familiar tune of a song, "Charlie is My Darling."

Shout the Revolution
Of Women, of Women,
Shout the Revolution
Of Liberty
Rise, glorious women of the earth,
The voiceless and the free,
United strength assures the birth
Of true democracy.
Invincible our army,
Forward, forward
Strong in faith we,re marching
To Victory
Shout the Revolution
Of Women, of Women,
Shout the Revolution
Of Liberty
Men's revolutions born in blood
But our's conceived in peace.

We hold a banner for a sword
'Til all oppression cease,
Prison, death defying,
Onward, onward,
Triumphant daughters marching
To Victory

Siblings

Here I am with my siblings, recently gathered together to celebrate my brother Kip's 60th birthday. An electrician, builder, golf course owner, Kip--in the yellow shirt--is building a new house--note, background--for his family on the shores of Lake Chautauqua in Bemus, NY. That's where we gathered; the first time we were all together in eleven years. For those of you who are familiar with the picture of Cam at about age 3 in Girls: A History of Growing Up Female in America (back cover, page 161), there is she all grown up. Cam is now a successful realtor. (See earlier entry about Cam's & her husband's long road trip to Alaska.) Readers of Thanksgiving: The True Story will read about Vin and the family tradition he started--"Toilet Bowl" football game on Thanksgiving. (p. 100) (Vin and I are eleven months apart to the day--9/2 & 10/2; meaning right now we're "twins". ) He is also the managing director of The Granger Papers Project, an excellent web site

http://www.nh.ultranet.com/~granger/index.shtml re the life and work of our great
uncle the renown paleontologist Walter Granger. I write about Walter & his wife Annie
in Adventurous Women (Author's Note).   Readers of Corpses, Coffins, and Crypts: A History
of Burial know that we had a brother Jon, who died in 1966. Our father died in 1969 and
our mother in 1997 (there's a reproduction of one of her paintings & a story about it in Corpses,
Coffins, and Crypts).  They all still live in our hearts and memories.

Perhaps because I write women's history, some people have asked me what I think about Sarah Palin. Using the lens of the words/lives of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony--since that's what I'm writing about now--I respond that there's minimal congruence between their worldview and her's.

Women and Politics and Nonfiction Writing

My son Jonathan sent me a link to a blog re Sarah Palin. For those of you interested in women and politics and nonfiction writing (which I do & teach)the letter by Anne Kilkenny is an exemplar of persuasive letter writing. http://mudflats.wordpress.com/category/sarah-palin
Note: In doing research for Stirring Up the World: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, A Biography of a Powerful Friendship, I've been immersed in 19th century letters. Currently I'm reading the 580 page volume Selected Letters of Lucretia Coffin Mott edited by Beverly Wilson Palmer.

Letter to the Editor/The New York Times

My letter to the editor re the absence of nonfiction books and materials in classrooms is online at
www.nytimes.com/opinion under the heading "Teaching Children the Facts."
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9803E1DC1E3DF931A3575AC0A96E9C8B63&scp=6&sq=%22Penny%20Colman%22&st=cse

Joint celebrations

Tomorrow Sophie, age 4, starts kindergarten in a New York City public school & I turn 64! Linda & Sophie & I spent the last four days together at our bungalow at the Jersey Shore. We did new things--played miniature golf & attended a lecture on edible plants that included a nature walk at Island Beach State Park--and familiar things--frolicked in the ocean, ate Jersey corn and ocean scallops, drank smoothies that we made with Jersey peaches and blueberries, and indulged in a daily trip to the ice cream store.
Nine of us are gathering for dinner tomorrow to sing Happy First Day of Kindergarten & Happy Birthday. My present for Sophie is a copy of Merriam-Webster's Primary Dictionary with illustrations by Ruth Heller. (Teachers who take my courses at Queens College know I'm a fan of Ruth Heller who wrote & illustrated wonderful nonfiction poetry, including Chickens Aren't the Only Ones.

