Jackson was just talking outta her head, girl":
Survey of Realism in Appalachian Picture Books
By Judy A. Teaford
Mountain State University, Beckley, WV
at the March 2000 Appalachian
Studies Association Conference
AppLit Picture Book Bibliographies with Realism as a Primary Focus:
Appalachian Picture Books by Judy A.
Christmas Picture Books by Judy A. Teaford
and the Environment in Appalachian Literature by Tina L. Hanlon
and Latrobe Carroll's Mid-Twentieth-Century Picture Books: The Tatum
Family Series by Judy A. Teaford
of AppLit Pages: Picture Books
Note: Hyperlinks within text of paper are author pages, bibliographies, and lesson
plans within AppLit.
In Sandra Belton’s 1993 picture book From
Miss Ida’s Porch, illustrated by Floyd Cooper, a young girl (Freda),
skeptical that Lena Horne has ever stayed the night with now ninety-year-old
Miz Jackson, remarks, "Miz Jackson was just talking outta her
head, girl." This statement could also apply to several misconceptions about
Appalachian picture books. One common fallacy, even among some literary
scholars, is that picture books are incapable of portraying reality or
accurately presenting any culture since, in fact, they are only for children and
often have comic text and illustrations. The second misconception relates to the
text of Appalachian picture books, which draw extensively from the oral
tradition. Many feel that any use of dialect promotes regional stereotypes.
These beliefs reflect flaws in people’s understanding of children’s and
Appalachian children’s literature.
The Golden Age of Appalachian picture books–approximately 1980 into the mid
1990s–is a time of abundance. Unfortunately, this abundance almost completely
neglects minority characters such as Native and African-Americans. Their stories
are heard primarily in short story anthologies, folktales, legends, non-fiction,
and young adult novels. From Miz Ida’s Porch is
written during this period. The story takes place on a real street in a real
town: Church Street in Beckley, West Virginia. (Note: Sandra Belton said
that she used the name of Church Street rather than South Fayette Street–where
she actually grew up–because it sounded better (Belton, Sandra. Second
Annual West Virginia Book Festival, Charleston, WV, August 2002). Freda’s "talking out of
one’s head" presents yet another potential for illustrating misconceptions.
In America many people believe that African-American history was and is still
being taught in public schools. Miz Ida’s porch is a telling place, a place
where truth, in all its beauty and brutality, is passed on to the next
generation. This particular evening the in-between kids find out the truth. They
hear stories about Duke Ellington and Marion Anderson, stories about blacks
being denied access to motel rooms and other public places, truths the children
were not taught in school. However, there are also stories of change, of the
dedication of the Lincoln Memorial in 1922, of Marion Anderson singing there
many years later and, in 1965, ending her famous career at Constitution Hall,
the same place that earlier had refused access to all blacks.
Another lamentable aspect of the Golden Age is the lack of books set in the
present. During this time period, many Appalachian writers retell stories of
their own childhood. Most are very nostalgic, many overly sentimental.
Nevertheless, nostalgia and sentimentality does not exclude reality. Many
of my traditional college students believe that nostalgia in picture books is
good, that it arouses a need to come back home to carry on the traditions and
culture of the region. My non-traditional students view these books with a
certain emotional attachment, a way to relive the past. During the mid 1970s,
much of coal-producing Appalachia was experiencing an economic boon. When coal
prices dropped and demand decreased, there was a mass exodus out of Appalachia.
As I consider my students' responses to books of this time period and the
declining economy of the region, it seems plausible that these events might
account for some of the nostalgia found in Appalachian picture books during the
There are many prolific writers during this period of Appalachian picture
Rylant, George Ella
Lyon, Gloria Houston.
