October -- Life, Affirmation and Hope

                                                 The photo is by Elena Shumilova

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After the Civil War

During the time (Reconstruction) when Louisa May Alcott (1832-88) wrote Little Women (1868), America was recovering from the darkness and pain of the Civil War. Louisa had served as a nurse during the war, and because her family was poor, she and her sisters worked at menial jobs in the community (Concord, MA). Her father, Bronson Alcott, was a flaky, intellectual, self-obsessed, religous fanatic who failed to provide for his wife and family of four girls. Immigrants, especially Irish and German, were arriving in America in vast numbers, and the growth of factories and mining were changing the industrial landscape. It was an era of transition. In the case of the Alcott family and Louisa in particular, the constraining influence of the transcendentalists ("the chain armor of propriety"), notably by Thoreau and Emerson, was heavily felt.

Little Women has touched vast numbers of people, and as the posts below confirm, in many ways, it was a book of real depth and ahead of the times. Alcott was a gifted writer with the ability to move her readers. . .

The illustration is of Concord in 1840, home of the Alcott family. 

Turning Point

Louisa was earning money to support her family by secretly writing fiery popular novels under the nom de plume A.M.
Barnard. "A publisher, Thomas Niles, sensed something about Louisa. Or maybe he just saw a market opportunity. If there were tales written specifically for boys—adventure tales—why shouldn’t there also be stories about girls’ concerns, written for them? Girls liked reading more than boys did. (This is still true.) So Niles suggested to Louisa that she write a “girls’ story.” She thought this was a stupid idea. “Never liked girls, or knew many, except my sisters,” she wrote in her journal. But her family was terribly strapped, so what she did was write a novel about the few girls she knew, her sisters, and her life with them."

Joan Acocella: How Little Women Got Big in the New Yorker

The photo is of Louisa at age 27.

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Jo Is Relevant Today

The Little Women were the sisters Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy.  They are all quite different from each other. Their mother, Marmee, is also a central character in the family and in the story. Jo, the second oldest, is modeled after the author, Louisa May Alcott.

"It (Little Women) would feel less pertinent were it not for the “hero” of the story, Jo March, the second eldest daughter whose plucky spirit and hard-worn attitude transcends era and disposition. Jo is feisty, ruthless, but also noble and warm. She wins the affection of her neighbor, Theodore Lawrence, and their will-they-won’t-they gives the story a sense of urgency, though is never its true purpose. Little Women is not a romance, but rather a coming-of-age, and it’s Jo that keeps it relevant, for she bucks tradition, and gender norms, and paves her way through a male-dominate industry, facing personal and professional setbacks along the way. Every generation needs a Jo or two. Because she’s fighting the seemingly un-winnable fight women face to this day."

Joan Acocella: How Little Women Got Big

The sisters and Marmee are portrayed in the illustration above by Maira Kalman.

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Alcott Infuenced Many Women Writers 

"My favorite literary heroine is Jo March," Rowling told The Times. "It is hard to overstate what she meant to a small, plain girl called Jo, who had a hot temper and a burning ambition to be a writer."

Here are some of the other women writers who have stated that they were strongly influenced by the character of Jo in Little Women: Ursula Le Guinn, Cynthia Ozick, Simone de Beauvoir, Ann Pety, and Barbara Kingsolver.

Source: Literary Ladies Guide

The photo of JK Rowling is from The Guardian.

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"I'm happy as I am, and love my liberty too well to be in a hurry to give it up for any mortal man."  Louisa May Alcott

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An Independent, Self Supporting Single Woman

"One era's conservatism, however, may be the liberal protest of an earlier time. When it appeared in 1869, Little Women was in many ways, a radical manifesto. Its author was an independent, self-supporting single woman in an age when, as Meg puts it in the book, 'men have had to work and women to marry for money.' More than forty years before women got the vote, Louisa May Alcott was a committed feminist who wrote and spoke in favor of women's rights. In 1868, while she was creating Little Women, she joined the New England Suffragist Association. . .  From a mid-nineteenth-century perspective Little Women is both a conservative and a radical novel. . .Jo, of course, represents the feminist movement; in the phrase of the period, she is a new woman."

