RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF HR. M"HAFFEL'S MEAOOW
A SENIOR HONORS PROJECT
SUBMITTED IN ID 499
by
BRENDA GENE PAVY
ADVISOR - DR. JOAN WILLIAMS
BALL STATE UNIVERSITY
HUNCIE, INDIANA
JULY, 1972
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Part
I.
INTRODUCTION • •
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1
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2
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II.
LITERATURE
·•
III.
PROCEDURE
• • • • • • • • •
SUMMARY
• •
IV.
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• • •
4
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10
8
• • • •
9
10
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BIBLIOGRAPHY • • • •
BOOK INSERTED
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PART I
INTRODUCTION
In our growing world with all of its mass communications
we need to know more about the different peoples.
More necessarily,
we need to know how to relate to others different from ourselves.
One will find gypsies a cultural group little explored and written
about in children's literature.
Therefore, the investigator planned
to use gypsies as the basis of a children's picture book for her
avenue of communication.
On the personal side, the writer confesses a considerable
amount of ignorance about gypsies.
By writing this book about them,
a combination of old concepts with the new information was assembled.
This book plus others listed in the bibliography could be used in
the elementary schools as a resource for social studies.
More
classes are studying peoples of the world and their di.fferent cultures.
A teacher could also apply units about peoples around the world as a
lead-up to variances in individuals and in human relations.
The author also hopes that in the creation of the story she
might gain a better understanding of the vocabulary, artwork, themes
and education expressed in our present children's literature.
Expanding library programs and pupil interest in them are a "golden
key" to the progress of our nation's reading aptitude.
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PART II
LITERATURE
Much of the basis of this book is due to literature written
about gypsies by others and by gypsies themselves.
Facts were
gathered on gypsy dress, natural habitat, ways of earning a living,
customs:
their culture.
Many of the books contained a glossary of
Romany terms and their English equivalent.
lists is found in the back of
!
Romany
~
One of the more extensive
by Gipsy Petulengro.
Most of the words that appear are simple such as fiddle
= bosa,
highway = boro-drom and field = puv.
Bentz Plagemann's book, How to Write
~
Story and two
anthologies, one by Arbuthnot and the other compiled by Johnson,
Sickels and Sayers conveyed technicalities in such a production.
Theme, plot, characters and style were explained, examples amply
given and means suggested.
During winter quarter 1972,as part of LIB 331 the investigator
attended a talk given to a small group of Ball State students by
Robert Burch, author of Queenie Peavy.
Mr. Burch related how he
initiated his career in writing, and his personal method of
developing characters so well that they become life-like in his
mind before he embarks on plot, theme or the style to be used.
He
said that many times authors are asked to use the illustrations of
another persoD or to re-write parts of the story.
Johnson's Anthology of Children's Literature states that
the first illustrations made to accompany print consisted of wood
blocks:
crude, simple pictures drawn on a block of wood then cut
3
in relief to form an inking and printing surface.
Other
possibilities mentioned were ink sketches, water colors, oils,
collages and murals.
recognized by it.
Illustrators usually form a style and are
PART III
PROCEDURE
The investigator researched different author's approaches to
writing a book.
Some develop the characters until they almost become
as past acquaintances in one's mind, others set a theme first, others
redo old legends, fables, etc.
This author combined two methods by
picking characters that intrigued children -- gypsies.
Then it was
decided to relate a moral, not too flagrantly the writer hopes, which
related to the gypsy characters.
'l'he moral would be a wa.rning about
stereotyping people, also the needless fears associated with the
aforementioned.
The next step was to research facts about gypsies which would
be realistic for writing and illustrating.
The theme or moral was
first established and then some facts about the everyday lives of
gypsies were worked into the plot.
especially jewelry.
Facts were used about gypsy dress,
The silver earring is a designation of noble
birth in the group.' The fireside reflections come from the gypsy's
tradition of passing history by word of mouth rather than the written
word.2 For existence a gypsy band works, as most migrants, along the
way.
Crafts, tissue flowers, etc., are sold, as John Hornby's Gypsies
tells us, plus their famed fortUne telling.
Ever the mother of
invention the fact that you can tickle a trout's stomach until it
relaxes to slumber, then quickly flip it out of the water also appeared
'Walter Starkie, In Sara's Tents, p. 32.
2Ibid ., p. 40.
5
in the gypsy references. 3 Throughout the research an overall carefree
spirit was found,but within the band a strictness for members which
disregarded outside cultures existed.
For example:
Milane, a gypsy
boy was mocked by village peers for his long curly locks while his
own people consider the physical trait as a sign of manliness.4
The decision was made to write the book from the first person
point of view so any reader could easily identify with the main
character's actions.
For this person a little boy, around the age
of the children mentally ready for reading this book, was chosen.
Next, the writer concentrated her mind on its dream mission,
for she is an illustrator through the images which appear in her
mind's eye.
After a scene was visioned, live models were used to
pose hoping to portray the stances more realistically.
The words used developed along with the illustrations,
sometimes they came first and sometimes they evolved after the
picture was imagined.
These words were checked for a reading
readiness level with word lists from "Dolch Basic Word Lists", area
basal readers, and elementary teachers.
These words were hand
printed on the book pages with the skills learned in the Ball State
writing course.
After producing the story and illustrations which are based
on technical, adult references, the author composed a list of present
children's literature about gypsies.
As previously stated there are
3John Hornby, Gypsies, p. 37.
4Robert Varva, Milane: The Story of a Hungarian Gypsy Boy, p. 20.
6
few books on the topic.
The following is a select group with comments:
Valenti Angelo's Nino is an illustrated adventure for fourth,
fifth, and sixth graders.
