“We spent summers in Connecticut, where my grandfather lived for many years, and my father rented a little storefront where he did his illustrations, and he also spent time there teaching me,” she said. She recalled both of her parents reading Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy stories aloud to her and Kim, and has fond memories of how her father drew her into the family creative tradition. Though Johnny Gruelle died before Wannamaker was born, she had a close relationship with her grandmother, Myrtle. Continuing the tradition of family participation, Kim Gruelle, Worth’s son and Joni’s brother, has written an afterword to the new facsimile 100th-anniversary story collections. Johnny’s son, Worth Gruelle, illustrated four of his father’s books in the 1960s, which his daughter, Joni Gruelle Wannamaker (named after her grandfather) watercolored. Gruelle” instead of using his full name). Gruelle, illustrated at least four stories that the late author had penned (the exact number is uncertain, since Justin at times signed his work “J. In the 1940s, his younger brother, Justin C. Gruelle created more than 40 books about Raggedy Ann and Andy, and his creativity inspired that of family members after his death. The author patented a doll version of Raggedy Ann a doll based on Raggedy Andy, who made his first book appearance in 1920, eventually followed. Raggedy Ann’s popularity soared when the P.F. Gruelle began writing and illustrating stories starring Marcella and her beloved doll, and continued to add to that canon after his daughter died at 13 after an illness. Gruelle and his wife, Myrtle, spruced up the doll for Marcella, giving her facial features and inscribing the message, “I love you,” within the doll’s newly drawn heart. According to family lore, his young daughter, Marcella, stumbled upon a well-worn, faceless rag doll while exploring her grandparents’ attic sometime before 1914. Raggedy Ann had her beginnings in a heartwarming, if bittersweet, chapter of Gruelle’s life. First published in the early 2000s, these reissues feature refreshed interior art and new covers reflecting the updated look of the early-reader line. Also due out are new editions of six Ready-to-Read books from Simon Spotlight. These include facsimile 100th-anniversary editions of Gruelle’s original picture-book anthologies, Raggedy Ann Stories and Raggedy Andy Stories, and The Raggedy Ann 100th Anniversary Treasury, a large-format picture book that compiles five of Gruelle’s original tales and new illustrations by Jan Palmer, all from Little Simon. Next month Simon & Schuster is commemorating the milestone with a varied lineup of releases starring Raggedy Ann and her similarly spunky brother, Raggedy Andy. Raggedy Ann has endeared herself to young readers for a century – both as a rag doll toy with button eyes and red yarn hair and as the character of a bounty of stories by the late Johnny Gruelle (1880–1938).
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