Alison Lurie, Boys and Girls Forever: Children's Classics from Cinderella to Harry Potter.

The illustration of Louisa May Alcott is by Marc Burkhardt.

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Anne Boyd Rioux's insightful book, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy, The Story of Little Women and Why It Still Matters, was published by WW Norton on August 2018 on the 150th anniversary of the first publication; the book has been very well received by the public and scholars alike.
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Dreams Fulfilled and Dreams Renounced

"Alcott uses the structures that hem women in—marriage, home, religion—both to attract and repel her readers. The homes she depicts are both cozy and claustrophobic, the marriages companionate and perverse, and the March girls’ dreams both fulfilled and depressingly renounced. It’s certainly possible to read Little Women as an untroubled sentimental text about family bonds and individual development, but then, well, you’d miss out on the fun and insight of the novel’s deeply weird and frustrated relationship to femininity."

Rioux concludes "that Little Women has endured because of the power of its 'lessons' about balancing family and career, individualism and selflessness, and the value of (truly) companionate marriage.

Sarah Blackwood in the New Republic

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Alcott's Restless Spirit

"The wealth of adaptations of Little Women over the past century is proof of its durability, and also its malleability. As Anne Boyd Rioux writes, stage and screen versions of the novel have reflected the eras they were made in. . .Jo’s creativity, her nonconformism, and especially her anger—that energy constantly undercuts the sanctimony Alcott dreaded in a genre that she, without blood and thunder, found ways to sabotage in Little Women. Her ambivalence emboldened her to unsettle conventions as she explored women’s place in the home and in the world—wrestling with the claims of realism and sentimentality, the appeal of tradition and reform, the pull of nostalgia and ambition. Her restless spirit is contagious. The more Alcott’s admirers seek to update her novel, drawing on her life as context, the more they expose what her classic actually contains."

Excerpted from an article by  Sophie Gibert in the Atlantic


The illustration of Jo in the Attic is by Norman Rockwell.

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The New Movie Version of Little Women

I recomend the trailer (below) for a sense of the new Little Women. Greta Gerwig's outstanding cast features Saoirse Ronan, as Jo. The film opens at Christmas.

“We wanted it to feel light on its feet,” Gerwig told Entertainment Weekly (EW) of the film. “And even though it does take place in the 19th century, we in no way wanted it to feel like it was something that was past. We wanted it to feel like it was present right now. . . . In the trailer, Jo says, impassioned: 'Women have minds and they have souls as well as just hearts. They’ve got ambition and they’ve got talent as well as just beauty. I am so sick of people saying that love is just all a woman is fit for. I’m so sick of it!' The quote, Gerwig told EW, comes not from the book but one of Alcott’s own letters. When she first read it, Gerwig said, 'I just cried. There was something so alive about it.' ”

Excerpted from a Guardian article by Adrian Horton.

Link to the trailer of the new Little Women.

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The Wonder Tales Journey Never Stops

MUSIC

An early memory comes from the time when I played a wonderful recording of Prokoviev's Peter and the Wolf narrated by Peter Ustinov for my children. At that time, my knowledge of Prokoviev and Russian fairy tales was less than minimal. But it didn't matter. We were all mesmerized and we listened together many, many times.

Prokofiev produced detailed performance notes in both English and Russian for Peter and the Wolf. Below is an excerpt of the English version from Wikipedia.

"Each character of this tale is represented by a corresponding instrument in the orchestra: the bird by a flute, the duck by an oboe, the cat by a clarinet playing staccato in a low register, the grandfather by a bassoon, the wolf by three horns, Peter by the string quartet, the shooting of the hunters by the kettle drums and bass drum. Before an orchestral performance it is desirable to show these instruments to the children and to play on them the corresponding leitmotivs. Thereby, the children learn to distinguish the sonorities of the instruments during the performance of this tale."

The illustration is by Christiane Furtges.
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Visions of Wonder and Hope

I don't know how many children over the years have heard the great classical music, inspired by fairy tales, and composed for ballets and opera by -- among others -- Prokofiev (Cinderella) Tchaikovsky (Sleeping Beauty), and Humperdinck (Hansel and Gretel). However, at Christmas holiday time, many have seen the marvelous Nutcracker ballet with inspired music by Tchaikovsky. Major and minor theater and ballet groups perfom a version of the Nutcracker every year.The story of the ballet was adapted from a Prussian fairy tale,The Nutcracker and the Mouse King (1816), written by E.T. A. Hoffman. 

