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Books by EVA M. DOOLITTLE

	Old Fairy Tales Anew Beautifully illustrated fairy tales retold in rhyming verses
	Seven Deadly Sins and Other Grave Transgressions Poems on human nature enhanced by pen-and-ink drawings
	Silver Letters A contemporary novel based on a true story

The Wisdom of Fairy Tales

Q: Why are fairy tales important for children?

A: They abound in precious lessons that are not preached but gently hidden under the surface of a story. They clarify, support and liberate children’s emotions; help children deal with the emotional turmoil of childhood; help children cope with their deepest questions of self; and alleviate their uncertainty of the future.

Q: Is there any proof that this is true?

A: A renowned child psychologist, Bruno Bettelheim, wrote a book "The Uses of Enchantment--The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales." His book, well worth reading, is an eye opener. It explains in detail why fairy tales should be a regular companion of every child. A quote from the jacket of the 12th edition of the book reads: "...wandering in enchanted worlds, children begin to sense for themselves the textures of justice, fidelity, love, courage ... not as lessons imposed, but as discovery, as experience, as an organic part of the adventure of living. Dr. Bettelheim persuades us to bring the great fairy tales back to our young as a priceless source of esthetic pleasure and emotional and moral sustenance."

Q: Aren’t fairy tales too scary for children?

A: Not at all. Being scared by a fairy tale is what children thrive on and it only helps them sort things out. It is important to remember that with very few exceptions, fairy tales not only end well but they end the way children find satisfying.

Q: What about fairy tales’ oversimplified characters--either good or bad, either likable or distasteful, either admirable or wretched?

A: This is exactly why children relate to these characters so well. They intuitively identify themselves with the characters they like or empathize with. Children, whose abstract thinking is not developed until teenage years, can’t grasp abstract ideas like love or courage from pure theory, but they easily absorb and develop these ideas following the triumphs and tribulations of fairy tales’ characters.

Q: What’s special about Old Fairy Tales Anew?

A: My book, Old Fairy Tales Anew, brings back ten world famous fairy tales in the form of rhyming verses. Their poetic renditions are more concise than the original texts and easier for children to follow and absorb than any prose. The book also contains 33 full-page color illustrations by M. Magdalena Tekielska, an artist who has a special gift of creating images that inspire children’s imagination.

Q. Should fairy tales be told or read to children?

A. Bruno Bettelheim believes that telling a fairy tale rather than reading it to a child is the most beneficial. I agree that a story teller interacting with a child listening to the story has an incomparably better opportunity to be responsive to the child’s needs and desires. I also believe that the next best to telling a child a fairy tale is reading him its rendition in rhyming verses to which children are especially sensitive and attuned. After you read it to the child a few times, he will start joining you reciting the parts that for one reason or another he finds important, memorable and helpful.

The Fisherman and the Gold Fish
A Sample Fragment

On a sandy patch overlooking the sea,
In an old thatched house next to a big oak tree,
Lived fisherman Jonah and Bertha, his wife.
Though poor as a mouse they led a peaceful life.

One day Jonah went fishing at the break of dawn,
But didn’t catch a thing. All the fish were gone.
It turned dark when he said, "I’ll try one more time."
And soon felt a jerk--his catch little but prime.

Entangled in the net was a small gold fish
That said, "Let me go and I’ll grant you a wish."
Jonah smiled, "I don’t have any wants or needs.
Go free--"to the helpless offer your good deeds."

At home, with Bertha Jonah shared his story
Basking in the scene’s mystery and glory.
Furious Bertha exclaimed, "Couldn’t you make a wish?
Go back and don’t return until you find your fish.

And when you find her, ask for a house, brand new,
Big yard with some hens and a cabbage patch, too,
Furniture, dishes, clothes for you and for me
So that our good fortunes everyone can see."

To preserve the peace, Jonah went to the sea
Calling, "Little gold fish, come listen to me."
The fish showed up, listened to Jonah’s request,
Then said, "Go back. In your new home you’ll rest."

SEVEN DEADLY SINS AND OTHER GRAVE TRANSGRESSIONS

The book is a snapshot of evil at the dawn of the second millennium. It consists of 28 rhyming poems, each devoted to a sin or transgression, each with its own pen-and-ink illustration and a corresponding gargoyle. The gargoyles, masterpieces of ugliness, are to remind the readers of idols whose followers indulge in wrongdoing.

Beside the Seven Deadly Sins--Pride, Greed, Lust, Envy, Gluttony, Anger and Sloth--I tackled other Transgressions, such as Child Abuse, Bullying, Road Rage, Vices and many more. Even Terrorism.

A paragraph from the book cover reads: "In terse verse, the author gives the stress test to sins that abound everywhere, from the Middle East to our block on our street in our town. The author does us a favor. She takes delinquencies and shortcomings we have come to take for granted in our society and tells it like it is--sin, sin, sin. The book is similar to an anthology of stories, but better because the stories are poetic, provocative, and enhanced by memorable illustrations."

The book is brilliantly illustrated by Jean Light Willis.

Greed

Throughout the ages greed was known
To put the men in gear
For wars and fights; they all have shown
Greed conquers every fear.

