Grandma Likes to Read
Collecting stamps that honor famous authors is a way to focus a young person's attention on books and stories that might otherwise be overlooked. An excellent example is the new 2008 stamp that honors Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, who received the 1939 Pulitzer Prize for her book, The Yearling. This YA book tells the coming-of-age story of a poor boy who painfully reaches the decision to shoot his pet deer in order to protect his family's crops.
Mark Twain's ten cent stamp was issued in 1940. In his beloved 1876 novel, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, he used his own Mississippi boyhood as a model for the mischievous Tom. His story, as entertaining today as he was in the 19th century, is a wonderful introduction to his many celebrated works.
Louisa May Alcott's stamp was also issued in 1940. Little Women is her most famous book. Like Twain's Tom Sawyer, Little Women is also somewhat autobiographical. Today's girls will be interested to know that she was a strong abolitionist and supporter of women's suffrage.
Jack London's 25 cent stamp was issued in 1986. He is best known for his books, Call of the Wild and White Fang, although he wrote over 25 books and many, many short stories. His was a life filled with hard work and adventure. His experiences in Alaska during the Klondike Gold Rush provided the setting for these popular works.
Of course no Halloween would be complete without Washington Irving's Legend of Sleepy Hollow. And everyone loves his story of Rip Van Winkle.
For the little kids and older ones who loved his work when they were little, here is Dr. Seuss with some of his most famous creations. The stamp was issued in 2004 for the 100th anniversary of Dr. Theodor Seuss Geisel's birthday.
And for those young people who want to see stories as well as authors on their stamps, here is a set of stamps issued on October 23, 1993. The feature Rececca of Sunnybrook Farm, Little House on the Prairie, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Little Women.
