Att bilda barn

 IN THE LAND OF WINDMILLS AND WOODEN SHOES

O, the wind it is blowing with never a stop,

And the arms of the windmill go “Flip, flop, flop,

”Flip, flop, flop,

And around and round,

Till the water is pumped and the corn is ground.

O, the Dutch wooden shoes go “Klip, klop, klop,

”Toward the windmill that turns with its “Flip, flop, flop,

”Flip, flop, flop,

And around and round,

Till the water is pumped and the corn is ground.

And the little Dutch children with “Klip, klip, klop,

”Run away to the windmill that goes “Flip, flop,

”Flip, flop, flop,

And around and round,

Till the water is pumped and the corn is ground.

Vill du kunna sjunga den här sången så finns det noter till den i bokens början.

Som barn var jag mest irriterad på böcker med många illustrationer — de tog ju bara upp plats, och vem brydde sig om bilderna när man ville veta vad som hände sedan‽

Nu är jag barnsligt förtjust i böcker med vackra illustrationer och gläds när jag hittar illustrerade böcker, som Windmills and wooden shoes, av Maude M. Grant. Det är inte mycket som finns skrivet om författaren annat än att hon skrev böcker och poem för barn, och att hon  levde mellan 1876 och 1941. Så värst mycket mer får man inte heller veta om illustratören Bess Bruce Cleaveland, 1876-1966, teckningsläraren som efter att ha undervisat i sex år, övergick till att illustrera böcker. Barn och djur var hennes favoritmotiv, och det får hon frossa i, i den här boken.

Texten tycks riktad till mycket små barn, korta meningar och enkla ord (minns att boken är från 1919). 

She showed Katrina how to knit. 

Katrina learned very fast. 

Soon she could knit as well as her mother. 

Her mother showed her how to knit stockings, mittens, lace, and even a hood. Katrina is very proud of her knitting work.

Den kan låta avancerat men vid den här tiden var det självklart att lära sig de nödvändiga sysslorna tidigt. Det får mig att tänka på "Mor Afkes tio", de småflickor som åsyftas här var fyra år!

_ _ _ och bredvid honom, på en gammal nött bänk satt småflickorna med sin stickning. De måste sticka tolv varv var. Först när det var gjort fick de leka, hade Mem sagt.
Ur "Mor Afkes tio" av Nienke van Hichtum

Men inte ens i Holland på den tiden, ville alla små flickor lära sig sticka, då fick man ta till en del knep.

Rikka did not want to learn to knit. She said it was too hard. She said she would rather play on the beach. 

Her mother said to her, “Rikka, if you will learn to knit, I will give you a ‘Wonder-Ball.’

"Wonder-Ball!’ What is that, mother?” asked Rikka. 

“It is a ball of yarn,” said her mother. “There are little presents or surprise gifts wound up in the ball. As you knit the yarn from the ball, the gifts fall out.” 

“Oh, I should like a Wonder-Ball, Mother,” cried Rikka.

 “I will learn to knit and I will knit fast so that I can knit my presents from the ball.” 

Rikka’s mother made her a “Wonder-Ball.” It was a very big, blue ball. She gave Rikka some shining needles and taught her how to knit. 

Rikka tried and tried, and at last she learned to knit. It was very hard at first, but she did not give up. 

The first gift she knit from her ball was a little silver pencil. She was much pleased with it.  

She knit hard every day. 

It seemed a long time before she came to the next gift.

Then a pretty chain of red beads came out of the “Wonder-Ball.” 

She knit and knit away. The gifts she knit from the “Wonder-Ball” were many.

 She sang a little song as she worked. 

She called it her “Knitting Song.”

 Click, clack, click, clack, 

On go the needles, forward and back, 

Careful never a stitch to drop, 

Busily knit with never a stop. 

Forward and back, forward and back, 

Bright little needles, click, click, clack.

 

  Among her gifts was a little gold ring with a blue stone in it. She had also a wooden bird, a tiny doll, and a thimble. She called her thimble her “finger-hat.”

Rikka was very happy. She thanked her good mother many times for the lovely, big “Wonder-Ball.” Rikka soon learned to knit very well. She liked to knit even when she had no “Wonder-Ball.” She knit a scarf for her father. She knit a jacket for her doll. “It is such fun to make things,” said busy little Rikka.

 

 

Mutor i all ära, men jag undrar om det är så enkelt att få ett motsträvigt barn att lära sig sticka — jo, om handlaget finns och resultatet blir bra, men annars?

Men som sagt, i den här boken är det mest bilderna jag ägnar mig åt.