Cynthia Rylant’s early work reflects some of the best examples of realism in
Appalachian picture books. The illustrations by Diane Goode for When I Was
Young in the Mountains (1982) are both sensitive and compelling. A young
girl’s memories of growing up in the 1950s, the grand-daughter of an
Appalachian coal-mining family, reveals the lack of amenities such as running
water and electricity. Stephen Gammell’s illustrations for The
Relatives Came (1985), a story about an Appalachian family reunion, are fun and bright, but certainly not stereotypical. . . . Somewhere in
the mass of relatives, readers can find a person with whom they can identify, a
person they know. In this regard, Gammell’s illustrations universalize the
book. George Ella Lyon’s Come a Tide (1990), also illustrated by Stephen Gammell, is a reassuring yet realistic
picture book that conveys one little girl’s memory of a flood in eastern
Kentucky that comes with winter thaw and springtime rain. Stephen Gammell
"unveils a world gone liquid with blues and grays. There’s so much
artfully rendered rain, so many splatters and streaks, that the book itself
manages to convey the illusion of having been left out in the rain" (Krull
The harsh realities of war are not glossed over in Appalachian picture books. Cecil’s Story (1991), written by George Ella Lyon and
illustrated by Peter Catalan, takes place during the Civil War. Llewellyn
McKernan, in Appalachian Journal, does a wonderful job of reviewing the
reality of war, separation, and fear in Lyon’s and Catalanotto’s book. She
points out several strategies used by Lyon that allow Cecil to bear the painful
emotions of being left with neighbors while his mother goes to get his wounded
father. As McKernan notes, Catalanotto reinforces Lyon’s
gentleness by never showing Cecil alone and by visually reducing Cecil’s grief
by creating a montage of the day’s activities in the scene where Cecil cries,
wiping his eyes on his shirttail (McKernan 212-213).
Noted for writing stories based on her real-life family and
events from her own past, Gloria Houston often sets her books in her childhood
home of Spruce Pine, North Carolina. The Sunny Brook General Store in But No
Candy (1992), illustrated by Lloyd Bloom, is based on her parents’ store
of the same name. Houston’s book also takes place during wartime–World War
II–and though more sentimental and limiting in focus, But No Candy does
address the indirect impact of war on children.
Anna Egan Smucker’s No Star Nights (1989) and Candice F. Ransom’s When
the Whippoorwill Calls (1995) are two poignant stories about the loss that
comes with change. Like many other people in the area, the family of When the
Whippoorwill Calls is forced to move from their Blue Ridge home when the
owners sell the land to make room for the Shenandoah National Park. Kimberly
Bulken Root’s beautifully detailed illustrations reveal authentic details of
machinery cutting through the land; however, hope is restored when the father
and his young daughter return to their old home to find merkle, "a withered
brown mushroom," and realize that sometimes change can be good (Ransom). In No Star Nights, illustrated by Steve Johnson, the pollution
and danger associated with Smucker’s childhood home of Weirton, West Virginia,
where the steel mill is the primary means of employment, is realistic in both
text and illustrations. The narrator has found memories of childhood even though
the soot from the steel mill darkens the sky and slag heaps endanger the lives
of the people. The story ends well after the steel mill has closed and
nature has renewed the land. Though most have moved out of Weirton to find
gainful employment, grandchildren delight in return visits where they hear
stories of "days when all night long the sky glowed red" (Smucker).
Only One (1993), a counting
book by Marc
Harshman, illustrated by
Barbara Garrison, is centered around a country fair. Like
Harshman’s other books, there is no mention in the text of an Appalachian
setting. However, the content and illustrations of this book do seem to place it
in Appalachia. The focus on rural pursuits, such as the one hundred patches that
make up one quilt and the three musicians that make up one trio, are consistent
with Appalachian life. Anne Shelby’s Homeplace (1995), illustrated by Wendy
Anderson Halperin, also has a folksy quality. Sentimental, but certainly
realistic, Homeplace "is a pictorial quilt of one family’s
history. The handmade quilt–symbolic of Appalachian harmony, storytelling
through memories, and pride in continued traditions and strong heritage–is a
recurrent theme in Halperin’s warm, lavishly detailed pencil and watercolor
illustrations" (Teaford 40).
