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My Travelship
Tales Told in Holland
The stories in this book are chiefly Dutch legends and folk tales, gathered from Dutch books from different parts of the Netherlands, sometimes referred to as Holland. There is at least one story from each of the eleven provinces which form the kingdom of the Netherlands - Groningen, Drebte, Overyssel, Gelderlnd, Friesland, Utrecht, North Holland, South Holland, Zeeland, North Brabant, and Limburg. The stories are: Altchen and Berend-John; The Mermaid of Edam; The Lady of Stavoren; The Courtship of Hilbert and Japiky; Abel Strok's Difficult Task; The Giants and the Dwarfs; The Cat's Cup of Vlaardingen; Hans Hannekemaier in Middleburg; Hans Hannekemaier in Hindeloopen; The Wise Men of Kampen; The St. Nicholas Legend; The Charlemagne Saga of Sittard; The Basilisk of Utrecht; The Story of Lady Jacqueline; The Gloriuos, Joyous and Heroic Adventures of Tyl Ulenspiegel; The Capture of Breda; The Escape of Hugo de Groot; Great Days in Holland; The Black Tulip; The Little Man in the Dog-Cart. In between the stories are some short poems. Beautifully illustrated.
192 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1926
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About the author
Olive Beaupré Miller
96 books33 followersOlive Kennon Beaupré was born in Aurora, IL on September 11, 1883. She received her B.A. from Smith College in 1904 and returned to Aurora to work as an English teacher for two years. Olive and Harry Edward Miller were married October 2, 1907.
Olive began writing rhymes and stories to entertain her daughter Virginia, and was encouraged by Harry to publish some of her writings. In 1919 Olive founded The Bookhouse for Children publishing company with Harry. Olive assumed the title of Editor and published all of her subsequent material either solely through The Bookhouse or through other publishing companies in conjunction with The Bookhouse.
Olive published the first volume of the My Bookhouse series in 1920 and set to work on the next five volumes. My Bookhouse became the first collection of children's literature which was graded to meet the developing needs and abilities of children at different ages.
Olive began publishing the nine volume series A Picturesque Tale of Progress in 1929. In 1934 Olive revised My Bookhouse, expanding the series from six volumes to twelve.
When Olive and Harry were divorced in May 1935, he resigned his position as President of The Book House. In addition to being Editor, Olive was elected Vice-President by the Board of Directors, who hoped that this post would keep her from pursuing a more managerial role in the company. Olive achieved the position of Chairman of the Board in 1939 and held it until 1954.
The Book House for Children was sold to United Educators in 1954. Olive remained Chairman of the Board in an advisory capacity until she retired in 1962. She moved to Tucson, AZ where she lived with her daughter Virginia (Miller) Read and family until her death on March 25, 1968.
Olive began writing rhymes and stories to entertain her daughter Virginia, and was encouraged by Harry to publish some of her writings. In 1919 Olive founded The Bookhouse for Children publishing company with Harry. Olive assumed the title of Editor and published all of her subsequent material either solely through The Bookhouse or through other publishing companies in conjunction with The Bookhouse.
Olive published the first volume of the My Bookhouse series in 1920 and set to work on the next five volumes. My Bookhouse became the first collection of children's literature which was graded to meet the developing needs and abilities of children at different ages.
Olive began publishing the nine volume series A Picturesque Tale of Progress in 1929. In 1934 Olive revised My Bookhouse, expanding the series from six volumes to twelve.
When Olive and Harry were divorced in May 1935, he resigned his position as President of The Book House. In addition to being Editor, Olive was elected Vice-President by the Board of Directors, who hoped that this post would keep her from pursuing a more managerial role in the company. Olive achieved the position of Chairman of the Board in 1939 and held it until 1954.
The Book House for Children was sold to United Educators in 1954. Olive remained Chairman of the Board in an advisory capacity until she retired in 1962. She moved to Tucson, AZ where she lived with her daughter Virginia (Miller) Read and family until her death on March 25, 1968.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 4, 2017
One of The Eight-Year-Old’s favorite things to do at her Gran’s is to browse through her Gran’s 1926 edition of Tales Told in Holland. I remember looking at this book myself when I was a child (although I don’t remember pouring over the stories with anything like The Eight-Year-Old’s attention to detail). The book is a collection of traditional folk tales, historical accounts, and poems from each of the eleven Dutch provinces that make up the Netherlands.
Review originally posted on my blog Caterpickles.
Review originally posted on my blog Caterpickles.
June 29, 2021
My paternal grandparents immigrated from the Netherlands over a hundred years ago. My father spoke only a little Dutch and visited there once. I, a nonspeaker, have been to Holland twice. I’ve always been fascinated with the culture of this tiny country that would fit nearly two times inside the Texas Panhandle where I live, yet its rich history makes it seem larger than life: Hans Brinker; or, the Silver Skates: A Story of Life in Holland is just one fine example of its cultural history. I’m not sure where my parents found this book, but it has been on our family shelves for a long time, I having absconded with it when my parents were no more. And until now, I’m not sure I’ve ever read it, or had it read to me. There are little crayon marks my sister made when she was little and it sat on her shelf. The illustrations are quaint and in that sense make it a children’s book. However, some of the tales are a bit gruesome, and some broach the blunt side of history and politics, making it a book for everyone, I should think.