It makes men blind, it makes them wild,
They don’t see what’s afar,
And they start acting like a child--
Hands in a cookie jar.

Men wanted more than what they had,
More land, more goods, more power.
They never learned that wars were bad,
Their consequences dour.

Today the greed is more refined;
Sue when you break a leg!
The lawsuits seem to be designed
To build a fat nest egg.

You cheat your neighbor, he cheats you,
Con artists come alive.
Corporate world starts cheating too.
Sheer greed and falsehood thrive.

Remember when you make a plan
To fit you like a glove,
That nothing motivates a man
Like greed. Except for love.

SILVER LETTERS

In the summer of 1969, at an international conference in Warsaw, a young Polish woman, Anita, meets Peter, a member of the U.S. delegation. Their platonic relationship abounds in mutual interest. Anita marries her Polish fiancé and gives birth to a baby girl.

Successful in every other way she is stuck in a miserable marriage and in 1978 makes a desperate decision to go to America and start her life over. One day she calls Peter. The book tells the story of what happened when fate brought the two of them together for the second time.

		An excerpt from the book: The same evening Anita made a long list of important things to do, one of the items being to call Mr. Stewart. She already knew that his phone number from the old business card was not valid. She started her next day with a visit to IBM Chicago where a friendly receptionist greeted her as a fellow IBMer. Anita explained that she wanted to find out whether Mr. Peter Stewart was still with IBM and if so, what his phone number was. A young man, whom the receptionist called for help, checked a list of employees on a computer screen. He confirmed that Peter Stewart was on the list of employees and gave Anita his phone number.
"May I ask how you know Mr. Stewart?" "Certainly. We met in Warsaw nine years ago." "Why don’t you use one of our special lines? We rent them for a monthly fee and it doesn’t cost us anything more, regardless of how much we use them. If you remember each other after nine years it may turn out to be a long talk." A few minutes later she was alone in a room dialing the number. "Peter Stewart." "Good morning, Mr. Stewart. This is Anita Zamoyski from Warsaw, Poland." "Say your name again?" "Anita Zamoyski." "Do I know you?" 'We met nine years ago in Warsaw during the Congress of IFAC. I wasn’t married at that time and my name was Grot-Bacewicz." "Your maiden name doesn’t ring a bell, either." "You stayed at the Europejski Hotel. I worked at a big desk in the middle of the lobby. You used to stop for a chat every day." "I am sorry but I don’t remember you. What can I do for you?" After a moment of silence Anita said, "I would like to ask you for a favor, but before I do, please give me one more chance to remind you who I am. Do you remember Mr. Tarski?" "I remember him well. He was a director of the only Polish company equipped with an IBM computer." "Do you remember bringing Mr. Tarski to my desk to invite me for a job interview?" "I can’t believe it that it took me so long. Of course I remember you. Where are you calling from and what kind of a favor do you have in mind?" "I am calling from IBM Chicago. I have been an employee of the IBM office in Warsaw for the last three years. For personal reasons I am not going to return to Poland. I would like to see if IBM would consider transferring me from Warsaw to Chicago as an employee. Would you make this inquiry for me?" They stayed on the phone for a little longer. Mr. Stewart asked for Anita’s phone number. He promised to make the inquiry and call her back with an answer.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I was one year old when WWII ended and Poland was "liberated" by the Soviet army. My city, Warsaw, lay in ruins and the communists started their infamous reign. Most people, including my parents, were employed in state-run enterprises and earned meager salaries, hardly sufficient to make the ends meet. For us, war- and post-war children, this was the only reality we knew and in spite of general poverty, we considered our childhood great.

After graduating from high school, I enrolled at the college of planning and statistics in Warsaw from which I earned master’s degree in economics. In the middle of a five-year college curriculum I spent one year in Detroit where I attended Wayne State University and the International Institute polishing my English.

In 1970 I married. Eight years later, a devoted mother and a successful business woman, I was stuck in a miserable marriage. One day, out of sheer despair, I boarded a plane and went to the United States with the intention to start my life over. How I did it and what happened to my Polish daughter is all in my debut novel, Silver Letters published in 2003. The book was awarded first place in the nonfiction category by the National League of American Pen Women at the 2004 Biennial Letters Competition.

In 2005 I published Seven Deadly Sins and Other Grave Transgressions, my second book illustrated in pen-and-ink by a great artist--Jean Light Willis. A native Virginian, Jean retired to St. Augustine where she had her own studio/art gallery. Her paintings and murals can be seen in North Carolina and on both coasts of Florida.

I have been a member of the National League of American Pen Women (NLAPW) since 2003. In 2004 I was elected vice president of the NLAPW St. Augustine Branch and in 2006--president.

In order to publish my third book exactly the way I wanted, I launched my own publishing company, VESTA BOOKS, LLC (named after Vesta, Roman goddess of the hearth). In 2008 VESTA BOOKS published Old Fairy Tales Anew, my book for children with color illustrations by M. Magdalena Tekielska. The illustrator is my life-long Polish friend and a gifted artist. Her illustrations, rich in color and detail, resonate in children’s hearts.

VESTA BOOKS handles sales and distribution of all my books.

Eva M. Doolittle