88 Years Ago

88 years ago today--August 26, 1920--the 19th Amendment, "The Federal Suffrage Amendment" was officially added to the U.S. Constitution; 133 years after the Constitution itself was adopted. Here is what the 19th Amendment guarantees: The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State, on account of sex.
Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. That doesn't seem so scary, does it?
But think about that date--1920--that's the year my mother was born & although she is dead, millions of American who were born before 1920 are still alive. Why did it take so long for more than half of the population--women--to win the right to vote? Why in 1917 were suffragists arrested and thrown in jail and brutally force fed? Intriguing questions that I'm investigating and wrestling with in two projects--my joint biography, Stirring Up The World, of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony and another book project, Shout the Revolution: Women's Fierce Fight for the Vote: 1910-1920. (Shout the Revolution is the title of a song suffragists wrote during their imprisonment.) In an earlier post, I wrote about our road trip to Seneca Falls, NY, for the 160th anniversary of the Women's Rights Convention. There we discovered this statute (see picture) portraying the historic moment when Amelia Bloomer introduced Susan B. Anthony (on the left) to Elizabeth Cady Stanton. (Note that both AB & ECS were wearing the controversial fashion--bloomers.)
Here 8 things I'm going to do to celebrate this day:
1. Wish everyone I meet "Happy Women's Equality Day."
2. Note it in any emails I send today.
3. Read the "Declaration of Sentiments and the Resolutions" (it's online).
4. Spend time at www.roadstosenecafalls.com and www.nwhp.com.
5. Tell my 4-year-old granddaughter about the event.
6. Post a blog entry.
7. Make a bibliography of relevant books to recommend for classroom use.
8. Organize all the pictures I've taken over the years of women suffrage sites such as the grave stones of several men in Colorado that noted their suffrage work, and the markers in Laramie, WY, and Salem, OH, etc.

Please add more ideas!

Reader Response Thanksgiving: The True Story

Here is a reader response to Thanksgiving: The True Story from Patricia Bandre', a professor of Reading Education, University of Arkansas at Little Rock:

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Thanksgiving: The True Story. As usual, your writing flows so smoothly through all of the facts. It feels as though you and I are sitting side-by-side, and you are telling me a story. Wonderful--and fascinating.

NOTE: Patricia Bandre' is getting ready to start "Bandre's Book Notes," a web page on the Arkansas Literacy Model website. I'll let you know when it is up and running. As a professor of Reading Education, Trish Bandre' brings an essential perspective to the world of children's publications.

What a Great Surprise!!! Thanksgiving: The True Story

Totally unexpectedly--five finished copies of Thanksgiving: The True Story arrived today!!! What a thrill!!!! In her note, Christy Ottaviano, my editor, wrote that she thinks they look "spectacular!" and I agree. Everyone at Henry Holt did a terrific job--thanks to all!!!!! The book will be in bookstores on Sept. 16.

Science/Math Book Recommendation

Sue Kirch, Ph.D., a science educator K-12 in the Department of Teaching and Learning, New York University, emailed two recommendations of "fabulous" books for teachers who want to integrate math & science--Measuring Penny and It's Probably Penny (Penny is a dog) by Loreen Leedy. Sue, who is a dear friend and former colleague at Queens College, particularly likes the way Leedy "unfolds the math concept . . . . simple, elegant, clear, easy to understand." The narration, she said, is "cute."

Revamped Web Site

My fabulous webcontroller, Renee Harris, just went "live" with my revamped web site at www.pennycolman.com Huge amount of intense work, but so engaging and fun! Let me know what you think!

On Getting Ideas Thanksgiving: The True Story

I am frequently asked where I get ideas for my books. Here is the genesis of my forthcoming book Thanksgiving: The True Story.
It began with a conversation during one of the classes I teach for teachers who are getting their masters degree at Queens College, the City University of New York. It was two days before Thanksgiving and my students were talking about the holiday.
"We have turkey for Thanksgiving, but on the side and no one eats it," said one student.
"What do you eat for Thanksgiving?" I asked in total astonishment, having only ever eaten the traditional menu of turkey with all the fixings.
She replied with a long list of Italian dishes--homemade lasagna, ravioli, meatballs, etc.
That discussion sparked my curiosity about every aspect of Thanksgiving, from what people eat and do and believe to the origins of the holiday itself.

