March is Women’s History Month, so I am pleased to dedicate this article to four excellent JSF employees: Judith Kidwell, Debbie Bustetter, Linda Harbison, and Nancy McWain.
The Jesse Stuart Foundation is proud to announce the publication of a new children’s book. “Angel, A Donkey’s Tale” was written by Greenup County author Joan Litteral for children in grades K-3. The donkeys, Angel and Hank are real and still live on a farm in Oldtown. This wonderful, illustrated children’s book has an important and helpful message—it’s OK to be different, in fact it’s often great.
The author, Joan Evans Litteral, was raised in Plum Grove, a ridge neighboring W Hollow. Her older siblings were contemporaries and friends with Jesse Stuart. Like Jesse, she was a teacher. She is famous throughout the county as “the best teacher I ever had” (per testimonies from hundreds of former students). She instilled a love of reading in her students and also in her family. Her son, Philip Litteral, worked with prominent book designer Adam VanKirk to produce this attractive book, which is a family project. Philip’s son Joseph edited the text, and a cousin created the illustrations.
The author was born in Greenup in 1933, early in The Great Depression. She is the youngest of Bud and Hattie Phelps Evans’ twelve children. The only child of her coal miner and share cropper parents to finish high school, she later earned a bachelor’s degree and then a Master’s degree in education from Morehead State University. She began teaching in the late 1950s and continued for more than forty years, mostly at Argillite Elementary School in Greenup County.
With her husband, Edward, Joan raised three children—Philip, Nancy, and Keith—on her teacher’s salary and Edward’s railroad earnings (supplemented by his income as a banjo player in various bluegrass and square dance bands). Joan never strayed from her Greenup County homeland. After Edward died in 1999, Joan, who had retired from teaching, became an active volunteer with several community organizations.
Joan’s daughter, Nancy, and her husband Phillip Claxon bought a donkey—Hank—to help solve a coyote problem affecting the calves on their farm. After some time, Phillip and Nancy decided Hank needed companionship, and Angel came to live on the Claxon farm. From these circumstances, the mostly true story of “A Donkey’s Tale” evolved. The story follows Nancy’s search for reasons why Angel could not bray. The answer to this question inspired a wonderful children’s story.
This children’s book, fully illustrated in color with visually exciting illustrations, is available from the author and from the Jesse Stuart Foundation Bookstore & Gift Shop at 4440 13th Street in Ashland. For more information, or to place an order, call 606-326-1667 or email jsf@jsfbooks.com.
By James M. Gifford
JSF CEO & Senior Editor
March is Women’s History Month, so I am pleased to dedicate this article to four excellent JSF employees: Judith Kidwell, Debbie Bustetter, Linda Harbison, and Nancy McWain.
The Jesse Stuart Foundation is proud to announce the publication of a new children’s book. “Angel, A Donkey’s Tale” was written by Greenup County author Joan Litteral for children in grades K-3. The donkeys, Angel and Hank are real and still live on a farm in Oldtown. This wonderful, illustrated children’s book has an important and helpful message—it’s OK to be different, in fact it’s often great.
The author, Joan Evans Litteral, was raised in Plum Grove, a ridge neighboring W Hollow. Her older siblings were contemporaries and friends with Jesse Stuart. Like Jesse, she was a teacher. She is famous throughout the county as “the best teacher I ever had” (per testimonies from hundreds of former students). She instilled a love of reading in her students and also in her family. Her son, Philip Litteral, worked with prominent book designer Adam VanKirk to produce this attractive book, which is a family project. Philip’s son Joseph edited the text, and a cousin created the illustrations.
The author was born in Greenup in 1933, early in The Great Depression. She is the youngest of Bud and Hattie Phelps Evans’ twelve children. The only child of her coal miner and share cropper parents to finish high school, she later earned a bachelor’s degree and then a Master’s degree in education from Morehead State University. She began teaching in the late 1950s and continued for more than forty years, mostly at Argillite Elementary School in Greenup County.
With her husband, Edward, Joan raised three children—Philip, Nancy, and Keith—on her teacher’s salary and Edward’s railroad earnings (supplemented by his income as a banjo player in various bluegrass and square dance bands). Joan never strayed from her Greenup County homeland. After Edward died in 1999, Joan, who had retired from teaching, became an active volunteer with several community organizations.
Joan’s daughter, Nancy, and her husband Phillip Claxon bought a donkey—Hank—to help solve a coyote problem affecting the calves on their farm. After some time, Phillip and Nancy decided Hank needed companionship, and Angel came to live on the Claxon farm. From these circumstances, the mostly true story of “A Donkey’s Tale” evolved. The story follows Nancy’s search for reasons why Angel could not bray. The answer to this question inspired a wonderful children’s story.
This children’s book, fully illustrated in color with visually exciting illustrations, is available from the author and from the Jesse Stuart Foundation Bookstore & Gift Shop at 4440 13th Street in Ashland. For more information, or to place an order, call 606-326-1667 or email jsf@jsfbooks.com.
By James M. Gifford
JSF CEO & Senior Editor
