Raggedy Ann

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Raggedy Ann meets Raggedy Andy for the first time; illustrated by Johnny Gruelle
Raggedy Ann meets Raggedy Andy for the first time; illustrated by Johnny Gruelle

Raggedy Ann is a fictional character created by writer Johnny Gruelle (1880–1938) in a series of books he wrote and illustrated for young children. Raggedy Ann is a blue and white clad rag doll with red yarn for hair. The character was created in 1915 as a doll, and was introduced to the public in the 1918 book Raggedy Ann Stories. A doll was also marketed along with the book to great success. A sequel, Raggedy Andy Stories (1920) introduced the character of her old friend and playmate, Raggedy Andy, dressed in sailor suit and hat.

Contents

[edit] History

Gruelle created Raggedy Ann for his daughter, Marcella, when she brought him an old hand-made rag doll and he drew a face on it. From his bookshelf, he pulled a book of poems by James Whitcomb Riley, and combined the names of two poems, "The Raggedy Man" and "Little Orphan Annie." He said, "Why don’t we call her Raggedy Ann?" [1]

Marcella died at age 13 after being vaccinated at school for smallpox without her parents' consent. Authorities blamed a heart defect, but her parents blamed the vaccination. Gruelle became an opponent of vaccination, and the Raggedy Ann doll was used as a symbol by the anti-vaccination movement. [2]

Many subsequent books were published and the characters made their way into other media, including:

While Simon & Schuster and Hasbro claim to own trademarks to the Raggedy Ann and/or Raggedy Ann and Andy names, the original 1915 doll design and 1918 and 1920 books are in the public domain, their copyright having expired. Books and films published after 1950 are protected by copyright.

Raggedy Ann was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2002. Raggedy Andy joined her in 2007.

[edit] Books

It appears that many books were released and credited to Johnny Gruelle after his death, regardless of who actually wrote and illustrated them.

  • Raggedy Ann Stories (1918) written and illustrated by Johnny Gruelle
  • Raggedy Andy Stories (1920) written and illustrated by Johnny Gruelle
  • Raggedy Ann and Andy and the Camel with the Wrinkled Knees (1924) by Johnny Gruelle
  • Raggedy Andy's Number Book (1924) written and illustrated by Johnny Gruelle
  • Raggedy Ann's Wishing Pebble (1925) by Johnny Gruelle
  • Raggedy Ann's Alphabet Book (1925) by Johnny Gruelle
  • Beloved Belindy (1926) written and illustrated by Johnny Gruelle
  • The Paper Dragon: A Raggedy Ann Adventure (1926) by Johnny Gruelle
  • Wooden Willie (1927) written and illustrated by Johnny Gruelle
  • Raggedy Ann's Fairy Stories (1928) written and illustrated by Johnny Gruelle
  • Raggedy Ann's Magical Wishes (1928) written and illustrated by Johnny Gruelle
  • Marcella: A Raggedy Ann Story (1929) by Johnny Gruelle
  • Raggedy Ann in the Deep Deep Woods (1930) written and illustrated by Johnny Gruelle
  • Raggedy Ann's Sunny Songs (1930) words and illustrations by Johnny Gruelle, music by Will Woodin
  • Raggedy Ann in Cookie Land (1931) by Johnny Gruelle
  • Raggedy Ann's Lucky Pennies (1932) by Johnny Gruelle
  • Raggedy Ann in the Golden Meadow (1935) by Johnny Gruelle
  • Raggedy Ann and the Left-Handed Safety Pin (1935)
  • Raggedy Ann's Joyful Songs (1937) words and illustrations by Johnny Gruelle, music by Chas. Miller
  • Raggedy Ann in the Magic Book (1939) written by Johnny Gruelle, illustrated by Worth Gruelle
  • Raggedy Ann and the Laughing Brook (1940) by Johnny Gruelle
  • Raggedy Ann and the Golden Butterfly (1940) by Johnny Gruelle
  • Raggedy Ann and the Hoppy Toad (1940)
  • Raggedy Ann Helps Grandpa Hoppergrass (1940) by Johnny Gruelle
  • Raggedy Ann Goes Sailing (1941)
  • Raggedy Ann and Andy and the Nice Fat Policeman (1942) by Johnny Gruelle
  • Raggedy Ann and Betsy Bonnet String (1943) by Johnny Gruelle
  • Raggedy Ann and Andy (1944)
  • Raggedy Ann in the Snow White Castle (1946)
  • Raggedy Ann's Adventures (1947)
  • Raggedy Ann and the Slippery Slide (1947)
  • Ragged Ann's Mystery (1947)
  • Raggedy Ann and Marcella's First Day At School (1952)
  • Raggedy Ann's Merriest Christmas (1952) by Johnny Gruelle
  • Raggedy Andy's Surprise (1953)
  • Raggedy Ann's Tea Party (1954)
  • Raggedy Ann's Secret (1959)
  • Raggedy Ann and the Golden Ring (1961)
  • Raggedy Ann and the Hobby Horse (1961) by Johnny Gruelle
  • Raggedy Ann and the Happy Meadow (1961)
  • Raggedy Ann and the Wonderful Witch (1961)
  • Raggedy Ann and the Tagalong Present (1971)
  • Raggedy Andy's Treasure Hunt (1973)
  • Raggedy Ann's Cooking School (1974)
  • Raggedy Granny Stories (1977) by Doris Thorner Salzberg

[edit] Raggedy Ann and Andy in popular culture

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

Raggedy Ann is sometimes used by national sororities as a mascot: the current incarnation of Delta Gamma's official mascot, the Hannah Doll, is a Raggedy Ann doll, and Ann also is one of the unofficial mascots of the Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority.[citation needed]

Gruelle's home town, Arcola, Illinois, is home to the annual Raggedy Ann & Andy Festival, as well as the Raggedy Ann and Andy Museum.[3]

Different media around the world also have paid tribute to the doll characters. The Japanese video game company Hudson Entertainment created a character based on Raggedy Ann in their Xbox Live Bomberman game called Raggedy Bomb. In an episode of South Park, Stan dressed up as Raggedy Andy for Halloween. His girlfriend was supposed to dress up as Ann, but came as Chewbacca instead. Stan angrily refuses to trick-or-treat with her for making him look so stupid, as he was stuck wearing a Raggedy Andy costume all day as an act of revenge ("Pinkeye"). In another episode of South Park, Raggedy Ann is seen trying to a revive a dead Andy who has been killed by a terrorist explosion ("Imaginationland").[citation needed]

In an episode of My Life as a Teenage Robot, titled "The Raggedy Android", a poorly done human suit for Jenny is made that looks very similar in ways to Raggedy Ann; as well as being an obvious reference to her. There was also a sequel to this episode titled "The Return of the Raggedy Android", though the suit has been improved visually in ways, that looks a bit like a human sized and proportioned Raggedy Ann doll when worn.

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Raggedy Ann & Andy Museum
  2. ^ Preventive Medicine, New York Times Book Review, Feb. 4, 2006
  3. ^ Raggedy Ann & Andy Museum, Arcola, Illinois.

[edit] External links

[edit] IMDb