Books & Sophie

I'm about to leave to pick up Sophie & return to the Jersey Shore. Since June, she's been in Europe with her mother & their Swiss family. During our road trip to Minnesota in June, Linda and I bought a bunch of kids' books at Lark, a terrific store in Kellogg, MN, including a classic Linda loved when she was a kid--The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton (she thinks someone in her family knew VLB). Published in 1942, it's particular relevant to our Shore bungalow 'cause our neighbor just built a monster motel of a house, with an unprecedented raised driveway that places the wheels of their behemoth vehicles in our side windows! I'm taking the stack of books to read with Sophie. I'm also taking one I bought after our trip--The Field Guide to Ocean Animals by Phyllis Perry that "includes 64 pieces to assemble 8 ocean animals and a removable diorama." Yipee!
Next week, I'll list all the books we read and Sophie's reaction.

Whoa! Not that tiresome, glib overgeneralization again!

Whoa!!! It's 2008 and I just read this tiresome, glib overgeneralization and unsubstantiated assertion in "Newsweek" (July 28, 2008, p 29)*: "although girls will read books about boys, boys won't go near a girl's book, no matter how cool she is."

If a graduate student in my classes at Queens College wrote that in a paper, I'd write (in red ink, although I don't typically use it!): WHAT'S YOUR EVIDENCE? CITE YOUR SOURCE!

And to anyone who says that that is "true" for his/her sons, grandsons, nephews, male students, I say--shame on you for accepting that attitude!

* "It's Still Not Easy Being Green ("'Anne of Green Gables' turns 100 this year, but she's the most modern girl in the bookstore.) by Ramin Setoodeh

On writing and Women's Equality Day, 8/26

Once again I've been reminded why I'm hooked on writing--what a thrill when it flows!!!!! What it took was isolating myself for several days; even today, an absolutely gorgeous day, I'm continuing to writing 'cause it's so much fun!!!!!!

Reminder: Women's Equality Day is Aug 26--the day designated by Congress to celebrate the women and men who fought the hard fight for the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, granting women the right to vote. Isn't it astonishing that that didn't happen until 1920--just 88 years ago!! Think about it: there are many Americans today who were born at a time when women were denied the right to vote in America!! Plan your celebration now!

Women's history Road Trip continue

Later today, I'm returning to the Shore & back to work on Stirring Up The World. So here's another post re our recent women's history road trip: Trip summary: Three days, 880 miles, mostly through central New York. Three drive-in movie theaters. (No, we didn't go). Farm stands with delicious cherries, blueberries, peaches, melons, raspberries. (Yes, we indulged.) Farm stand with piles of gorgeous purple and green heads of cabbage and corn and a pay-on-an-honor system lockbox. Nursery with table after table loaded with lush annuals and perennials. (We bought violet-purple phlox, parsley and snapdragons in a array of colors) and an honor-system-payment- lockbox. Visited 19 towns with women's history sites featuring both women and men.
The picture is of Elizabeth Smith Miller's house in Peterboro; recently bought by a couple who are determined to restore it. Since the early 1980s, her birthday has been celebrated in Peterboro. The program this year on 9/28, is highlighting her suffrage activities.
I'm counting on Dot to add a comment about Elizabeth Smith Miller!

Local fruit on the way to women's history sites

I've been at the Shore with limited internet access. Now I'm in Englewood for the day and can finally post a pic of this gorgeous local-fruit pie we made on Wednesday and devoured by Thursday lunch. I bought the fruit from farm stands along route 70 on my way to Philadelphia (to have lunch with a dear friend and to visit Lucretia Mott historic sites, more about that later). Yummmmmmmmm!

Road Trip Map

I've marked women's history sites on every map in the U.S. Before we take a road trip, I update the relevant map(s) and plot our route. Note: The road trip can be for any purpose, i.e. visiting friends/family or driving to a speaking engagement. Regardless of the purpose, I always check to see if I can plot a not-too-far-out-of-the-way detour. For an example of how I incorporated a road trip into my writings, see my essay about Biddy Mason, a former slave, midwife, landowner, philanthropist, in Adventurous Women: Eight True Stories About Women Who Made A Difference. Here's the NYS map we took on our trip 7/18-20/2008. We covered 880 miles (given gas prices--the highest we paid for regular was $4.17--we drove slower and took a cooler with food).

