Seattle Press on Line - Raggedy Ann and Andy Still Delight

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Raggedy Ann and Andy Still Delight

By Stephen Herold

Dec 06, 2001 -- Most of my time is spent designing books for publishers and wanna-bes around the world, and a good half of the books I am offered are children's books. Usually not just one, but "I have several children's books and I need a publisher" is the most common request. There are cute kids' books and important kids' books and politically correct kid's books and educational kid's books and brainwashing kid's books, but seemingly few of these authors have ever spent much time with children. The books are boring if not dangerous material, a gift with a hidden toxin. Haven't these people ever read a magical children's book and seen why it works?

Few books of any kind have such merit that they capture the hearts of readers year after year, whether they are novels or more factual stuff. As a bookseller I am offered dozens of new children's books every season, and after a while it is hard to find the jewels in the mud of mediocrity. For our stock we rely more and more on timeless classics that always delight and never disappoint, and one of my favorites from my earliest childhood is The Raggedy Ann Stories by Johnny Gruelle. Still published in a durable hardback with color illustrations on every page, it retails for only $8.99--a true bargain in an overpriced world.

Like most of the best children's books, it relies on a believable world that children can easily enter into, and an understanding of how little minds see the world and relate to it. To a young child dolls are not mere inanimate objects but personalities and friends. They share life, listen to us, go places and join us for tea and bedtime. Johnny Gruelle captures this relationship so smoothly that we immediately accept the stories as totally real and something we, as children, can relate to.

As with a considerable number of the best stories, these hinge on the coming alive of dolls and toys as soon as we leave them alone, just as in the Winnie the Pooh series, the Steadfast Tin Soldier, Nutcracker and a long list of other greats. The adventures of the dolls are just exciting enough to keep kids eager to hear the next part, but never so scary as to really scare them. Good writers who can enter the hearts of children do this automatically--others try so hard and never get it. As we see in the mania for Harry Potter, a little bit of true magic only makes things better, and the candy "I love you" heart and the magical wishing pebble (both of which all Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls have) make us long to play with the Raggedys. At least, as a child, I always wanted to run away with them and have wished-up chocolate sodas. I never had one until George Montgomery took his son and I out to lunch one day at the old Bon and was stunned to hear I hadn't ever had one. "Well," he said, "then we all need to have one right now." And we did, to my lasting delight and renewed belief in magic.

Raggedy Ann has deep roots and an ancient personal history, being found by little Marcella in a barrel in grandma's attic. Greeted in a matter of fact way with "It's old Raggedy Ann," the doll is immediately fixed up and becomes the constant companion and playmate of little Marcella and of all the other dolls. When not going about with Marcella, Raggedy Ann is chosen as the leader of the other dolls as they search out breakfast, fly off on kites into trees and chase dogs about in the night (having slid down from the window on sheets!).

Followed by The Raggedy Andy Stories, which is still available and equally low priced, there was quite a series of Raggedy Stories of comparable quality and fascination. Most of these are long out of print collector's books which can still be brought back someday to add to our pleasure. If you want to see a small child's eyes open with delight there is no better book than The Raggedy Ann Stories to read to them, and leave them to enter alone through the compelling illustrations of our friend Johnny Gruelle. My old friend Raggedy Andy is sitting next to me and will verify everthing I say, and more.

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lazzy	Mar 03, 2004	liverpool


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