My research has revealed only two Appalachian picture books set in the
present. These two books, hopefully, mark the beginning of a transitional stage in
the Golden Age of Appalachian picture books. In George
Ella Lyon’s Mama is a Miner (1994), illustrated by Peter
young girl pays tribute to her mother, a coal miner. The bitter hardship and
danger of coal mining are sharply contrasted with the safe, more traditional
role of a caretaker. Lyon’s book offers an accurate and
unforgettable picture of modern Appalachia. Marc Harshman’s Moving
Days (1994), illustrated by Wendy Popp, also has a contemporary setting. The
realistic account of a young boy’s sadness and anticipation while preparing
for a move becomes filled with memories of his family as he discovers lost
treasures in the attic of their current home. "The illustrations, hazy and
dreamlike, yet firmly anchored in concrete details, capture a small, close-knit
family and a boy’s swirling emotions" (qtd. in Amazon 2). Though it is almost
impossible to determine, Harshman writes that Moving Days is "set
right here in Marshall County," West Virginia (Letter). Certainly,
Appalachian writers should not always be expected to write with a specific sense
of place; however, it is unfortunate that some of the best books go unrecognized
The Golden Age of Appalachian picture books is not the beginning of writers’
attempts to present a realistic account of the region and its people. Between
the 1930s and the Golden Age, recognizable names of Appalachian picture book
writers include Ellis Credle, May
Justus, Ruth and Latrobe
Carroll, and later Rebecca Caudill and Clyde Bulla. Never the completely isolated land historically
presented in early local color literature and current popular media, Appalachia
is truly a land of diversity and adaptability. Susan Golden writes that in the
"1930s and 1940s, [there was] a time of great changes in the mountains, as
the TVA, highway construction, and war took their inevitable tolls. . . .
[However] a rich and distinctive culture still survives in Appalachia"
(14). My evaluation of these earlier books leads me to conclude that some of the
writers of this period were influenced by the stereotypes consistent with
an "invented" Appalachia. Additionally, like other books of this
period, Appalachian children’s books, though entertaining, deliver a more
obvious moral than books written after the 1970s. Nonetheless, most of these
books also manage to present an accurate and realistic picture of daily life
during this time. Earlier writers are not obsessed with the past, but instead
focus on the present, setting many of their books in the time period in which
they are written.
One of the earliest books that I have located is Down
Down the Mountain (1934) by Ellis Credle. Regrettably, this book does
contribute to the promotion of one Appalachian stereotype. Two children, Hetty
and Hank, who live in the Blue Ridge Mountains, have never owned a pair of shoes
and run barefoot both summer and winter. What makes this story realistic,
however, is its rich details, both in text and illustration, about Appalachian
life during the time. This family lives completely from the land, and is unable
to help the children financially. Grandmother advises the children to grow
turnips and sell them in town. The two children harvest their turnips and head
down the mountain to town. On their way they meet several people, each of whom
they provide with some turnips. The story ends happily when the children, with
one turnip remaining, win the prize for their entry in the county fair. The
strong moral of this early Appalachian story is obvious to all. Daniel’s Duck (1979) by Clyde Robert Bulla, illustrated by Joan Sandin,
is a touching book about a boy’s first attempt at wood carving. Bulla’s book
illuminates the role of crafts in Appalachia. The warm earth-toned illustrations
reveal the rustic details of Tennessee mountain life in earlier times.
During the 1960s, Rebecca Caudill wrote several notable books. A Pocketful of Cricket (1964), illustrated by Evaline Ness, is an
excellent addition to science classes. As young Jay brings in the cows on his
Kentucky home, he sees many small treasures: flora, fauna, and animals. In A Certain Small Shepherd (1965), illustrated by William Pene
Du Bois, Jamie, mute from birth, speaks his first words on an eventful Christmas
Eve when strangers spend the night in the church in Hurricane Gap. Jamie’s
frustration, his anger, and his happiness are all realistically dealt with in this
story that echoes that of the birth of Christ. Did You
Carry the Flag Today, Charley (1966), illustrated by Nancy Grossman, is the
story of a enthusiastic, curious young boy who attends Little School the summer
of his fifth year. Like many young children, Charley always seems to be on the
verge of trouble, never quite well-behaved enough to carry the flag, at least
not until he helps out in the school library.
May Justus is another well-known name in Appalachia. Her numerous books teach
while entertaining. Both Sammy (1946) and Susie (1947) are
illustrated by Christine Chisholm and include music in their stories. Sammy explains where ballads come from, includes the musical
score of "There Was a Little Tree," and acknowledges Mr. Mellinger E.
Henry as the one who provides the version of the folksong used in the book. Susie includes the musical score for "Lazy Lady" and lots of information on
the healing uses of herbs. Jean Tamburine’s lush details of
mountain life in Justus’ Barney, Bring Your Banjo (1959) are honest and
provide much needed relief from the stereotypical depictions of the times.