Women's History Road Trip

We just returned home from an amazingly productive, stimulating, fascinating, and fun women's history road trip. I'll post a more detailed entry, but for starters: our destination was Seneca Falls, NY for the 160th anniversary celebration of the Women's Rights Convention, the beginning of the organized women's rights movement in the U.S.. From my previous entries, you know I'm in the middle of writing Stirring Up The World: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, A Biography of a Powerful Friendship. We left Friday and drove to Seneca Falls via all the places I've been writing about--SBA's childhood home in Battenville and Canjoharie where she taught school (and where we met a new friend Sheryl, who told us how to easily find the "pot that washes itself" --a gorgeous, serene spot.) ECS's childhood home in Johnstown, NY etc. etc. etc. It was quite the route: we need 3 NY maps to find every place & one place required winging it! We had many adventures. And, yes, Dot, we drove along Seneca Lake, found Miller Hall, AND found a marker to Elizabeth Smith Miller (she introduced the Bloomer outfit among other claims to fame) in Peterboro! More later.

p.s.

Late last night, I printed the first page of chpt 7 (part of my book writing process is: after completing a page of text, I print it out and put it in a three-ring notebook (with a carefully chosen cover color). Suddenly another sentence popped into my brain--one with voice in it! I entered it, reread it, and loved it; so did Linda when she heard both versions. Let me repeat: I love revising--the mystery and thrill of it is exhilarating!

On Writing

Part I of Stirring up the World is finished! Today I started on Part II and spent the entire day--hours!!--bringing Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony together (Part I is alternating chapters from 1815-1850.) ECS, of course, has described it best, but I needed to neatly set up her quote! That's what's on my computer screen. From there, back and forth, and around I went trying to figure out where to go. I thought about a segue re bloomers (ECS was wearing bloomers). Then why SBA wasn't invited for dinner. Etc. But--1. I write what seems to me to be a finished draft (probably be easier if I could write rough drafts, but I don't); 2. what I write has to allow me to keep moving forward (if I can't, how can the reader?)--and nothing worked. All day nothing worked! When that happens, the reasons are typically because: I don't know enough, i.e. I need to do more research; and/or I haven't thoroughly answered my key question: "What's your point, Penny?" All day, I resisted distracting myself and stuck with my misery. I thought I had it when Linda arrived home. But it wasn't clear enough to her--a fatal flaw. Happily we were able to talk it through--more like word-wrestled each sentence into shape!

On Writing

I find it so interesting that I can write something I really like one day, but end up deleting it the next. Why? What makes me decide to delete material that delights me? Because I can't write beyond that material. That's an irrefutable sign that I have to delete it, no matter how much I love it. That's what I did today. Happily the new material I wrote worked--onward!! Hurrah!!!!

Catching up and Corpses, Coffins, and Crypts

Between my last entry and now, here are some highlights: I finished chpt 6 for Stirring Up The World: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, A Biography of a Friendship; agreed to return to Queens College as a distinguished lecturer for another year; spent a couple days at the Jersey Shore; and talked to Sophie who is spending the summer with her Swiss relatives.

Also I've been wanting to post the great news from my editor Christy Ottaviano that Corpses, Coffins, and Crypts: A History of Burial (Henry Holt, 1997) is "back for a reprint . . . this makes number 12!" Christy is also my editor for Thanksgiving: The True Story (preorders available at www.barnesandnoble.com and www.amazon.com) and Adventurous Women: Eight True Stories About Women Who Made a Difference.

Women's History

Yesterday we attended a terrific program at the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Brooklyn Museum of Art. It opened with a screening of the documentary by Kay Sloan, "Suffragettes in the Silent Cinema," with extremely rare footage of anti- and pro- suffrage silent films. Then Coline Jenkins, the great, great granddaughter of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, spoke. She's standing in the first picture holding a replica of a street sign that is near City Hall in New York City. Melissa Messina, curator of the excellent exhibit "Votes for Women" at the museum is seated in the corner of the picture. Coline set up the other picture for me to take. It features Rachel Milano, a fashion designer for Donna Karan, communing with a bust of Susan B. Anthony. Rachel styled her hair for the program in the fashion of some young suffragists. Our conversations with young, middle-age, and beyond middle-age feminists before, during, and after the program were lively, stimulating and fun. Coline, Linda and I extended the fun by "hanging out" together, including a just-before-closing-time trip to the Rose Garden in the next door Brooklyn Botanical Garden.

