Why writing for children is so hard

Because discovering the relativity of space and time along with revolutionizing modern physics is really not that impressive.

At the very least, young Ann could have addressed poor Albert as "Dr. Einstein"

Image Source: Children's Science Museum, Jerusalem, Israel

Parents...keep that toddler leashed!

I have heard them called many names. The... this won't hurt a bit "Snuggly Wuggly". The... it is just another safety device  "Toddler Harness" And my favorite and by far most accurate "Restraining Device." You might think that leashing your child like rabid dog is just morally wrong (unless you have a toddler trying to hurl themselves in front of moving cars like a rabid dog.) Whatever your feelings toward this strange parenting accessory, the toddler leash is not a modern invention.

In the above eighteenth century French fashion plait, this young lass is clearly not taking any chances with her pet garcon. Granted, the leash has less to do with losing her son in a crowded mall and more to do with keeping him from muddying his new sailor suit. The eighteenth century toddle leash was called leading strings and it was aimed at helping children learn to walk.  Much like the boys in dresses in last week's post, Rousseau was vehemently against using such a leash because he felt it prevented a child's motor development. But again, I doubt Rousseau had to keep a toddler trying to run under the wheels of a vicious stage coach.

Sources and Further Reading:
Blum, Stella. Eighteenth Century French Fashion in Full Color, New York: NY, Dover Publications, 1982.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Collected Writings of Rousseau, Dartmouth College Press, 1990

God Save the Queen

Loree Griffin Burns has done it again. She has combined cool science facts, a page turning detective mystery and a behind the scenes look at bee collectors into one darn beautifully illustrated book.  The Hive Detectives follows four leading bee scientists from lab to field to trace the mysterious causes of CCD (colony collapse disorder). Possible causes include some blood-sucking mites giving the poor bees the runs, some nasty honey bee viruses, and environmental causes like pesticides and herbicides.  The reader is allowed to weigh all the facts and come to their own conclusions.  (My vote is for the last one. I am convinced pesticides are the cause of my writers block.)

Kids will also come away with tons of bee facts like the roles of the worker bees, the drone bee and the queen bee. The worker bee is the multi-tasking super mom that maintains the hive, makes honey, nurses the young, get the nectar, drives them to soccer practice etc. etc. The drone bee is the male bee that sits around and mates with the queen, but does absolutely nothing to maintain the colony. (And yes, it is taking an amazing amount of willpower not to make a snarky comment) And the queen bee's sole purpose is not very different from history's most famous royal queens - to lay eggs.

Kids will also learn what happens to a worker bee when they sting you. I can't give it away, but it kind of made me feel bad for the bee. Definitely get this one for your budding scientist/ bee sympathizer.

Boys in Drag

I recently found an old photo album of my husband as a young boy where in almost every picture he was dressed like Little Lord Fauntleroy on his way to a tea party. (Really...I would love to show just one picture but he would KILL me.) We all have some pretty scary childhood pictures lurking in our dust filled closets. Some day, our ancestors just might stumble upon these treasures and wonder why 70s jump suits are uncomfortably wedged into our bottoms or debate the aesthetic value of elbow pads.  Wait….Here comes the history part.

Consider the above 17^th century painting showing Charles I's children. On the left is the Prince of Wales, (later King Charles II), on the right is his sister Princess Mary and the pretty girl in the middle is the Duke of York (later King James II).  Why were boys and girls dressed identically? First, imagine the odds of your child surviving as only 1 in 3. Now imagine having lost several children already to anything as simple as a bad flu. With such high mortality rates, you might start to think of your child as gender neutral….sort of like a fern, or a pet rock, or a chia pet that has yet to grow hair. Boys were typically not viewed as male until they were allowed to wear pants or “breached” at about the age of seven.

Boys in dresses also echoed medical beliefs of the time. During the eighteenth century, philosophers like Rousseau preached on the importance of children having free movement in their dress. Since under-ware had yet to be invented, dresses let young lads air out their bits and were therefore more salubrious to their development. (Rousseau actually might have been on to something since we now know that those tighty whities can lower sperm count.)

Dresses were also more functional. Those easy zippers and convenient snaps had not been invented yet.  If you have ever had to wrestle a toddler to the ground and change a dirty diaper, then you might start wishing your boy wore a dress too.

