This Day in History September 28, 1909

http://www.flickr.com/photos/andertoons-cartoons/4140768527/

Did you ever read the Li'l Abner?  Or have you even heard of this comic strip?  Well, the creator of this comic strip, Al Capp, was born on this date in 1909.  He started this comic strip in 1934--at the height of the Great Depression.  It was introduced as "hillbilly humor."  In 1937, he introduced the annual Sadie Hawkins Day race into his comic strip.  And this inspired girls to ask boys on dates.  When his comic strip character married in 1952, it made front-page news!  The comic strip inspired a hit Broadway music and two movies.  He was a chain-smoker, and in 1979, he died of emphysema.  

For more information (and to see examples of the comic), check out the sties below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Capp

http://www.lil-abner.com/cappbio.html

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=2841

http://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/al-capp.html

Chapel Chronicles Review and Giveaway (Ends 6/5) U.S./Canada

I am so pleased for my daughter to have the chance to review the Chapel Chronicles by Emma T. Capps.  I picked this up to review today, and my daughter confiscated it.  And she immediately began reading it after announcing that it was written by a kid. She read it and enjoyed it so much!  She couldn't put it down!  My daughter is almost nine years old, by the way, and rarely does she ever read a comic book or strip.  She absolutely loved it!  And as I read through it, I loved it, too.  This is definitely five-star rated, and I would highly recommend it to everyone.  Children and adults alike would enjoy this--it transcends age.


Here is the product description:  


The Chapel Chronicles is a 44 page book of hand drawn, full-color comics, a weekly web comic, and a collection of greeting cards and collectibles. The Chapel Chronicles follows the adventures of an 11-year old girl named Chapel Smith as she navigates tween life with her own quirky brand of humor. Whether it’s clashes with her babysitter, struggles with household chores, finding a love of pop music, or an unexpected prickly companion, each comic delivers something delightfully unexpected. Chapel’s spunky and sweet wit make her a character appealing to fans at any stage of life. Chapel’s voice is also an authentic inside perspective of tween life because its author is also a teen, 15 year-old Emma T Capps, an award-winning artist, author, and cartoonist.


You can read Chapel comics at www.chapelchronicles.com or at www.facebook.com/chapelchronicles. The Chapel Chronicles has been reviewed in a variety of national publications. Press reviews and high res downloadable images are available at www.chapelchronicles.com/news. Chapel Collectibles, including the comic book, greeting cards, charms, earrings, prints, and more are available for sale at www.chapelchronicles.com/store.


The thing that makes this so different from other books and comic strips is that it was written by a teenager.  So often we read things written for children but are written by adults.  It is unique to have a young person writing something for her fellow young people.  And you will definitely read the difference.

I was very pleased at the professionalism of this young artist/author.  She sent me a well-organized notebook with everything I would need.  And every contact with her has been a delight.  She appears to be mature beyond her years!

And our fantastic comic creator has agreed to give away the following prize package to one of my blog readers from the U.S. or Canada.

The Chapel Chronicles Collectibles Giveaway. Designed by Emma T Capps, 15 year-old award-winning artist, author, and cartoonist. This giveaway includes a copy of The Chapel Chronicles, Volume One, a 44 page all-ages comic book (hand-drawn and in color) consisting of the first 31 four-panel comic strips in the webcomic series entitled The Chapel Chronicles at www.chapelchronicles.com. In addition, 10 Thank You postcards, 10 Happy Birthday postcards, and 10 Bon Voyage postcards. You can see these items at www.chapelchronicles.com/store. Value: $50

By the way, I did receive a sample of one of her cards, and when she says high-resolution, she means it!  They are beautiful!

So how can you enter?  Check out the rafflecopter below and enter by June 5 at 9:00 P.M. Pacific time.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Mom Blog Society Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

This Day in History May 9, 1754

Okay, imagine you get up and see this in the paper or on the news tomorrow morning.  What would you think?  Would you understand the message.  I can only hope that if you were living on this date in 1754 you would understand Benjamin Franklin's message.  He published the first cartoon in America, and it was political in nature.  He published this in his Pennsylvania Gazette.  And what was his meaning?

At this time in our history, there were eight colonial governments.  The popular theory at this time was that if a severed snake were put back together before sunset, it would come back to life.  You can see eight pieces of the snake which represented the eight colonies.  Franklin was suggesting that these colonies needed to be unified against the French and the Native Americans.

It was circulated widely, and it eventually became a symbol of the American Revolution.

For more information, please check out:
http://www.thinkfinity.org/2011-05-09_first-american-political-cartoon
http://pacificvs.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/picture-21.png
http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/firsts/cartoon/

This Day in History October 2, 1950

Did you grow up getting the Sunday paper like my family did?  I remember we got the paper every day.  And every Sunday morning, I looked forward to reading Peanuts amongst others.  As a matter of fact, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas just weren't the same without the corresponding Peanuts holiday special.  

On this day in 1950, the Peanuts comic strip first appeared.  Charles Schulz wrote and illustrated it from this date in history until February 13, 2000 (the day after his death). Reruns did continue after that. In total, 17, 897 strips were published in all.  One could argue that it is the longest story told by a human being.  At its peak, it was being published in 2600 newspapers and boasted a readership of 355 million readers in 75 countries translated into 21 languages.  It was the comic strip that standardized the 4-panel comic strip that we have come  to expect.  Charles Schulz earned more  than one billion in revenue from the comic strip and merchandise combined.  It is said to be one of the most popular and influential comic strips in history.

Originally, it was printed in seven newspapers:  The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Minneapolis Tribune, The Allentown Call-Chronicle, The Bethlehem Globe-Times, The Denver Post and The Seattle Times.  It was a daily comic strip at first, and then it became a Sunday only strip in 1952.  Schulz did all aspects of the comic strip himself.  


I don't know about you, but Peanuts is something that is still near and dear to my heart.  I just realized that I must watch out for It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown later on this month.  I never tire of these shows.  Whenever I watch the Christmas special, I am so glad to hear the entire Christmas story directly from the Bible!  When I look at comics and cartoons nowadays, I am so turned off.  I so wish we could go back the simple times when Charlie Brown couldn't hit the football or Snoopy and Woodstock were the best of friends.  


For a great resource and lots of information, check out this site.