Historical children’s books – Elsie Dinsmore

Learning to read? Reading to learn? Same today as it’s ever been; though, Mother Goose may honk at being put aside for a guy named Captain Underpants. No matter what you make of that, children reading is a good thing. With colorful illustrations and simple and poignant messages, kid’s books make an impression on us that we remember long after we’ve outgrown them.

The Library of Congress has curated a digital collection of classic children’s books. These are all in the public domain and completely downloadable. They are fun to browse or read in depth. The collection is available online here. 

I was excited to see that one of the books in the collection is by Indiana author, Martha Finley. Finley grew up in South Bend, Indiana and resided there until her 20s. She lived much of her adult life in Maryland, where she died on Jan. 30, 1909 at the age of 80. The Library of Congress selected the first edition of the first book in the Elsie Dinsmore character series. According to their notes, the copy in the Library of Congress came to them in a 1939 donation from auctioneer Arthur Swann. “Superb copy, and extremely rare … first edition.”

The Indiana State Library has a few editions of Elsie Dinsmore, but not a first edition. The character first appeared in 1867. The earliest edition we have is 1896. In one edition, the publisher has noted they used a new set of type for the 25th anniversary edition, as the original type settings had worn away from the repeated demand for re-printing.

The character is a religiously devout young girl who was raised on a southern plantation with family, and now lives with her father, a well-traveled and more practical-minded military man. The two clash as the characters develop, with Elsie’s Christian faith playing a most crucial role. The character must have appealed to many readers, although modern readers should be weary of Finley’s portrayal of slave life and speaking dialect given to those characters. The popularity of Elsie Dinsmore led Martha Finley to write a total of 28 books in the series. The character was revised in an updated series called, “Life of Faith: Elsie Dinsmore,” in 1999.

This post was written by Indiana Collection Supervisor Monique Howell

Indiana Early Literacy Firefly Award winner announced

Indiana Center for the Book (ICB) co-directors Christy Franzman and Suzanne Walker have announced children’s author Britta Teckentrup as the 2017 Indiana Early Literacy Firefly Award winner for her book “Don’t Wake Up the Tiger.”

The Indiana Early Literacy Firefly Award is an initiative of the ICB to promote early childhood literacy in Indiana. The selections are nominated by the Indiana Early Literacy Firefly Committee, made up of professionals in Indiana including teachers, librarians, caregivers and project coordinators, and the award is voted on by children six and under.

Runners-up included “Race Car Count” by Rebecca Kai Dotlich, “Best in Snow” by April Pulley Sayre, “Grumpy Pants” by Claire Messer and “Music Class Today!” by David Weinstone.

“ICB is excited to be in its third year of this picture book award focusing on early literacy. Children from infancy to five are absolutely capable of enjoying books and being discriminating judges,” Walker said. “The nominated books are chosen for their ability to encourage parents and children to talk, sing, read, write and play together. It is our hope that caregivers will see this list of books as a quality go-to resource for having fun and learning with their young children.”

“’Don’t Wake Up the Tiger’ is a fun, interactive book that kids really enjoy,” Franzman said. “Getting children actively involved with books will motivate them on their road to literacy.”

Upon hearing the news of receiving the award, Teckentrup said, “That’s wonderful news. How very exciting. Even more so as the award was voted for by children. Thank you very much for the award and for nurturing the love of reading and books!”

This entry was posted by John Wekluk, communications director, Indiana State Library. For more information, email the communications director at communications@library.in.gov.

Indiana Young Readers Center Coming in 2016

The Indiana State Library will be opening a Young Readers Center in 2016! The idea was inspired by the Young Readers Center at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The Indiana Young Readers Center will be a place for kids to learn about the talented authors and illustrators from Indiana and about our great state itself.

The first step in creating this space was building a collection. The Indiana Young Readers Center collection includes materials written or illustrated by Indiana authors and books about Indiana for kids and teens. A portion of this collection is already circulating and available to check out. The Center also houses special, non-circulating collections of autographed books by Indiana authors and illustrators and Indiana state book award winners for children and teens.

The Indiana Young Readers Collection includes books by Hoosier authors Jim Davis, John Green, Meg Cabot, Norman Bridwell, and many more!

The Indiana Young Readers Collection includes books by Hoosier authors Jim Davis, John Green, Meg Cabot, Norman Bridwell, and many more!

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