There are many more classical composers influenced by wonder tales, including Antonin Dvorak, Risky-Korsakov, Bartok, Mahler, Greig, Sibelius, and continues through time to include the Phillip Glass opera, Beauty and the Beast.

 

The photo is from the Maryland Regional Ballet production of The Nutcracker.
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Theater Retellings

Wonder tales have inspired wonderful theater that has reached and touched millions of people world wide. The fantastic comes alive in the magic of theater when inspired imagination and creativity become theater.

Wicked

Wicked, the hit Broadway musical, was derived from the a novel by Gregory Maquire which was, in turn, inspired and derived from Frank Baum's Wizard of OZ, as well as the reknowned retelling in the 1939 Judy Garland film musical.

Wicked, which opened to accolades in 2003, has toured the world, and continues to tour as well as play in New York City.  It's interesting to note that one man wrote the original tale, whereas retelling the story in the form of a big musical took a synthesis of many talents in addition to the writers: director, composer, designer, choreographer, lighting designer, costumes, orchestra, musicians, singing actors, dancers and more. 

The photo of the Wicked Witch of the West is from the Movie Version.
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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Imagine -- Harry Potter as a married middle-aged father of three school age children and who is now an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic. Moreover, "While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places."

 J. K. Rowling has taken this concept and put together an exceptional creative team of experienced theater people. Their combined talents have produced a magical theatrical experience based on the fantastic stories she created for the world of Harry Potter. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is described as a thrilling, cutting edge theater experience. It continues to play to large audiences in several cities. 

The photo is from a performance.

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The Hungry Caterpillar Is Alive On Stage

Jonathan Rockefeller's theatrical retelling of Eric Carle's classic book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, has reached over one million people in over 2,000 performances.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the book's publication. Carle created an illustrated book about a catepillar who eats all kinds of veggies and fruits -- and even some pages in the book -- until he metamorphosizes into a beautiful butterfly.The book has been translated into 40 lanquages and sold over 50 million copies.

Here is a link to enjoy one minute of this delightful and imaginative theatrical retelling: HungryCaterpillar:

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"A fairy tale does not take place in the real world but in a separate, often magical space. They frquently invove a quest, supernatural or enchanting elements, the arictocracy or the very poor, and conficts between good and evil. They are not meant to be believed as literally true, though sometimes they have didactic leanings or morals. . ." Excerpted from a Carterhaugh School Grimoire Page

The Carterhaugh School has a strong sense of community; their knowledge runs deep; and their courses are innovative and interactive. Their latest online course, “Introduction to British Folklore” started on September 23. Here is a link to the Carterhaugh School.

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The Canine Connection Comes Alive

Parade of Misfits

The selections in Parade Of Misfits give an amusing and sometimes raw glimpse into the life of Cayr Ariel Wulff as an animal advocate. She is an excellent writer who can tell a hilarious story about lobster Halloween costumes, but effortlessly segue into the joy and melancholy of Christmas with canine companions past and present. Adorable pictures are included! -- Cherry Ophelia reviewer on Amazon

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The Lewis Carroll Society of North America Fall Meeting will be held on October 4, 5, 6, 2019; Location: University of Pennsylvania, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare books and Manuscripts, Class of 1978 Orrery Pavilion, Philadelphia, PA --  Check out the Mad Hatter Day Tea Party on Sunday, Oct 6. Here is a link to the website for more info: LCSNA  

 

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Fiction

"Fiction allows us to slide into these other heads, these other places, and look out through other eyes. And then in the tale we stop before we die, or we die vicariously and unharmed, and in the world beyond the tale we turn the page or close the book, and we resume our lives. Neil Gaiman -- American Gods

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Crossover Movies

JoJo Rabbit --opens Oct 17.