It was early evening when Linda and I headed back to retrieve the car that we had parked on the upper West Side (We thought it would be easier to take the subway to Brooklyn, but it wasn't because of the weekend construction on the subway. Oh, well.) Along the way, we stopped to eat and check out the craft fair at Lincoln Center where we ended up buying early birthday presents for each other--a handcrafted handbag for her & a handcrafted backpack with a super convenient side zipper into the main pouch for me.

Our Road Trip: Thanksgiving and Women's History

We're back from our 10-day research road trip that included several days in Minneapolis, MN where we attended the 14th Berkshire Conference on the History of Women.

Before a road trip, I highlight all the women's history sites on our maps. (I use a variety of sources to identify the sites.) What we visit depends on many things--our timing, relevance (since I'm currently writing about suffrage those sites were #1), distance, etc. The first day we zigzagged off Route 80 to Salem, Ohio, site of the first Women's Rights Convention in Ohio, held on April 19 and 20, 1850. On the way, we serendipitously discovered another Thanksgiving claim on a sign in front of a shop in Berlin Center, Ohio. The shop was closed, but I found Joseph Donnelly, the proprietor, artist, and claim-maker working in his garden. The illustration on the sign are a Missaugua Native and Garrett Packard, the first white settler in what was Connecticut's "Western Reserve," now northeast Ohio, cooking a turkey. According to Joseph, "Garrett Packard was said to have shot a turkey at the central creek, now called "Turkey Broth" Creek. Because "peaceful relations" had been established between the Packard family and local natives Joseph felt he could imagine the scene and make the claim. Tragically, the "peaceful relations" did not last, and Joseph is an eloquent storyteller of that history. After lingering for an hour or more, we resumed our drive, but only for a short time because there on a large road sign beside a cemetery I spied--after almost twenty years of photographing women's history sites--the first explicitely grandmother women's history site!

Reader Response Thanksgiving: The True Story

Today I checked my email from a motel in Michigan City, IN--we're on a ten-day research road trip--and found a response from Jan Kristo, professor, Reading and Language Arts, the University of Maine, who just received the extraordinary honor of being named the Distinguished Maine Professor! She is the author of important books about using nonfiction in classrooms. Jan and I and Sandip Wilson co-authored a chapter,"Bold New Perspectives in Selecting and Using Nonfiction" in Shattering the Looking Class:Challenge, Risk & Controversy in Children's Literature edited by Susan Lehr (Christopher-Gordon, 2008). On page 111, of Thanksgiving, I quoted Jan's descriptions of the foods tied to her cultural identity--"Lithuanian (Full Blood)"-- that were included in her family's Thanksgiving menu: "headcheese . . . horseradish and herring and 'potato fudge' and ausakes."

Here is Jan Kristo's response after reading Thanksgiving: The True Story:
Thanks for the galley of Thanksgiving. I've started it and can't put it down. I love the writing and feel your voice come through the pages. . . .Your book is going to be required reading for my students and has all the makings of being a landmark text!!!

My brother and Thanksgiving: The True Story

Recently my brother Kip and his family--Lisa, Julia and Ford--spent a few days with us. I showed them the galley of Thanksgiving: The True Story and where I quoted Lisa about Thanksgiving Day football games. (p. 100) Later in their visit, Kip walked by me and simply said "St. Augustine."
"Huh," I replied.
"St. Augustine" he said and walked away.
What is he talking about? I wondered.
Suddenly I got it.
"Kip," I called after him. "Did you just read chapter 1 in Thanksgiving?"
(St. Augustine, Florida is one of the 12 competing claims for the location of "first" Thanksgiving that I write about in chapter 1.)
"St. Augustine," he said.

