{"id":987,"date":"2014-02-04T18:43:16","date_gmt":"2014-02-04T18:43:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/nclc\/?p=987"},"modified":"2014-02-04T18:43:16","modified_gmt":"2014-02-04T18:43:16","slug":"meet-sandra-horning-james-marshall-fellow-for-2014-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/2014\/02\/04\/meet-sandra-horning-james-marshall-fellow-for-2014-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Sandra Horning, James Marshall Fellow for 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sandra Horning, of Chaplin, Connecticut, is the author of three children’s books:\u00a0 The Biggest Pumpkin<\/strong><\/em>, a picture book illustrated by Holly Stone-Barker and due out later this year; Chicks!<\/strong><\/em>, a beginning reader illustrated by Jon Goodell and published by Random House in 2013; and The Giant Hug<\/strong><\/em>, a picture book illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev and published by Knopf in 2005.\u00a0 The Giant Hug<\/strong><\/em> won several awards and has been translated into Dutch, Italian, Chinese, Korean and Japanese.<\/p>\n

Ms. Horning is studying the Papers of James Marshall to support the completion of a new beginning reader with the working title Crab and Snail<\/strong><\/em>.\u00a0 She is researching word choice and length, Marshall’s revision process and his creative process from the first idea to publication.\u00a0 This is Ms. Horning’s first of three blog posts in fulfillment of the Marshall Fellowship.\u00a0 Welcome, Sandra!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Blog Post 1: Kids are Really Smart These Days<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Most people think of James Marshall as an illustrator and vividly remember his characters, George and Martha, Miss Nelson, and Fox, among others, but I, as a children’s author myself, think of his words and how well crafted his stories are.\u00a0 Since he wrote many of his stories under the name Edward Marshall, there may be people who don’t realize the large number of stories he wrote and illustrated. I’m thrilled to now have an opportunity to research how James Marshall may have created such memorable stories and characters.<\/p>\n

As I dig into the collection, which is quite vast, I’ve been looking at story plots and character development, but Marshall’s endings are what keep jumping out. One of the reasons his books can be read over and over again is that his endings are always satisfying and funny. Since I am currently in the midst of writing a beginning reader, for the last few weeks I’ve been closely looking through drafts and dummies of Marshall’s beginning reader stories of Fox. I’ve noted several times how Marshall made a small comment in the margin near the ending: \u201cFunnier ending<\/i>\u201d and \u201cMake better<\/i>.\u201d When I compare the dummy to the final version in print, indeed, Marshall has always made a change to a better and funnier ending, just as he noted.<\/p>\n

For example, in the story \u201cMonday Morning\u201d in the book Fox All Week<\/i><\/strong>, Fox jumps out of bed eager for the school field trip. When he looks out the window it is pouring down rain. He says, \u201cThis isn’t funny.\u201d<\/i> Fox is sure the field trip will be canceled and it will be school as usual. He then pretends to be sick so he can skip school.\u00a0 Reading comics and having his mom wait on him, Fox is having a great time in bed when he hears voices outside his window. The last page of the story reads,<\/p>\n

It was Miss Moon and the class. <\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are off on our field trip!\u201d called out Carmen. <\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cA little rain can’t stop us!\u201d said Miss Moon. <\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Marshall had many different lines ending the story:<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s just dandy!\u201d said Fox<\/i>.<\/p>\n

And Fox felt just awful. <\/i><\/p>\n

Fox couldn’t believe his ears. <\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cI could just die,\u201d said Fox. <\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"James<\/a>

James Marshall dummy pg. 10. All rights reserved.<\/p><\/div>\n

A page from the dummy for the story \u201cMonday Morning’ in\u00a0 James Marshall’s book Fox All Week<\/strong>. Note \u201cfunnier ending?\u201d\u00a0 in the margin above the number 10. (James Marshall Papers:Box 7:Folder 131).\u00a0 All rights reserved.\u00a0 No reproduction of any kind allowed.<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The ending in the final version is \u201cThis isn’t funny,\u201d said Fox.\u00a0 <\/i>It is simple and subtle, and it ties into the beginning of the story, repeating Fox’s line when he thought the rain canceled the trip. It lets the reader know how Fox felt without saying it. It assumes the reader has the ability to get the understatement and humor.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In another story, \u201cThe Friday Dinner,\u201d from the same book, Fox’s mother burns the dinner. Fox steps in and announces that he will make dinner. Then he clears everyone out of the kitchen. The reader hears Fox banging pots and pans. The last page of the dummy reads,<\/p>\n

When dinner was served it was simply delicious.\u00a0 <\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The last page as it was printed reads:<\/p>\n

\u00a0Finally dinner was ready. <\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cFox,\u201d said Mom, \u201cThese peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are simply delicious.\u201d <\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The dummy ending was funny, but it is much funnier to have Mom refer to the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Plus, the illustration\u00a0 might not be able to make it clear that it is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Again, as in the first example, the child reading it has to understand the humor: you don’t need pots and pans to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.<\/p>\n

In my final and favorite example, \u201cTuesday’s Lunch,\u201d again from the same book, Fox and his friends are sick of the tuna sandwiches their mothers give them for lunch. They decide to teach their moms a lesson and throw the sandwiches over the schoolyard wall. Of course, later they are hungry and unhappy. As they leave school, the dummy with \u201cMake Better<\/i>\u201d in the margins ends with the following:<\/p>\n

On the way home Fox and his friends met a poor old cat.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cYou look hungry,\u201d said the cat.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cWould you like a tuna sandwich?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cOh yes!\u201d They cried.<\/i><\/p>\n

And they ate every bite.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

\"James<\/a>

James Marshall dummy pg. 16. All rights reserved.<\/p><\/div>\n

A page from the dummy for the story \u201cTuesday’s Lunch\u201d in \u00a0James Marshall’s book Fox All Week<\/strong>. Note the \u201cMake better\u201d at the end of the text. (James Marshall Papers:Box 7:Folder 131).\u00a0 All rights reserved.\u00a0 No reproduction of any kind allowed.\u00a0 <\/i>
\n<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Below is the ending in print:<\/p>\n

\u00a0On the other side of the wall they met a poor cat. <\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cI’m so happy,\u201d said the cat.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cA nice lunch fell from the sky.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cThree tuna sandwiches?\u201d said Fox.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cGosh,\u201d said the old cat. \u201cKids are really smart these days.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

Once again, Marshall successfully made a better and funnier ending, one with additional meaning. Fox and his friends were not too bright when they decided to throw out their tuna sandwiches. The line \u201cKids are really smart these days.<\/i>\u201d adds an ironic note to the humor.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i>So what is the secret behind his perfect endings? I think the secret is that Marshall trusts that the child reader is intelligent enough to understand the humor without spelling it out in a didactic way.\u00a0 Children love to be in on a joke. Books with great endings are the books children remember and read again. This has led me to review some of my unpublished manuscript endings. Reading through them, I am taking a lesson from James Marshall and writing \u201cMake better\u201d and \u201cMake funnier\u201d next to my endings that need it! And, of course, I will keep in mind what Marshall himself stated: \u201cKids are really smart these days.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sandra Horning, of Chaplin, Connecticut, is the author of three children’s books:\u00a0 The Biggest Pumpkin, a picture book illustrated by Holly Stone-Barker and due out later this year; Chicks!, a beginning reader illustrated by Jon Goodell and published by Random … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[351,353,364,365,6,1],"tags":[24,146,73],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/987"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=987"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/987\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}