Between the early fifties and the late seventies, Ruth and
Latrobe Carroll, natives of New York, were committed to writing and illustrating
Appalachian picture books as accurately as possible. They were notably
successful, especially with the seven books in the Tatum
Regionally specific illustrations and text keep this series from being
stereotypical. Individualized characters, adventurous plots, and a zoo of
animals are aspects of the books that universalize this series. Additionally, the Carrolls were ahead of their time in their treatment of
Appalachians, particularly in regard to Appalachians’ desire for education and
their acceptance of difference and change.
Returning to the present, just as the Golden Age begins to end, the voices of
Native and African -American Appalachians are still noticeable absent in
Appalachian picture books. However, this is also a time of transition. During
this time, there is a marked increase of books set in the present, books which
represent diversity in Appalachians, and a moving away from distinctly
Appalachian settings toward more universal settings, both by established
Appalachian writers and especially younger Appalachian writers. The more often
seen contemporary settings, along with the added diversity of Appalachian
writing voices, help promote an accurate picture of present day Appalachia. The trend
toward more universal settings is ambiguous. Appalachia, like any other region
in the nation or the world, "is a complex, multilayered, and intertextual
reality" (Blee 119). Obviously, these concerns are addressed by virtue of
the universality of the settings. Nevertheless, since the books may remain
unrecognized as Appalachian, many of the typical stereotypes that these books
address may persist.
Both George Ella Lyon and Marc Harshman have led the way in writing
Appalachian picture books, books with contemporary settings and diverse
storylines. Contemporary writers such as Brenda Seabrooke, Tres Seymour, and
Libba Moore Gray also provide worthwhile contributions with their nostalgic, yet
realistic books. In Looking for Diamonds (1995),
illustrated by Nancy Mantha, the lyrical text and sparkling illustrations
provide ample opportunity to examine the flora and fauna of the rural South. Seymour’s We Played Marbles (1998) juxtaposes one day’s
events in the lives of two young boys with those of the Civil War at Fort Craig. Gray’s When Uncle Took the Fiddle (1999), illustrated
by Lloyd Bloom, represents a revisiting of music found in many contemporary
Appalachian picture books. Although the nostalgic setting does seem to take
something away from the story, the importance of music in Appalachia is as real
today as it was in the past. And then there is Robyn Eversole’s The Magic House (1992), illustrated by Peter Palagonia, best grouped with
books after 1994 because of its contemporary setting and imaginative storyline.
April shares her vision of magical wonders with her older sister, Meredith–stairs
turn into waterfalls, the washer and dryer into monsters, the living room into a
desert. Meredith finally benefits from her younger sister’s spirit by
discovering how to give beauty and movement to her dancing.
April watches as her imagination transforms Meredith into a graceful swan. The
book reveals an Appalachia unknown to many, one where children are like any
other children, where dance recitals and nice houses are as common as not. Like
Harshman’s books, Eversole’s book does not indicate an Appalachian setting;
however, Eversole said the setting is Bridgeport, West Virginia (personal
Keep an eye out for Faye Gibbons’ Mountain Wedding (1996),
illustrated by Ted Rand, and Lady Borton’s Junk Pile (1997),
illustrated by Kimberly Bulken Root. Moon Over Tennessee: A Boy’s Civil War
Journal (1999) by Craig Crist-Evans, illustrated by Bonnie Christensen, is
written in free verse diary entries. The narrator, a thirteen-year-old boy who
works in the camp away from the front lines of the Civil War, describes scenes
of violence and tension that accompany war. The book is realistic, yet not
Throughout the history of Appalachian picture books and illustrated chapter
books, some writers have fallen prey to the influences of an
"invented" Appalachia, but even among these, most have spoken volumes
about the reality of Appalachian life. What does the future of Appalachian
picture books hold for the region? What can writers now do to help replace an
"other," an "invented" Appalachia with the real Appalachia?
In my perfect world, the diversity of writing voices and contemporary settings found in
Appalachian picture books written around 1994 will continue, and the innovative
and talented writers whose books lack acknowledgment of their Appalachian
settings will begin to indicate such in author’s notes or elsewhere.
Belton, Sandra. From Miss Ida’s Porch. Illus. Floyd Cooper. New
York: Four Winds, 1993.
Borton, Lady. Junk Pile. Illus. Kimberly Bulken Root. New York:
Bulla, Clyde Robert. Daniel’s Duck. Illus. Joan
Sandin. New York: HarperTrophy, 1979.
Carroll, Ruth, and Latrobe Carroll. Beanie. Illus. Ruth Carroll. New
York: Oxford UP, 1953.