(244 pages)
Ludwig Bemelman's Madeline
~
the GYpsies is a delightfully
illustrated account of Madeline, the orphan, as she meets the gypsies
who are running a zoo.
(56 pages)
Natalie Savage Carlson's The Family Under the Bridge is
charmingly illustrated by Garth Williams.
This story is realistic
and good reading for the third or fourth grader.
Patricia Gordon's Rommany
~
(97 pages)
is an adventure illustrated
by Rafaello Busoni for upper fourth or fifth grade.
(206 pages)
Nora Tully MacAlvay's Cathie Stuart is the story of a young
girl who takes a trip back in time which includes some gypsies, for
the fourth or fifth grade readers.
(159 pages)
Kate Seredy's The Q£££ Master is an adventure for the fifth
or sixth grade reader.
(196 pages)
Robert Varva' s Vd.lane: The Stor;,£ of
~
Hungarian Gyps;'£ Bo;,£, is
beautifully illustrated with real life photographs.
The teacher
should read this book to third, fourth and fifth grade classes for
a modern view of the gypsy.
(25 pages)
Dora E. Yates's A Book of GyPSY Folk-Tales is a collection
of 44 tales appropriately suited for reading to the fifth grade.
(197 pages)
Crayon relief was used initially to illustrate the book
because of the detail easily achieved with this scratch method.
After working with that media the author decided to change because
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7
the density of crayon on a frame was easily smudged and therefore
hard to protect.
One would almost need to frame and cover each
illustration with a transparent sheet.
'l'he second artistic media
chosen was a combination of water colors with crayon for shading
and inkwork for detail on top of the water colors.
This method
proved very satisfactory and was used throughout the book.
The
characters drawn are imaginary, but dress customs and physical
traits of the gypsy peoples were authentic as a result of research.
They were easy to duplicate after once created and sketched.
PART IV
SUMMARY
The writer has learned many things from this experience
and feels more appreciative of authors now, especially those who
can reach out and touch a reader's life with their words.
She has found that there are a lot of technical parts,
from the birth until the emergence of a finished book, but that
the true key to writing is a free creative mind.
author went at this project in the wrong way.
Initially the
It then seemed good
to carefully research the parts of a story, decide on an exciting
topic, formulate vocabulary plans, select an artistic media, etc.;
the author even began to think that about three lines of print on
each page would be appropriate.
This all, very definitely, adds
to the professionalism that can be found in writings, but before
she could write the text of the book she had banished!!! of these
plans from her mind.
One needs to be free to express.
The burden of creation at
its best, takes us, as it will ••• like unto the wind, destroying
man's barriers, driving its own patterns and eroding the best laid
plans.
The mind and heart's secrets try desperately to get out.
This book was written to "teach" others a joy of life, and yet as
the book was formulated the author learned more about that same joy.
She shared, and surprised herself at what she shared.
Try it!
She hopes you'll like it!
She's glad she did.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Angelo, Valenti.
Nino.
New York:
The Viking Press, 1938.
Arbuthnot, Hary Hill. Children and Books. Chicago:
and Company, Third Edition, 1964. 688 pp.
244 pp.
Scott, Foresman
Bemelmans, Ludwig. Madeline and the Gypsies.
Press, 1958. 56 pp.
New York:
The Viking
Bercovici, Konrad. The Story of ~ Gypsies.
Book Corporation, 1928. 294 pp.
New York:
Cosmopolitan
Borrow, George. The Zincali.
W., 1923. 433 pp.
London:
John Murray, Albemarle Street,
Brown, Irving. Nights and Days 2£ ~ Gypsy Trail.
and Brothers, 1922. 266 pp.
New York:
Harper
Carlson, Natalie Savage. ~ Family Under the Bridge. Illus. by Garth
Williams. New York and Evanston: Harper and Row, 1958. 97 pp.
Gordon, Patricia. Rommany Luck. Illus. by Rafaello Eusoni.
The Viking Press, 1946. 206 pp.
New York:
Hornby, John Wiekinson. Gypsies. Illus. by Richard Lebenson.
York: Henry Z. Walck, 1967. 4'1 pp.
New
Johnson, Edna and Sickels, Evelyn R. and Sayers, Frances Clarke.
Anthology 2! Children's Literature. Illus. by N. C. Wyeth.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1970. 1289 pp.
Mac Alvay, Nora Tully.
1957. 159 pp.
Cathie Stuart.
Macready, Daphne Lois. GypSY Idyll.
Incorporated, 1964. 190 pp.
New York:
New York:
Pennell, Elizabeth Robins. To Gipsyland.
Company, 1893. 240 pp.
Reeve, Dominic.
155 pp.
No Place Like Home.
Vanguard Press,
New York:
Petulengro, Gipsy. ! Romany Life. New York:
Company, Incorporated, 1936. 272 pp.
Plagemann, Bentz. !!.9!! 12 Wri te ~ Story.
Shepard Company, 1971. 64 pp.
The Viking Press,
E. P. Dutton and
New York:
London:
The Century
Lothrop and Lee
Phoenix House, 1960.
10
Seredy, Kate.
196 pp.
~ ~
Master.
New York:
Starkie, Wal.ter. ~ GyPSY. New York:
Incorporated, 1937. 525 pp.
Starkie, Walter. In Sara's Tents.
Company, 1953. 339 pp.
E. P. Dutton and Company,
New York:
E. P. Dutton and
Varva, Robert. Milane: The Story of ~ Hungarian Gypsy BoY.
York: Harcourt, Brace and World, Incorporated, 1969.
Yates, Dora E.
1948.
Yoors, Jan.
256
! Book 2! GyPSY Folk-Tal.es.
197 pp.
The Gypsies.
PP-.-
New York:
1963.
The Viking Press,
London:
New
46 pp.
Phoenix House,
Simon and Schuster, 1967.