Tecla Emerson

Tecla Emerson didn’t have dreams or aspirations of becoming a writer. When asked where this all began – this need to record bits and pieces of history – her response was that it began in grade school. From early on she knew there had to be a better way to learn about our past – something beyond dates, places of major battles and obscure characters. That was how history was taught way back then, which only promoted a lack of interest in what should be a fascinating subject. And then one day not so long ago, in the late winter, when the weather was a bit dreary, she was coerced into taking a craft class on creating porcelain dolls. This was not something she had never envisioned herself doing. But with three daughters this was a wonderful skill to learn. And it grew. Moving beyond the class, Tecla set up a kiln in her own home where doll parts were baked – arms, legs, heads. And what happened next? That first doll that she had painted, baked, and dressed, with eyes inserted had been tucked safely into a sheltered corner. It was a corner from where those dark glass eyes could take in all that went on in day-to-day life. Those eyes seemed to be asking “Who am I?” They were searching for not only a name but a tale that needed to be told. And there it began. One small doll wanted a story, one that told of who she was, where she lived, what she had been busy doing and why? Her message was clear – and thus it began. Through many different roles, she comes alive with tales that tell of her varied and wide-ranging history. The reader meets her as Jenny, a young girl from Gettysburg, who is well-known to history. From there it’s Bitsy’s story, who in the 1700s wrote a letter that was found not so long ago. It’s a tale of how she was captured and sent off to the Colonies as an indentured servant. Olivia is introduced as a young girl who took on the role of mother to her family, while unwillingly caring for the Yankee troops. Then there’s Gale. Is it true? It’s the tale of a trunk that was found washed up on the rocky coast of Maine after a late winter storm. And then, we’re introduced to Hock who survives Andersonville, one of the most dreaded prison camps of the Civil War. Emerson’s most recent edition tells us of Mackenzie’s dilemma! Captured during the War of 1812, she’s mistaken for a boy! It’s all there, all the tales that can be shared through history’s young voices, any of whom could easily have stepped out of one of our classroom history books. The stories are told by the characters who have always been there, some lost in time but now reintroduced to be savored and enjoyed through books read by today’s curious readers.