---. Runaway Pony, Runaway Dog. Illus. Ruth Carroll. New York: Henry
A. Walck, 1963.
---. Tough Enough. Illus. Ruth Carroll. New York: Oxford UP, 1954.
---. Tough Enough and Sassy. Illus. Ruth Carroll. New York: Henry A.
---. Tough Enough’s Indians. Illus. Ruth Carroll. New York: Henry A.
---. Tough Enough’s Pony. Illus. Ruth Carroll. New York: Oxford UP,
---. Tough Enough’s Trip. Illus. Ruth Carroll. New York: Oxford UP,
Caudill, Rebecca. A Certain Small Shepherd. Illus. William Pene Du
Bois. New York: Henry Holt, 1965.
---. Did You Carry the Flag Today, Charley? Illus. William Grossman.
New York: Yearling Book, 1966.
---. Pocket Full of Crickets. Illus Evaline Ness. New York: Holt Owlet
Crist-Evans, Craig. Moon Over Tennessee: A Boy’s Civil War Journal.
Illus. Bonnie Christensen. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999.
Eversole, Robyn Harbert. The Magic House. Illus. Peter
York: Orchard Books, 1992.
Gibbons, Faye. Mountain Wedding. Illus. Ted Rand. New York: Morrow,
Gray, Libba Moore. When Uncle Took the Fiddle. Illus. Lloyd Bloom. New
York: Orchard Books, 1999.
Harshman, Marc. Moving Days. Illus. Wendy Popp. New York: Holiday
---. Only One. Illus. Barbara Garrison. New York: Cobblehill Books,
Houston, Gloria. But No Candy. Illus. Lloyd Bloom. New York: Philomel
Justus, May. Barney, Bring Your Banjo. Illus. Jean
York: Henry Holt, 1959.
---. Sammy. Illus. Christine Chisholm. Chicago: Albert Whitman, 1946.
---. Susie. Illus. Christine
Chisholm. Chicago: Albert Whitman, 1947.
Lyon, George Ella. Cecil’s Story. Illus.
Peter Catalanotto. New
York: Orchard Books, 1991.
---. Come a Tide. Illus. Stephen
Gammell. New York: Orchard, 1990.
---. Mama is a Miner. Illus. Peter
Catalanotto. New York: Orchard,
Ransom, Candice F. When the Whippoorwill Calls. Illus. Kimberly Bulken
Root. New York: Tambourine, 1995.
Rylant, Cynthia. The Relatives Came. Illus. Stephen
Gammell. New York:
---. When I Was Young in the Mountains. Illus. Diane Goode. New York:
Seabrooke, Brenda. Looking for Diamonds. Illus. Nancy
York: Cobblehill, 1995.
Seymour. Tres. We Played Marbles. Illus. Dan
Andreasen. New York:
Orchard Books, 1998.
Shelby, Anne. Homeplace. Illus. Wendy Anderson
Halperin. New York:
Smucker, Anna Egan. No Star Nights. Illus. Steve Johnson. New York:
Blee, Kathleen M., and Dwight B. Billings. "Where ‘Bloodshed
Is a Pastime’ Mountain Feuds and Appalachian Stereotyping." Confronting
Appalachian Stereotypes: Back Talk from an American Region. Eds. Dwight B.
Billings, Gurney Norman, and Katherine Ledford. Lexington: Kentucky UP, 1999.
Golden, Susan. "Appalachia." Review of Come a Tide by George
Ella Lyon. Book Links Reading the World May 1991: 14-21.
Harshman, Marc. Letter to Judy A. Teaford. 11 Dec. 1997.
Krull, Kathleen. Come a Tide. New York Times on the Web 14
Oct. 1990. Accessed 23 Oct. 1999.
McKernan, Llewellyn. "Reviews."
Review of Dreamplace, Who Came
Down That Road, The Outside Inn, Cecil’s Story, Basket, Come a Tide, Together,
A B Cedar: An Alphabet of Trees by George Ella Lyon. Appalachian Journal 21.2 (Winter 1994): 207-217.
Teaford, Judy. "Contemporary Appalachian Picture Books."
M. A. Thesis.
Marshall Univ. Graduate College, 1998.
This Page Created: 03/30/2000 | Links Checked: 02/26/2004 | Site Index | Top of Page | Last Update: