I is for Ingalls

 

Laura Ingalls Wilder

Years lived before 1921: Fifty-four

Years lived after 1921: Thirty-six 

Laura Ingalls Wilder is the  author of the Little House  books a somewhat fictionalized account of her life growing up on the American frontier. Laura was the 2nd of 5 children of Charles and Caroline Ingalls.  The only boy Charles Frederick Ingalls died when he was less than 1 year old.  Laura married Almanzo Wilder and they had 1  daughter, Rose.

                                                Carrie           Mary                   Laura

In 1921 all Laura's sisters, her mother and her daughter were all still living

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Caroline Quiner Ingalls lived from 1839-1924 (83 years before 1921 and 3 after)

Laura's older sister Mary  was born in 1865 and died 4 years after her mother in 1928.  She lived 56 years before 1921 and 7 years after.

Laura's baby sister Grace was born in 1877, 44 years prior to 1921.  She passed away20 years later in 1941.

In 1921 Laura's sister Carrie turned 51 years of age.  When she died 25 years later, Laura became the last surviving child of her father and mother.

Almanzo Wilder  like my own grandfather was 10 years older than his wife. Almanzo lived 64 years before 1921 and lived 28 years after passing away in 1949.

Laura and Almanzo's daughter Rose was born in 1886 and died in 1968. She lived 35 years prior to 1921 and 47 years after that. Rose was the last living descendent of Charles and Carolyn, unless you count Laura's books which still enjoy a life of their own

I am posting this letter early which I hardly ever do.  I am taking the weekend off and will be back with the letter J on Monday.  Please go bak and enjoy more of  the challenge. 

F is for Fisher

Aileen Fisher

Years lived before 1921: Fifteen

Years Lived after 1921: Eighty-one

I never try out my ideas on children, except on the child that I used to know...and that -- was me! Fortunately, I remember pretty well what I used to like to read, think about, and do. I find, even today, that if I write something I like children are apt to like it too.  I guess what it amounts too is I never grew up.  Over the years I  have discovered you really don't have to grow up. - Aileen Fisher

Aileen Fisher is one of my daughter's favorite poets and she quickly became mine.   There are many excellent posts dedicated to Aileen in the blogosphere.  One of the best is from the blog Poetry for Children on the occasion of what would have been her hundredth birthday.

Not only was Miss Fisher a great poet she also wrote non fiction and fiction for children. In 1978, she was the 2nd recipient of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) award for Excellence in Poetry for Children.  

Here are two poems of hers with the illustrations to give an idea of a bit of her style.

 

A To Z Easter Eggs

 A to Z Archives: Poems at Alice's Bunny Blog. Alice is my oldest daughter's build-a-bear (full disclosure she's a bunny) Alice was quite the blogger back in the day and she wrote this nifty post about 2 of her favorite poems both about bunnies with one being the best poem I think Aileen Fisher ever did write.  Check it out!

 Inaugural Holiday Poetry Reading at Dave Out Loud. This past Christmas I read several of my own poems and then ended with Aileen Fisher's Do Rabbits Have Christmas. 

After you've looked at the additional content from my other blogs head back to the challenge and  continue exploring.

D is for Doctor

In the original version of  You're A Good Man Charlie Brown, in between production numbers they would run a series of vignettes that were generally taken directly from Peanut's cartoons.  In one such vignette Linus and Charlie Brown are discussing an information form they had to fill out for school.  Linus says to Charlie Brown when they asked for family physician I wasn't sure, so I just wrote down Dr. Seuss.

The bit speaks for multiple generations of children that Theodore  Seuss Geisel delivered the best medicine to through his auspicious career as a children's author and illustrator. 

Who does the Dr. look like?

That's what I thought.

That's more like it.

Years lived before 1921: Seventeen

Years lived after 1921: Seventy

"It's fun to have fun you just have to know how" - The Cat in the Hat. 

Using a combination of poetry, linguistic calisthenics, an out of this world imagination and the artistic talent to match Dr. Seuss knew how to have fun and share it with the world. Geisel  shared this fun with his readers writing over 60  books over 50 years while employing various pseudonyms.  His work lent itself quite nicely to the television as well as the movies. Everyone seems to have a favorite Dr. Seuss story.  For me. it's Green Eggs and Ham.  I loved reading it as a kid and that joy was only surpassed by the joy I had of reading it to my own kids.  

When I think of Dr. Seuss I think of Beginner Books which has the slogan "I can read it all by myself". So I think it is very appropriate to show a video of a child doing just that with the book In a People house. 

A To Z Easter Eggs

 A to Z Archives: Dr, Seuss and More at HSD. Written in March of 2011 for Dr Seuss' birthday, this post is more about people with common ties with Geissel, such as the nickname Ted, the title Dr. being born on March 2nd or in 1904. 

Born on March 2nd and 10 Songs at Random Acts of Roller.  When I wrote Born on March 2nd, I did not realize I had done pretty much the same thing 10 years ago in one of the sections pf Dr. Seuss and more. 10 songs contains a song featuring  Allen Sherman voicing the Cat in the Hat in the original television special. 

 After you've looked at the additional content from my other blogs head back to the challenge and explore continue exploring.

C is for C.S.

 

                                            C.S. Lewis

                                            Years lived before 1921: Twenty-three

                                            Years lived after 1921: Forty-Two

 

Clive Staples(C.S.) Lewis was a professor, author, apologist and theologian.  Lewis was born in 1898 in Ireland, but he is best known as being from Oxford, England where he essentially lived from 1917 to his death in 1963.

The two most influential women in Lewis's life was his mother who died when he was 9 and his wife Joy Davidman Gresham who came to faith in Christ through reading Lewis's books. Both women died of cancer.

Lewis, who is certainly my favorite author, who may be best known for his children book series , The Chronicles of Narnia was a gifted author of many genre's running the gamut from poetry and science fiction to literary criticism and Christian apologetics.  

Lewis passed away on November 22, 1963.  If that day seems somewhat familiar to you it is because that is the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Also dying on the same day along with  Kennedy and Lewis was Brave New World author Aldous Huxley.  

This coincidence prompted author and professor  Peter Kreeft to write the book Between Heaven and Hell which is a fictionalized conversation between Lewis, Kennedy and Huxley that took place immediately after their death. Kreeft uses the conversation as an opportunity to examine both the claims of Christ and the theistic, humanistic and pantheistic world views that the 3 people represented.  It is a quick and thought provoking read.

     

    

                                                             
                                                                                                  

John Fitzgerald Kennedy                                                        Aldous Huxley

35th Presdient of the U.S.                                            

Years Lived before 1921: Four                                                Years lived before 1921: Twenty-eight

Years lived after 1921: Forty-two                                            Years lived after 1921: Forty-two

A To Z Easter Eggs

 A to Z Archives: The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis at Random Acts of Roller. A review of the aforementioned last book in the Chronicles of Narnia. 

Voyage of the Dawn Treader and An Open Letter to My Narnia Classes at HSD.  The first post is a review I wrote of the film adaptation of Dawn Treader.  The 2nd are reflections on some Narnia books from a class I taught at a home school co-op 10 years ago.

After you've looked at the additional content from my other blogs head back to the challenge and explore continue exploring.