A is for Alphabet Blocks: Inventions by Women A-Z

Parents have long understood the educational value of alphabet blocks in teaching their children how to read, in addition to inspiring the imagination and encouraging coordination skills as a building toy. 

Alphabet blocks are just plain fun.  

In the 19th century, alphabet blocks were found in school rooms everywhere in the educated world. Historically, some form of alphabet blocks existed as far back as 1693. The English philosopher John Locke wrote that “dice and play-things, with the letters . . . teach children the alphabet by playing,” and make learning how to read enjoyable. 

Does anyone reading this not remember playing with alphabet blocks as a child?

"Baby at Play" (Thomas Eakins, 1876)

Similar references to alphabet blocks appeared in 1798 in a book called Practical Education (Maria and R.L. Edgeworth) as "building bricks," in 1820 (U.S.) as "multi-colored blocks," again in 1837 (Germany), and in 1850 (England) as "terracotta toy blocks." 

Adeline Dutton Train Whitney (1824-1906)

But the alphabet blocks that most of us identify with today were invented by a Massachusetts woman named Adeline Dutton Train Whitney. 

Adeline was well educated and came from a well-to-do family. Her father owned a successful shipping business. After marrying at nineteen and raising four children, Adeline pursued her dream of writing. She wrote poetry and over twenty books, stories mostly for young girls. 

Adeline held to traditional values typical of her time, opposing women's suffrage and promoting the domestic role of women in the home. At age 42 (1882) Adeline patented a set of alphabet blocks constructed of wood, and officially became the toy's inventor. Her model is still used today, although they are often made with non-wood materials.

 

Sources:
http://www.aauw.org/2010/09/16/alphabet-blocks/
http://famousamericans.net/adelineduttontrainwhitney/
http://www.toyhalloffame.org/toys/alphabet-blocks
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toy_block

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

Brick by Brick by Charles R. Smith Jr. and Floyd Cooper: Book Review

Brick by Brick
Author: Charles R. Smith Jr.
Illustrator: Floyd Cooper
Publisher: Amistad, 2013

Age: 5 to 8, Picture Book

Slowly, slowly, “brick by brick,” freedom is earned by African American slaves in this compelling story of slavery. It was the year of the nation’s first president, and President George Washington needed a special home. Slave owners were hired to help build the nation’s first White House, and they promptly ordered their slaves to work. “Black hands, white hands, free hands, slave hands,” Smith Jr. writes, worked hard to build the mansion, but for the slaves alone, the labor was brutal, often painful, and always without pay. They toiled seven days a week, twelve hours a day, men and women together, young and old, under the slave owner’s watchful eye. Some African Americans, however, learned a marketable skill or trade during enslavement and found ways to earn money—enough for many to buy their freedom. This is their story and the price they paid for that freedom. Names are real in Brick by Brick, and each face shows individual emotion. Yet Cooper’s overall use of brown shades gives a sense of unity to their struggle. Youth will come away with admiration and respect for the slaves that helped build America. A brief history of the White House is included at the end. Brick by Brick is a Coretta Scott King Award winner.

Copyright 2013 © Sharon M. Himsl