Children's Books Connected with 250th Anniversary

I'm writing several children's books that I realize can be connected to Plymouth's 250th celebrations.  Maybe this will be the incentive I need to get them finished...this along with the possibility of school programs.

Sarah Jane's Daring Deed already is a published story in my children's anthology and has appeared in four children's magazines.  Now I'm converting it into a picture book that also could be used as a coloring book.

The other, Journey to a New Home  (or perhaps simply Losing Lucy), involves traveling to a new home in the wilderness.  The main setting includes a stagecoach inn where I once lived in Plymouth.  (Of course, I didn't live there in stagecoach times!)  But I imagine a family who stayed overnight.

I'd tucked the draft for that one away and have only just found it...in time to work on the story for the 250th celebration.

Babe Ruth Comes to Town also is in draft form, but I've rewritten it several times and now am starting on the illustrations.  Babe Ruth and other Red Sox players came to the D & M factory to get their baseball gloves in the earlier days of the 20th century.  After hearing a friend tell about being a boy in those days and seeing Babe Ruth, I thought the incident could make a story.

Another of my children's stories involves the Old Man of the Mountain in Franconia Notch.  It's not Plymouth history, but is set in NH.

Now to finish them in book format!

Plymouth's 250th Anniversary History for School Programs

I've been so busy lately that I've done no more than think about my commemorative book.  However, I did meet with a friend who is involved in the 250th Anniversary planning and ran my book idea by her.  I was pleased to get her input.

We're also discussing my going into the area schools with programs concerning the town and its history.  What slant should this take?

• NH History...in the fourth grade curriculum
• Local town history, which some 3rd grades study
• Writing and researching history
• Turning history into fiction stories
• Interviewing people about their memories
• Finding out family history as it applies to the town.
• Creative writing

It's such fun to brainstorm and see in which direction I can go with these programs and my writing.

Categorizing My Book Entries

As I've been going through my list of history columns about Plymouth, NH for my book, tentatively titled, Plymouth of Yesteryear  (A Collection of Articles about Plymouth, NH's History), by Mary Emma Allen, I've been breaking them down into categories.

This should help me determine how I'll organize my book.  The columns/articles seem to fall into the following groupings.  Perhaps I'll combine or add new ones.

People
Places
Houses
Old Roads/Trails
 Events
Covered Bridges
Industries
Education
Organizations
Snow Bowl/Skiing
Books/Newspapers