Another reason for the lack of gender distinction was based on the superstition that clothing a precious boy in a dress would trick the grim reaper into thinking he was a useless girl. I guess the devil was welcome to the girls.

Ever wonder why boys wear blue and girls pink? Stay tuned for the answer...

Joan of Arc, Part II

In Part I, Joan of Arc was last seen selling beans. One of the reasons why I think Joan is such a modern icon is because her rise and fall seems like a very twenty-first century tale. Joan is your typical American idol contestant. She is born into obscurity yet uses her force of nature to get her the Hollywood golden ticket – an interview with the king. From there, she keeps getting voted back until she puts on the show on the century - The taking of Orleans. The stage is set for greatness.

But then her star begins to fall. Throw in a good Hollywood-like scandal when Joan is rumored to break her sacred sword over the back of a prostitute. Add a few military missteps and suddenly she is as popular as any tabloid-trashed, fallen starlet.

That’s the Hollywood version. The real Joan of Arc doesn’t fit neatly into the pages of any glossy magazine. To start, life was much harder in Joan’s small village of Domremy. Born around 1412, Joan never learned to read or write or even ride a horse, and was never expected to do more than marry a good man and get fat with babies. If she was lucky, she would live past her childbearing age. If she was not, she would be dead by 25 like most women.

Joan spent her nights under a modest slate roofed farmer’s house, huddled close together with her sister and brothers on a floor of cold pounded earth. In warmer months, she helped her father herd sheep in the fields that bordered a flowing stream strewn with poplars and willows. In colder months, her leathered fingers worked tirelessly helping her mother spin wool by the winter sun’s fading light.

Joan rose and slept to the clockwork rhythms of the seasons, but she also had time to play. She danced with the village children under the shade of the Fairies Tree (a magical birch tree believed to have sacred healing powers) or raced them in foot races. (Joan was rumored to be the fastest in the whole village). In many ways, 15th century people were not so different from us. They had hopes and fears just like we do, but with life more fleeting, they came to the crossroads of where their hopes and fears met much sooner.

Joan came to such a crossroad at around the age of 12 when she started to hear voices from Saint Michael. Michael didn’t ask much of her. He told her to be a good girl. Listen to her dad. Go to church. Then St. Catherine and St. Margaret stepped in and started asking for bigger favors. They told Joan to go save France. Crown Charles as king. It was all a bit much for a young girl and Joan tried to explain to her Saints that she was just a peasant girl. But that’s the crazy thing about saints whispering in your ear. The more you ignore them, the louder they get.

It was at around this time that Joan decided to stay a maid and not to marry despite the fact that her father had already arranged a marriage with a local village boy. Joan’s finance even brought her to court over the matter. Joan won her case and shortly after the incident set her mind to the task at hand – saving a leaderless France.

She first took a trip to Vaucouleurs to see Robert de Beaudricourt to convince him to take her to the Dauphin Charles VII. When Joan showed up in her patched red dress and thread-bare shoes claiming she was going to take Charles to Reims to be crowned, Beadricourt had a good laugh and then advised that her father give her a good beating. Joan returned home but was steadfast in her determination claiming that, “I must be with the king before mid-Lent, though I wear my legs to the knees on the road”. The following year she returned to see Beadricourt, but he still refused to take her to see the king.

By now, word of the Maid who would save France was starting to get around in Vaucouleurs. Joan then went to see Beaudricourt a third time and told him that it was imperative that they act quickly because the French army had been defeated at Rouvray that very day. This was news to Beaudricourt who had not heard of the loss yet. It was probably this prophecy that convinced him that Joan was not some crazy country bumpkin, but a true visionary. The only problem was determining whether her visions came from God or Satan. To make sure she was on the right side, he had her exorcized by the local priests. (this will come up later in her trial). Joan passed her exorcism exam with flying colors and was off to see Charles.

But before setting off for her journey, Joan needed the right makeover for a woman about to enter a medieval military mission. Normally, the only women who traveled with soldiers were prostitutes and Joan wasn’t about to be seen as some cheap camp follower. So she cut her hair off and traded in her peasant garb for a tunic and trousers. Her prosecutors would later make a huge ruckus over her pants but it was also simply more practical for a girl about to endure countless riding over rough terrain to wear pants. Joan may have also felt that it protected her virginity to be seen as a man and not a pubescent girl.

Stay tuned for part III when Joan meets Charles…