Josephine Lawrence and the Newark Sunday Call Children's Page
During the period Lawrence edited the Sunday Call's children's page, short stories
appeared regularly -- frequently two per week. Topics varied -- some were mini-morality
lessons, featuring, for example, children with allegorical names ("Icant C Why") and/or obvious
behavioral problems; others were geared to seasonal activities and holidays; still others (while
often containing these features) had fantastic elements such as talking dolls or animals; one series, "The What Happened
After That Stories," reworked or continued fables and folktales. All of these stories
were unsigned, but many appear to be Lawrence's work.
The two stories transcribed here are both from 1920. Again, although neither is signed, the
first, "New Lawns While You Wait," is almost definitely Lawrence's work:
the same doll characters
appear in "The George Washington Doll," a chapter in her Man in the Moon Stories. The
second, "Hard on Kitty," may also be by Lawrence; the style and characters
are similar to some in her juvenile series.
Additional examples of the types of fiction found on the children's page under
Lawrence's editorship will be added over time.
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Copyright 2001 - Deidre Johnson