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Mary Jane #3
Mary Jane's Kindergarten
Excerpt from Mary Jane's Kindergarten:
"The boys and girls thought that a nice way to say good morning and they sang it and shook hands and made every one feel at home..."
"The boys and girls thought that a nice way to say good morning and they sang it and shook hands and made every one feel at home..."
212 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 1918
About the author
Clara Ingram Judson
83 books14 followersClara Ingram Judson (1879–1960) was an American author who wrote over 70 books for children. She was born on May 4, 1879, in Logansport, Indiana, and married James McIntosh Judson in 1901. Her first children's book was Flower Fairies, published in 1915. She is probably most famous for her books in the Mary Jane Series, first published in 1918.
Her radio program on homemaking debuted in 1928, making her one of the first women broadcasters.
She died on May 24, 1960, in Evanston, Illinois, shortly before she would receive the second Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, just after Laura Ingalls Wilder herself. She later got her own award, the Clara Ingram Judson Award.
Her radio program on homemaking debuted in 1928, making her one of the first women broadcasters.
She died on May 24, 1960, in Evanston, Illinois, shortly before she would receive the second Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, just after Laura Ingalls Wilder herself. She later got her own award, the Clara Ingram Judson Award.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 4, 2017
I could only locate this book on The Internet Archive, and oddly enough the first couple of pages are missing. The contents show that there was a chapter entitled "Goody Two Shoes" which does not appear in the scan. Anyway....
Published in 1918, we learn how Mary Jane, now "past five" starts school. Funny how it resembled my own memories of starting school in about 1965, and how different things are now. The crepe-paper costumes worn at parties or for church programmes that soon gave way to plastic masks--imagine asking a five-year-old to wear something Mom made at home out of paper today! In another sense, things have come full circle; MJ's mom phones her grocery orders and the grocer or the farmer delivers to her door. These days, we order online and the shopping is brought to us, too. I was interested to read that in those days Christmas candy canes came in several flavours; MJ's father gets her lemon and cinnamon canes as well as the traditional peppermint.
Mary Jane has her ups and downs at school, from naughty little Leander to obnoxious Grace Elisabeth. Fortunately her mother is more "hands on" than mine was; though she does tell MJ not to worry about the troublemakers, she does not come out with my own mother's worthless advice of "just ignore it and they'll stop." No, she quietly makes sure everything works out right, without embarassing her kid. MJ is more of a "heroine" this time, with her fire alarm and her Thanksgiving baskets and her work for the Belgian refugees of WW1. No radio or TV entertainment in those days, so she and her sister Alice give much more time and attention to handcrafts such as detailed centrepieces for holiday meals. Alice is in seventh grade, and yet she still adresses her father as "Daddah", which I found odd. I also found it odd that the family sleeps in "the sleeping porch" year round, to the point that MJ has a rubber coverlet on her bed to keep the snow off her! Just where do these people live? It's never specified, but surely if it's cold enough to snow through the screens, it's cold enough to freeze to death? Yet there they are at Christmas, sleepin' on the porch!
One thing I did wonder about; at one point Doris from across the street spends a week at MJ's house. We are told that fortunately her cat, Snowball "had already been sent to the country for the winter". Who does that, sending a child's pet away for the winter? I get the impression the authoress disliked cats!
A slow, gentle read perfect for a day in bed with a feverish cold.
Published in 1918, we learn how Mary Jane, now "past five" starts school. Funny how it resembled my own memories of starting school in about 1965, and how different things are now. The crepe-paper costumes worn at parties or for church programmes that soon gave way to plastic masks--imagine asking a five-year-old to wear something Mom made at home out of paper today! In another sense, things have come full circle; MJ's mom phones her grocery orders and the grocer or the farmer delivers to her door. These days, we order online and the shopping is brought to us, too. I was interested to read that in those days Christmas candy canes came in several flavours; MJ's father gets her lemon and cinnamon canes as well as the traditional peppermint.
Mary Jane has her ups and downs at school, from naughty little Leander to obnoxious Grace Elisabeth. Fortunately her mother is more "hands on" than mine was; though she does tell MJ not to worry about the troublemakers, she does not come out with my own mother's worthless advice of "just ignore it and they'll stop." No, she quietly makes sure everything works out right, without embarassing her kid. MJ is more of a "heroine" this time, with her fire alarm and her Thanksgiving baskets and her work for the Belgian refugees of WW1. No radio or TV entertainment in those days, so she and her sister Alice give much more time and attention to handcrafts such as detailed centrepieces for holiday meals. Alice is in seventh grade, and yet she still adresses her father as "Daddah", which I found odd. I also found it odd that the family sleeps in "the sleeping porch" year round, to the point that MJ has a rubber coverlet on her bed to keep the snow off her! Just where do these people live? It's never specified, but surely if it's cold enough to snow through the screens, it's cold enough to freeze to death? Yet there they are at Christmas, sleepin' on the porch!
One thing I did wonder about; at one point Doris from across the street spends a week at MJ's house. We are told that fortunately her cat, Snowball "had already been sent to the country for the winter". Who does that, sending a child's pet away for the winter? I get the impression the authoress disliked cats!
A slow, gentle read perfect for a day in bed with a feverish cold.
Displaying 1 of 1 review