One tale that has always intrigued me is “The St. Nicholas Legend,” which begins like this:
Why? one must ask. For a long time St. Nicholas distributes his gifts in secret until he is discovered, then he spreads his wealth openly. This may be an oddly racist story. I say oddly because it is both demeaning, the tale itself using racist language: “But if you want Sinterklaas to come, you must be good. And if ever you see a little black boy, be careful how you treat him. He might be Sinterklaas’s darky” (90). At the same time, the tale sets up a lesson for little white Dutch children: “These three made fun of the Moor and laughed at his black skin. Then came good Sinterklaas with an ink well, a huge one. He said, ‘Come, boys, listen here. Leave that little Moor alone. It is not his fault that he is not white like you.’" (90) When the boys do not listen to Sinterklaas, he dips them in the ink well, “black and deep,” to teach them a lesson.
This tale also connects the Netherlands with its Spanish roots, having been subjected for a time to Spain (as well as France):
When I heard this story as a child—it is simply too hard to be good all the time—I fully expected to wake up one Christmas morning and find in my stocking (one year it was a wooden shoe) a switch.
One tale that has always intrigued me is “The St. Nicholas Legend,” which begins like this:
“Every winter the good old bishop, St. Nicholas, comes in his ship over the sea from Spain. And who is that with him? It is his servant, a little Moor, named Black Pete[r]. They are bringing goodies and toys for the children of Holland” (88).
Why? one must ask. For a long time St. Nicholas distributes his gifts in secret until he is discovered, then he spreads his wealth openly. This may be an oddly racist story. I say oddly because it is both demeaning, the tale itself using racist language: “But if you want Sinterklaas to come, you must be good. And if ever you see a little black boy, be careful how you treat him. He might be Sinterklaas’s darky” (90). At the same time, the tale sets up a lesson for little white Dutch children: “These three made fun of the Moor and laughed at his black skin. Then came good Sinterklaas with an ink well, a huge one. He said, ‘Come, boys, listen here. Leave that little Moor alone. It is not his fault that he is not white like you.’" (90) When the boys do not listen to Sinterklaas, he dips them in the ink well, “black and deep,” to teach them a lesson.
This tale also connects the Netherlands with its Spanish roots, having been subjected for a time to Spain (as well as France):
Look, yonder comes the schooner,
All the way from Spain.
There stands good St. Nicholas,
Coming back again.
Frisking up and down the deck,
See his horsie go!
How prettily the pennants
Flutter to and fro!
His servant smiles upon us—
With gifts his bags are rich—
Who’s good, shall have some goodies,
Who’s naughty, gets a switch!
When I heard this story as a child—it is simply too hard to be good all the time—I fully expected to wake up one Christmas morning and find in my stocking (one year it was a wooden shoe) a switch.
May 16, 2013
Originally published in 1926, my copy is from 1954. The pictures found among the pages are extremely colorful and interesting to look at if nothing else for the clothes alone. The designs were done by Maud and Miska Petersham. Maud and Miska married in 1917 and produced illustrations for more than 120 textbooks, anthologies, and picture books.
Unusual in one respect, the page of 'Contents' is found at the back of the book and the stories are listed alphabetically by title instead of numerically. There are 46 individual tales. Also included are old song lyrics and poems.
The first is titled 'Altchen and Berend-John' about two young people in love but a greedy father that means to keep them apart. This was not a children's story. 'The Mermaid of Edam' was a short description of townspeople taking a mermaid and making her into a "proper Edam housewife". Sort of pointless, the Burgomaster was rewarded for civilizing the mermaid in the conclusion but it was not in a good way.
Honestly, I found many of the stories just descriptions of something that happened. Some had no real ending. Politics and religion are included and vanity was often made fun of. Several tales spoke of the intrusion of Spain and how the people of the Netherlands were affected during the 1600's. I think that this book would interest those primarily of Dutch descent. If you are looking for fairy tales for children or fables, look elsewhere.
Unusual in one respect, the page of 'Contents' is found at the back of the book and the stories are listed alphabetically by title instead of numerically. There are 46 individual tales. Also included are old song lyrics and poems.
The first is titled 'Altchen and Berend-John' about two young people in love but a greedy father that means to keep them apart. This was not a children's story. 'The Mermaid of Edam' was a short description of townspeople taking a mermaid and making her into a "proper Edam housewife". Sort of pointless, the Burgomaster was rewarded for civilizing the mermaid in the conclusion but it was not in a good way.
Honestly, I found many of the stories just descriptions of something that happened. Some had no real ending. Politics and religion are included and vanity was often made fun of. Several tales spoke of the intrusion of Spain and how the people of the Netherlands were affected during the 1600's. I think that this book would interest those primarily of Dutch descent. If you are looking for fairy tales for children or fables, look elsewhere.
June 30, 2024
This book was published in 1916, so I was really hoping to like it as an antique treasure. Unfortunately the storytelling wandered confusingly. Many of the illustrations were supposed to be “kid versions” of famous Dutch paintings. Why not have the original paintings? Sexist and racist materials in some that doesn’t surprise me, really, but does annoy me. The stories didn’t draw me in enough. It was a mix of folk tales and historical retellings.
December 20, 2014
A richly illustrated collection of folk tales - some fantastical, some historical. Here we have tales of giants and elves, painters and kings. Tales Told in Holland is enjoyable in itself, and also valuable for learning the character and history of Holland.
July 12, 2010
Folktales and popular histories of political figures and famous painters.
March 13, 2013
Found this 1926 copy in an antique store. What a find! This will help me write the family history of my Dutch ancestors.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews