Hello and welcome to another week of Book Trivia Tuesday.  Last week we discussed Maurice Sendak's second career as a costume designer for plays & musicals.  

This week we are focusing on someone who was once known as America's most loved poet.  Perfect as we celebrate Poetry Month.

Where did the idea for the Little Orphan Annie comic strip originate?

Harold Gray, who created the Little Orphan Annie comic strip in 1924, used James Whitcomb Riley's poem, Little Orphant Annie, which Riley wrote in 1885, as the basis for the comic strip.  And as we know, the comic strip has led to movies, plays and more based around our beloved Little Orphan Annie. 

James Whitcomb Riley was born in Indiana in 1849 and after quitting school at age 20 & working a few odd jobs, his longest being a sign painter, took his poetry writing full time. He wrote poems & went on tour reciting them at local theaters throughout the country.  We can thank Henry Wadsworth Longfellow for encouraging Riley to quit his job as a sign painter to pursue writing poetry. 

And while he is no longer as popular as he once was, his legacy lives on in the Indiana Public Library for which he donated the land.  After his passing, friends of Riley established a memorial association which then created the James Whitcomb Riley Hospital for Children and a camp for children with disabilities named Camp Riley. 

He is also known as The Hoosier Poet & The Children's Poet. 

To purchase his works, visit the James Whitcomb Riley Collection.