1942 Honor: An American ABC
By Maud and Miska PetershamMaud (1890–1971) and Miska (1888–1960) Petersham were an illustrating husband-and-wife team who are most famous for writing and illustrating The Rooster Crows, a book of American songs, rhymes, and games in the tradition of Mother Goose, which won the 1946 Caldecott Medal. Their first book was called Miki (published 1929) about their son.
Maud was born Maud Fuller in Kingston, New York on August 5, 1890. Her family traveled extensively, from Kingston to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to Newburg, New York, and finally to Scranton, Pennsylvania. She was graduated from Vassar College in 1912, later studying at the New York School of Fine and Applied Art. She worked at the International Art Service, where she met her future husband, Miska Petersham. When Miska died in 1960, Maud sold the Woodstock, New York, house in which they had lived.
Miska was born Petrezselyem Mikaly in Torokszentmiklos, Hungary, on September 20, 1888, the son of a carpenter and blacksmith. He moved to London in 1911 looking for a job. When he didn't find one, he moved to America in 1912 — anglicizing his name to "Petersham" — and obtained a job at the International Art Service, where he met his wife, Maud.
Bios from Wikipedia
Book Summary
This is a classic ABC book. I enjoyed it. It does have the words that were common and acceptable during the time the book was published which is why this book is difficult to find today. I did learn a lot about American History from this book. Each page would have a letter and then a page full of history facts to inform the reader about why that word picked was important to American History.
Here are the Letters and words as they are in the book.
A is for America
B is for Bell
C is for Columbus
D is for Daniel Boone
E is for Emigrants
F is for Freedom
G is for George Washington
H is for Henry Hudson
I is for Independence
J is for Jamestown
K is for Knickerbocker
L is for Lincoln
M is for Mayflower
N is for National Anthem
O is for Old Glory
P is for Pledge of Allegiance
Q is for Quakers
R is for Redskins
S is for South America
T is for Thanksgiving
U is for the United States (only 48 at this time)
V is for Valley Forge
W is for White House
X is for Xmas
Y is for Yankee Doodle
Z is for Zeal
Illustrations:
These illustrations are delightful to look at! They are soft on the eyes and full of details. They range from full color to white and one other color. My favorites were W is for White House and P is for Pledge of Allegiance.
White House: This picture is done in full color. We see the White House, grande and beautiful in the background. A clear blue sky, a tall American Flag on top. Green grass is plentiful in front of the White House to the Reflection Pond. In the Reflection Pond we see a reflection of the White House. Then we see the pointed iron fence that surrounds the grounds. On the outside looing in are two adorable young children. The girl is holding a straw Sunday bonnet looking thru the bars on the fence, while the young boy wearing a crisp white sailor hat is kneeling down feeding two squirrels. The picture is just breathtaking! I want to frame it and have it on my wall! The colors look as if they are just lightly touching the page. So effortless.
Pledge of Allegiance: Red, White and Blue! These are the colors used on this page. This page has three young boys holding three different flag poles with flags on them. Each young boy is wearing clothing that would be appropriate to the flag design they are holding. We start with the 13 colony flag, then middle boy is holding a flag ( I can’t tell how many stars), finally we get to the modern day boy (modern for 1941) He is standing tall holding a flag with 48 stars, an eagle on top of the pole and a tassel hanging down. The why the illustrators showed progression alongside unity here is beautiful. All three are equals, they are all the same height. Just beautiful!
Art Medium: Could not find an answer!
Final Thoughts:1. Would this be a book I would pick up again? yes
2. Would I recommend it to others to search out and take a look at? Yes, the history content is interesting and enjoyable.
3. Would I spend my hard earned money on the book? A good chance I will
4. Where did I get the book? When I asked the Pierce County Library to get a copy of this book, I was told they could only find on copy so this book came from Western Oregon University. Thanks to Pierce County for tracking the book down for me. I did find some on Amazon, so I may purchase it myself. The price was under $20.00.
More info:
http://www.childscapes.com/bookpages/petersham.html
http://www.thechristchildbook.com/illustrators/illustrators.html
Another artist collection in Oregon! Here is the link to the info!
http://nwda-db.wsulibs.wsu.edu/findaid/ark:/80444/xv54056
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