Lois Lenski Papers

The collection contains manuscripts and illustrations from forty-one children's books by Lois Lenski published between 1927 and 1971. In addition, the collection includes autobiographical and biographical information, correspondence, photographs, awards, stories, poems, songs, sound recordings, cards and stationery designed by Lenski, bookmarks, publications about other Lenski collections, and promotional materials. The book-related materials are arranged alphabetically by title, and within title according to the probable order in which they were created. The correspondence is arranged chronologically with the exception of fan letters, which are grouped together following the de Grummond correspondence.

Autobiographical and biographical materials include articles written by and about Lois Lenski in numerous and varied publications. The correspondence includes letters and Christmas cards to the de Grummond Collection, written between 1966 and 1973, related to contributions and the award of the Silver Medallion, which she received from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1969; selected fan mail from 1964 is also found within this series. Photographs include two of Lois Lenski in addition to one of her accepting the Silver Medallion. Photographs taken for particular books remain with those titles. Award materials relate to acceptance speeches, programs, and other printed material from her Regina Medal and Silver Medallion, plus the ticket to the Newbery/Caldecott Banquet where she received the Newbery Medal in 1946.

Lenski's long career as an author and illustrator is well represented in the holdings of manuscripts and illustrations. The earliest book represented in the collection is Jack Horner's Pie (1927), a collection of nursery rhymes for which there are two large watercolor sketches. A series of seven small picture books on the theme of "little" vehicles, vessels, or institutions was published between 1932 and 1946; included in the collection are pen and ink illustrations to The Little Farm (1942); The Little Fire Engine (1946), an ALA Notable; The Little Sail Boat (1937); and The Little Train (1940). Lenski's strong interest in regionalism is reflected in many of her books, which typically include strong female characters and their families in distinctive American locales, rural and urban. Bayou Suzette (1943) is the story of the Cajuns from the Louisiana bayous; the collection includes a bound spiral notebook of photographs taken by Lenski for research purposes and a pencil illustration. Strawberry Girl (1945), the winner of the Newbery Medal in 1946, concerns a strawberry-picking family from Florida; the collection holds material about the book in the way of a recording, a review, and a speech by Lenski. Single illustrations exist for Texas Tomboy (1950), the story of Charlotte ("Charlie Boy") on a cattle ranch in West Texas; Berries in the Scoop (1956), the story of cranberry-picking families in the bogs of Cape Cod; Houseboat Girl (1957), life on the river as told through the adventures of the Foster family on the Mississippi; Little Sioux Girl (1958), the story of Sioux children on a Dakota Indian reservation; Coal Camp Girl (1959), concerning a typical West Virginia coal-mining town; and Shoo-Fly Girl (1963), the story of the Amish of Lancaster County. Related are the "We Live" series, collections of short stories for which the collection holds single pen and ink illustrations for We Live in the South (1952); We Live in the City (1954); We Live in the Country (1960); We Live in the Southwest (1962); and We Live in the North (1965). The largest holdings are for High-Rise Secret (1966), the story of a housing project in New York State, including notes, newspaper articles, outline, manuscript, dummy, typescript, galleys, sketches, complete pen and ink illustrations, color separations, and proofs and copies of the book jacket.

Other popular series tell the story of the "Small" character: Cowboy Small (1949), for which the collection has one pen and ink illustration; Papa Small (1951), for which illustrations exist for one page and end papers; Songs of Mr. Small (1954), for which one double-page spread illustration exists; followed by Policeman Small (1962), for which the collection holds notes, typescript, galleys, sketches, nineteen illustrations and sixteen color separations.

A related series of a young male character and his adventures are the "Davy" books: Big Little Davy (1956) and Davy and His Dog (1957), for which the collection holds single pen and ink illustrations for each title. A female counterpart is "Debbie" with several books about her life: Debbie and Her Dolls (1970), for which holdings include a dummy, typescript, color separations, and proofs; Debbie Goes to Nursery School (1970), for which there are a sketch and color separations for the book jacket and an illustration of the endpapers; and Debbie and Her Pets (1971), for which there are two dummies and color separations.

Poetry and songs are another favorite genre of Lenski. Two "Read-and-Sing" books, with music by Clyde Robert Bulla, include I Went For a Walk (1958), including a manuscript, sketches, and one illustration; and When I Grow Up (1960), including a partial manuscript and typescript, sketches, and a book jacket. The Life I Live (1965), described by the author as "the happiest of all my books," includes poems spanning the whole of her writing life. The collection consists of galleys, proofs, and an unbound copy.

Other materials include stories, poems, and music from magazines, textbooks, and recordings; cards, stationery and bookmarks designed by Lenski; pro- motional materials designed by libraries and publishers; and publications about other Lenski collections.