Oddly enough, this a comedy set in Nazi Germany. Here is an excerpt from Justin Jones CBR review: "With such potential behind and on camera, it's hard not to be disappointed, but at the very least, Taiki Waititi has found a way to make a fun, hilarious movie about Nazi Germany, and that's got to count for something."

Trailer for JoJo Rabbit

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The Cave -- a  powerful documentary

"National Geographic Documentary Films is adding to its feature documentary slate with a doc from Last Man in Aleppo director Feras Fayyad, about a hidden secret underground hospital in Syria and it’s female-led team.

The Cave, which is slated for a fall 2019 theatrical release, follows 30-year-old Doctor Amani, as she becomes the appointed leader of a team of 130 medical practitioners in a secret hospital that serves the 400,000 civilians in the besieged city of Al Ghouta. From 2012 to 2018, Dr. Amani and her team help the victims who access the hospital through secret entrances and a network of tunnels." 
Excerpted from Realscreen

Trailer for Oscar nominated The Cave

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American Factory 

An Important Crossover Film about people, work, hopes, and life today.

94% of 64 Rotten Tomatoes' critics gave American Factory (Netflix) good reviews. Here is an excerpt from John Powers insightful NPR review: "Reichert and Bognar are clearly on the side of the workers, both American and Chinese, yet their film is no Michael Moore polemic. It's an old-school observational documentary in the very best sense of the term."

Trailer: American Factory

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The USA Summer Shootings -- 126 Dead

"They were octogenarians shopping at a Texas Walmart. They were family members watching TV in California. They were late-night revelers standing on a crowded Ohio sidewalk. They were casualties of a violent summer.

During the unofficial summer season, between Memorial Day and Labor Day, America endured 26 mass shootings in 18 states. One massacre followed another, sometimes on the very same day. In sudden bursts of misery, they played out in big cities, along rural roads, inside trim suburbs. They left behind shaken neighborhoods, tearful memorials and calls for change, but little concrete action." Meanwhle, the NRA continues to surpresses politicians with money and votes.

Excerpted from an excellent article by Mitch Smith in the NYTimes

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An Upbeat 4 min. video - Therapy Dogs at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

"Meet Cyrus, Meatloaf and Cooper, three of the dogs bringing smiles to patients and families at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia . . . Clinicians say the therapy dogs help children cope with the emotional aspects of their illnesses; families say the dogs offer kids a welcome distraction, reassurance and acceptance."

Here is the video link: Therapy Dogs

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Where Is She Now?

The photo was taken in August, 2014, when the girl and her mother fled to Mount Sinjar to escape the Isis attempted genocide and enslavement of the Yazidis by Isis. Many of the fleeing 40,000 Yazidi refugees died on Mount Sinjar of starvation and disease when Isis surrounded the mountain preventing escape or supplies of food and essentials. Ultimately, 20,000-30,000 escaped when Kurdish Peshmerga forces, supported by US air strikes, freed them. 

Where is she now?

Link to a devestating UN Report 

Photo by Reuters. 

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The Planet Of The Dogs Series

The Planet of the Dogs series of children’s books tell the stories of the first time dogs came to planet Earth to teach people about unconditional loyalty and love -- and to help bring peace from invaders. Here is an excerpt from a review by young Thomas Jarvis, on the Magic Bookshelf.

"Planet of the Dogs is a great read for people of all ages about the love dogs provide for humans all over the Earth. Dogs inside the book negotiate problems throughout the Earth with love as they work together with two children, Daisy and Bean. This heartwarming story shows happiness, love, healing, and teamwork as the dogs treat the world to peace . . . I really recommend these books to all kids looking for some good reading."

We have free reader copies of all the books in the Planet Of The Dogs series for therapy dog organizations, individual therapy dog owners, librarians, teachers and independent bookstores. Email us with a postal address to [email protected] and we will send you the books. 

To read sample chapters of any book in the series, visit PlanetOfTheDogs 

The Planet Of The Dogs series (including Castle In The Mist and Snow Valley Heroes, A Christmas Tale) is available from many Internet sources and through independent bookstores of all sizes. 

The illustration of the Stone City warrior from Planet Of The Dogs is by Stella Mustanoja McCarty.

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The ideal age for a boy to own a dog is between forty-five and fifty --  Robert Benchley

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