My sister and Alaska

My sister Cam and I are years apart in age (she was born the year I graduated from high school) but we're soul mates. (For those of you with a copy of my book Girls: A History of Growing Up Female in America, there's a picture of Cam on p. 71 and on the back cover.) She and her husband have been driving and camping from their home in Hemet, CA, to Alaska since early May. Cam's been keeping us updated with vivid emails and spectacular pictures. At this point, they are on the return trip. Here's an excerpt from yesterday's email: From Jasper we continued south through Lake Louise and Banff. This highway is called the Icefields Parkway and is described as one of North America's most scenic drives. Photos of this majestic area do not come close to describing the beauty. Huge snow-capped mountains, rivers running bank to bank, crystal clear lakes varying from gray to blue to green, thick forests of tall pine trees, abundant wildlife and more waterfalls than we could count. A number of glacier fingers connected to the Columbia Icefields were visible from time to time. . . .Tonight we are in Lethbridge, Alberta, about 63 miles from the border. Tomorrow we will cross into the U.S. and head for Glacier National Park. Wildlife has been abundant. So far, 15 bears, one wolf, one pheasant, lost count of the many moose, elk, caribou and deer. Eagles, hawks, geese, swans, ducks, loons and ptarmigan.

Reader's Response to Thanksgiving: The True Story

Your work is incredible . . . . The whole time I was reading I was marveling over your research . . . . I plan to give a copy to our 7th grade history teacher. . . . She can devise some really good lessons using the book. I like the way you use original sources with this age group. I was never taught to do that until I got to college! Dot Emer, middle school librarian, Saint Andrew's School, Boca Raton, Florida

Readers Responses to Thanksgiving: The True Story

Mollie Hoben, co-founder with Glenda Martin, of Minnesota Women's Press that publishes a bi-weekly newspaper and, my favorite literary magazine, bookwomen (www.womenspress.com), and who leads "Reading-on-the-Road adventures (books@womenspress.com): Congratulations for another great achievement! I enjoyed reading it, and especially liked the way you make the actual doing of history so much a part of the story, describing how you did the research and what that entails. That seems really important for young readers (or readers of any age, actually!) and may intrigue some into the whole idea of the engaging challenges and satisfactions of research.

Julie Hemming Savage, co-author with Heidi Hemming of the terrific forthcoming book, Women Making America, (www.womenmakingamerica.com): I'm enjoying your book! We will make it a part of our living, evolving Thanksgiving tradition.

Jackie Marshall Arnold, a professor in the Department of Teacher Education, University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio: I can't wait to use it with my Middle School preservice students!

Reader Response to Thanksgiving: The True Story

This response is from Linda Levstik, a professor of social studies at the University of Kentucky, and the author with Keith C. Barton of the excellent book Doing History: Investigating with Children in Elementary and Middle School. With her permission, here is her email:
Hi Penny,
The semester is over and I've finally had a chance to catch up (sort of!). I loved Thanksgiving: The True Story. I am always nervous when anyone uses the word "true" in relation to history, but this is an excellent example of the kind of truth historical inquiry might inform--tentative based on available evidence, open to new information, inviting new information, going for complexity and ambiguity. How lovely. I'm doing a workshop in Connecticut in July and will recommend this one (along with your other books) to the elementary teachers who are the most likely to be teaching about Thanksgiving.

I particularly like the chart of claims and sources--what an example for teachers who might do the same with other historical stories/myths. In Doing History we included a similar example for Christopher Columbus and one for Johnny Appleseed. The charts really helped younger students make sense out of conflicting information. I was also thinking about the "harvest home" origins and how often that festival ends up in children's fantasy literature (Susan Cooper's work especially). It would be interesting to have children search out the holiday connections used across genres and drawing on ancient as well as more modern interpretations/celebrations.

Anyway--good food for thought (thank you!), good sources to explore, and information I didn't know about other claims to be "first" at giving thanks. We are a funny people with our concern about firsts, aren't we?!

