A de Grummond Primer: Highlights of the Children’s Literature Collection ed. by Carolyn J. Brown, Ellen Hunter Ruffin and Eric Tribunella

Abstract

Reviewed by: A de Grummond Primer: Highlights of the Children’s Literature Collection ed. by Carolyn J. Brown, Ellen Hunter Ruffin and Eric Tribunella Angelica Shirley Carpenter (bio) A de Grummond Primer: Highlights of the Children’s Literature Collection. Edited by Carolyn J. Brown, Ellen Hunter Ruffin, and Eric Tribunella. University Press of Mississippi, 2021. The joys of this book begin with the intriguing jacket illustration, titled “de Grummond Mirage,” by Paul O. Zelinsky. Whimsical characters—a cowboy, a frilly lady, a rabbit, and more— surround the initials d G, against a black, starry night. Opening the book provides a more realistic scene: the front endpapers, a double-page photo spread, invite the reader to walk down an aisle in the stacks. For those who can’t travel in person to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, this volume offers armchair access. A primer, curator Ellen Ruffin explains, “is an introductory book used to teach children how to read that often includes a variety of texts drawn from different aspects of children’s literature.” The double definition fits this brief (158-page) collection of essays introducing the de Grummond collection, accompanied by a variety of dazzling illustrations. Forced to retire at age sixty-five, Lena de Grummond, a Louisiana school library administrator, launched a second career teaching library science at the University of Southern Mississippi. In 1965, she taught a children’s literature class to school teachers and librarians who, on a weekday, drove to a four-hour, evening class (some traveling 100+ miles each way), and were back on duty at their schools the next morning. To enhance their experience, she began writing to authors and illustrators, asking for “materials which enrich a collection”: original illustrations, manuscripts of published books, dummies, sketches, etc. The last sentence of her standard letter was particularly effective: “Such gifts are tax deductible, you know.” (The tax laws have since changed.) Some prospective donors hesitated to give anything to Mississippi during the tragic events of the Civil Rights Movement. Correspondence shows how Dr. de Grummond’s inclusive approach to learning and literature helped the state redefine itself to people with negative impressions. Illustrator/authors Berta and Elmer Hader became the first donors to accept her invitation, responding with charming, illustrated letters. The first two are reproduced on one page, with print so crisp and clear that the small type is easy to read (this is true of illustration text throughout the book). Dr. de Grummond’s success in obtaining contemporary materials made me wonder about older materials in the collection, which this book says she founded. According to an essay by former curator Dee Jones, even before Dr. de Grummond’s efforts, the collection “was already rich in original illustrations created by Randolph Caldecott, Kate Greenaway, and Walter Crane, as well as more than a hundred editions of Aesop’s Fables in a number of different languages.” No explanation [End Page 339] is offered as to why, how, or when these materials were acquired, but none is needed to celebrate the fact that they were. The book’s other essays, by a diverse group of experts, delve into the collection and into the history, terminology, and impact of children’s literature, and the changing ways in which adults have viewed children. Seven chapters address format: “Hornbooks, Battledores, and Chapbooks,” “Readers and Primers,” “Children’s Series Fiction,” “Editions and Variants,” “Nineteenth-Century Children’s Magazines,” “Dolls, Toys, Toy Books, and Games,” and “Golden Books.” Five describe genres: “Fables, Fairy Tales, and Folk Tales,” “Children’s Nonfiction,” “Southern Children’s Literature,” “African American Children’s Literature and Writers,” and “Contemporary Children’s and Young Adult Writers.” Two address art work: “The Golden Age of Illustrated Children’s Books” and “Picture Book Art.” Finally, several chapters describe named collections, including “The H. A. and Margret Ray Collection” and “The Ezra Jack Keats Collection.” Appendices offer details about the University’s annual children’s book festival and awards. A de Grummond Primer also includes a bibliography, biographical sketches of the contributors, and an index. The book’s format (pages are 9” square) allows for a layout of double columns on many pages, with text on the inside, close to the gutter, and...