Celebrating My Father’s Dragon with Lisa Von Drasek from the Kerlan Collection of Children’s Literature
- 2 days ago
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Where can you find original art for many of the books that have inspired Rabbit hOle exhibits including Goodnight Moon, Amelia Bedelia, and the Frog and Toad series?
The Kerlan Collection of Children's Literature at the University of Minnesota is home to more than 100,000 children’s books, original manuscripts, correspondence, artworks, galleys, color proofs, and other materials.
On Friday, May 15, The Rabbit hOle welcomed Miranker Family Curatorial Chair of the Kerlan Collection of Children’s Literature Lisa Von Drasek for a special lecture and celebration with educators.
Her visit coincided with our current Discovery Gallery exhibition: My Mother’s Father's Dragon: A Hero’s Journey and The Art of Living. It features the original illustrations from the book My Father’s Dragon, which are on loan from the Kerlan, as well as other artifacts from the family of author Ruth Stiles Gannett and illustrator Ruth Chrisman Gannett.
“I was so happy to see the art hung just a little lower than my eyes…that it's intentional, that this space is for the child,” said Von Drasek. “This experience is so beautifully immersive and we want children to have that wonder.”
The Kerlan Collection was established in the 1940s by Dr. Irvin Kerlan, who was a University of Minnesota alumnus and the medical research chief at the FDA. He collected rare books as a hobby and became particularly passionate about children’s literature.
“He collected children's books and was friends with many of the makers like Maurice Sendak and Arnold Lobel,” Von Drasek said. “First editions of children's books were especially rare because children touch them, so he had this pristine, beautiful collection, and he also collected process art and manuscripts because really no one else was interested.”
During her presentation, Von Drasek emphasized that before Kerlan began collecting these materials, most people felt that the finished book itself was the art object, and the thumbnail sketches, original art and other related ephemera were meaningless. Now researchers, creators, and everyday people from all over the world can visit the Kerlan to see firsthand how some of the most important children’s books came into being.
Some of her favorite “stuff” preserved in the collection includes James Marshall’s sketchbooks, which illuminate not only his writing and illustration process, but also his daily life with to-do lists, appointments, and miscellaneous notes.
In addition to Kerlan history and highlights, Von Drasek discussed how Ruth Stiles Gannett’s progressive education influenced her writing.
The plot of My Father’s Dragon and elements like the map are a direct reflection of Gannett's experience at the City and Country School in Greenwich Village, where hands-on activities, imaginative-problem solving, and storytelling were emphasized.
“One can argue that the character of Elmer Elevator is the perfect example of autonomy and self-esteem,” Von Drasek said. “Self-esteem comes from esteemable acts: standing back, watching and observing.”
Von Drasek demonstrated how the book creates opportunities for hands-on learning for today’s readers, including using Elmer’s list and the island maps as writing prompts. (Both of these exercises are included in Von Drasek’s guidebook, Writing Boxes: The Reading/Writing Connection in Libraries, which is available to download for free here.)
Although My Mother’s Father's Dragon: A Hero’s Journey and The Art of Living will conclude later this year, The Rabbit hOle looks forward to future collaborations with the Kerlan and visits from Von Drasek.
“I think what you see here at The Rabbit hOle is the deep joy we feel when we share great literature with children,” said Von Drasek reflecting on her visit.
“It could be a classic like Goodnight Moon, the wonder you feel when you walk into that space,” she said. “And when you leave here, you take that with you. That imaginative muscle that grows while you're at The Rabbit hOle goes with you wherever.”