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Simpson is Feb. 6 Reader |
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Molly Simpson Will Read At February 6 Stories in the Forest
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Molly Simpson, professor of theater at Arkansas State University, reads a book to Dylan Vanhoozer 2 ½-year-old son of Rodney and Deania Vanhoozer of Jonesboro. Simpson will be the reader at the Feb. 6 Stories in the Forest program at The Mall at Turtle Creek. The free program will begin at 3 p.m.
| Molly Simpson, professor of theater at Arkansas State University, will serve as reader for the Feb. 6 Stories in the Forest program sponsored by the Women’s Advisory Council of the St. Bernards Development Foundation.
She will read The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone and Ferdinand the Bull by Murano Leaf.
The Little Red Hen is an old folk tale, most likely of Russian origin. In the tale, the Little Red Hen finds a grain of wheat and asks for help from her “friends” – the other farm animals – to plant it. But she gets no volunteers. So she does it herself.
Then when it comes time to harvest the grain, she seeks help again … to no avail. She also looks for assistance when it’s time to thresh, to mill the wheat into flour and then to bake it into bread. Finally, she has done everything herself … and it’s time to eat the bread. She asks for volunteers again … and this time, she finds all the animals are eager to volunteer. But Little Red Hen declines their help, eating the product of her hard work with her chicks, leaving none for the others.
It’s a story frequently used to extol the virtues of the work ethic and personal initiative and is reminiscent of other folk tales like the grasshopper and the ant.
Galdone, born in Budapest in 1907, worked as a children’s literature author and illustrator. He authored about 30 children’s books – mostly versions of folk tales written in terse rhyming text – and he was a prolific illustrator, with about 300 books to his credit.
He immigrated to the United States in 1921 and studied art at the Art Student’s League and New York School for Industrial Design. He served in World War II in the U.S. Army and also worked as a bus boy, an electrician’s helper and a fur dryer as well as in the art department at Doubleday in New York. Galdone’s work was selected as a runner up for the Caldecott Medal, and three books were designated as notable books by the American Library Association – The Little Red Hen, Winter Danger and Flaming Arrows.
Other children’s books by Galdone are Three Little Kittens, The Teeny-Tiny Woman, Henny Penny, The Gingerbread Boy, The Three Bears, The Monkey and the Crocodile: A Jataka Tale from India, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, Three Little Pigs and The Elves and the Shoemaker.
Ferdinand The Bull is probably the best known work of American author Murano Leaf. It tells the story of a Spanish bull who would rather smell flowers than fight. He grew up preferring to sit quietly and smell the flowers, while the other bulls around him ran, jumped and butted their heads together. His mother encouraged him to join the other bulls in frolicking, but he wouldn’t. He was perfectly happy to sit under his favorite cork tree and smell the flowers.
Then one day after Ferdinand had grown to be a big and strong bull, five men in “funny hats” came to pick the biggest, fastest and roughest bull to fight in the bull fights in Madrid. But when he went to sit under his favorite tree and watch, he sat on a bumble bee – and when that tiny creature stung him, he jumped up with a snort and ran around snorting, butting and pawing the ground as if he were crazy. Ole! The men were sure they had found the “biggest and the baddest” of the bulls
They took him off in a cart and delivered him to the bull ring. The bands were playing … lovely ladies were all dressed up with flowers in their hair. The banderilleros were there to agitate the bull, the picadors were there with their long spears, and finally the matador came in with his red cape and sword. Then it was time for the bull to enter the arena. Billed as “Ferdinand the Fierce,” Ferdinand entered the bull ring to shouts and clapping. But when he got to the center, he simply sat down quietly to smell the flowers the beautiful ladies were wearing in their hair.
Try as they might, the banderilleros and picadors couldn’t make Ferdinand mad enough to fight. And the matador got so mad he cried because he couldn’t show his bull fighting expertise. In the end, there was nothing to do but take Ferdinand back home … where he probably still sits under his favorite tree smelling the flowers.
First published in 1936, the book is considered a true classic with a timeless message.
Wilbur Monroe Leaf (Murano Leaf) was born Dec. 4 in Hamilton, Md. He wrote and illustrated nearly 40 books during his 40-year career, but he probably is best known for his Ferdinand story. He earned degrees from the University of Maryland and Harvard University and taught in secondary school and worked as an editor with the publishing firm Frederick A. Stokes Company.
Other Leaf books include Manners Can Be Fun, How to Speak Politely & Why, Safety Can Be Fun, Gordon the Goat, A War-Time Handbook for Young Americans, The Boy Who Would Not Go to School, Brushing Your Teeth Can Be Fun: And Lots of Other Good Ideas, The Watchbirds, More Watchbirds and Fly Away, Watchbird.
The February storytime will be held at St. Bernards Fun Forest at The Mall at Turtle Creek. In addition to giving parents some quality time with their children and exposing children to some favorite books of local residents, the storytimes have an educational focus, with printed materials available for parents.
Stories in the Forest is an outgrowth of the Women’s Advisory Council’s tremendously successful Kidz Fun Fair.
The Women’s Advisory Council is a group of about 120 area women who have joined together in an advisory role to give input on important healthcare issues impacting women and children. They encourage educational as well as service outreach efforts designed to make Jonesboro a better place to live, work and raise families..
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