Catching Up, including the answer to our frog questions

Yikes, I realized I've neglected my blog; so, here's a catching up post. We were in Spain for a week & highlights included day-trips to Segovia & finally seeing the spectacular Roman aqueduct. (I included a picture of it in my book Toilets, Bathtubs, Sinks and Sewers: A History of the Bathroom, and was thrilled to finally see it.); and Cordoba, and visits in Madrid to the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum (where the art is displayed on gorgeous salmon-colored walls as per the instructions of Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza) and the Sophia Reina Museum (where I spent considerable time viewing Pablo Picasso's Guernica and the display of Picasso's process for creating it).

I've also been occupied finishing the semester at Queens College, the last of my five-year term as a Distinguished Lecturer. It was fun sorting through my library and deciding which books to take home and which to give away to my students. What's next, some of my students asked?
Writing, writing, writing, I replied.

I just wrote two guides for Thanksgiving: The True Story: a Reading Guide and a Classroom Connections Across the Curriculum Guide. Email me if you want copies. I'll also be posting them on my web site.

On our Sophie/Grammie Day this week, we took a long hike through the woods. Sophie was the scout who kept us on the "red" trail. The path was a maze of tree roots, some big enough for Sophie to use as a balance beam. We arrived at a pond and spent 1/2 hour observing frogs that were sitting close to the shore with their heads and backs above water. They were motionless, even when a gaggle of noisy kids appeared, motionless even when one kid poked a frog with a stick, which, of course, I stopped. ("Grammie," Sophie whispered, "Why did she do that?" My impulse was to say, "Because she's mean!" but that did not seem like a helpful explanation for Sophie; instead I said, "Perhaps she hasn't learned how to treat animals. What do you think?" Sophie thought that she should learn. We were perplexed by the frog's behavior & I speculated that perhaps they were guarding eggs, but we agreed that we needed to do research.
Part of our research was for me to consulted via email with a dear, long-time friend, Dr. Judy Brook, who is a marine biologist: Here's her reply: Dear Penny and Sophie, First of all, you two get the Patience Prize for watching a frog for almost 1/2 an hour. That's what makes a good scientist--being patient and observant.
About your observations and questions: Our northern frogs don't guard their eggs. There are few tropical frogs that glue their eggs to the mates' back and let the dads carry around the tadpoles until the young hop off on their own. Our frogs lay their eggs and that's the last they see or care for their young. I think your frogs were cold. When frogs (and other amphibians) get cold they don't move. In fact, they can't move. They have no energy. Do you remember if the frogs were facing or had their backs to the sun? (They were.) Amphibians and reptiles tend to orient their bodies, when they are cold, to expose the most amount of their skin to the sun. That warms them up. Turtles will even turn their backs to the sun, extend their back legs, fan their toes, and act like solar collectors.

Judy lives in Vermont and she ended with this lovely description: We are in the throughs of spring--apple and cherry trees in full bloom, forget-me-nots making sure we don't, tulips almost over the hill, and thousands of shades of green on the hillsides. I love it!!!!!!!!!
Me, too!

Reader Response to Thanksgiving: The True Story

Patty Murphy, a graduate student in education, wrote: Penny Colman's book made me smile when she described the various ways we Americans celebrate Thanksgiving from watching or playing football games to adding our own ethnic foods to the usual Thanksgiving feast. . . . I loved her chapter "Turkey and Lasagna." This is exactly what we do in my family, as I am Italian. We dress the table with a lovely table cloth, fine china and silverware, and crystal water and wine goblets. We have a floral centerpiece and the best salt and pepper shakers. I never set up a children's table. The children have the same place settings as the adults and participate fully in this family feast. (They have never broken anything, not like some of the adults.) We start off the meal with salad and lasagna. Then we bring out the turkey, ham, potatoes, sweet potatoes, spinach stuffing (it's delicious), green bean casserole, and don't forget the cranberry sauce. We pray and have a toast. We talk about what we are thankful for. Later we bring out the coffee, tea, homemade Bavarian shortbread, and an assortment of pies, such as pumpkin, apple, blueberry, and coconut. Sometimes we have chocolate and vanilla pudding with real whipped cream and Jell-O. We talk, play piano and enjoy our loved ones' company. We laugh a lot. The day is magical. Penny Colman's book made me remember all of the things I love about Thanksgiving!