Good Bones is a collection of short fiction (most stories only a few pages long) by Canadian author Margaret Atwood . The collection was originally published in 1992.
22-534: The collection explores the sinister side of classical myths, traditional Anglo-European folklore and literary archetypes. Through the stories, Atwood gives voice to the "bad girls": the stupid, ugly or wicked stepmothers and stepsisters who feature as antagonists in the archetypes Atwood explores. For example, the Little Red Hen , the stepsisters from 'Cinderella', and Gertrude from William Shakespeare 's Hamlet get their say. Ultimately, these stories explore
44-671: A character named Kate. In 1934, she married William ("Bud") Reynolds, a carpenter and labor organizer . In 1935, their only child was born, Nancy Reynolds Schimmel, a songwriter and performer. Reynolds lived on Parker Street in Berkeley . Reynolds was a Unitarian Universalist . In 1977, Reynolds became an associate of the Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press (WIFP), an American non-profit publishing organization. The organization works to increase communication between women and connect
66-486: A collection of short stories published in the 1990s is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Little Red Hen The Little Red Hen is an American fable first collected by Mary Mapes Dodge in St. Nicholas Magazine in 1874. The story is meant to teach children the importance of hard work and personal initiative . A hen living on a farm finds some wheat and decides to make bread with it. She asks
88-428: A top-5 UK single (December 1966) recorded by The Seekers . In 1962, Reynolds composed her most famous song, " Little Boxes ", which was made famous by her friend Pete Seeger the following year. "Little Boxes" was inspired visually by the houses of Daly City, California . Nancy Reynolds Schimmel, Reynolds' daughter, explained: My mother and father were driving South from San Francisco through Daly City when my mom got
110-507: The University of California, Berkeley , where she remarked that she got "all the degrees possible". She earned a doctorate there, finishing her dissertation in 1938. Reynolds worked as a milliner and "hated it". She also worked as a telephone operator and a social worker . Though she played violin in a dance band in her twenties, Reynolds began her songwriting career later in life. Reynolds claims that as soon as folk music came to
132-404: The 1880s incorporated appealing illustrations in order to hold the reader's attention as interest became more relevant to reading lessons. Repetitive vocabulary is still used in adaptations in order to encourage learning for very early readers. A 2006 picture book adaptation by Jerry Pinkney was well-received for similar reasons. An animated adaptation of the story titled The Wise Little Hen
154-512: The Rain " (1962), recorded by The Searchers , The Seekers , Marianne Faithfull , Melanie Safka and Joan Baez (about nuclear fallout ), "It Isn't Nice" (1964) (a civil rights anthem), " Turn Around " (1959) (about children growing up, later sung by Harry Belafonte ), and "There's a Bottom Below" (about depression). Reynolds was also a noted composer of children's songs, including "Love Is Something (Magic Penny)" and " Morningtown Ride " (1957),
176-475: The bread herself. In some books, the Little Red Hen (though she did eat the bread all by herself) decides to give her friends another chance. (That is, in the end.) The Little Red Hen says that next time she will be happy to make enough bread for herself, her chicks, and all her farmyard animal friends if they help her. (Her friends ask, "If we help you?".) The little red hen says, "Yes. If you help me do
198-453: The danger of life (which inevitably ends in death) and the power of telling one's own story. The book was republished in 1994, in combination with another Atwood work called Murder in the Dark , as part of the expanded collection Good Bones and Simple Murders . Garvie, Maureen (September 19, 1992), "The Little Red Hen's Tale", The Whig-Standard , pg. 1. This article about
220-426: The ducks. The tale is based on a story Dodge's mother often told her. Originally the other animals besides the hen consist of a rat, a cat, a dog, a duck, and a pig. Later adaptations often reduce the number of other animals to three. The story was likely intended as a literature primer for young readers, but departed from highly moralistic, often religious stories written for the same purpose. Adaptations throughout
242-400: The forefront, she knew it was for her. She was in her late forties when she met Earl Robinson , Pete Seeger , and other folk singers and songwriters. She returned to school at UC Berkeley, where she studied music theory . Reynolds went on to write several popular songs, including " Little Boxes " (1962), recorded by Seeger, Chilean singer Víctor Jara , and others, " What Have They Done to
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#1732798808900264-509: The hen's incentive to work and causing poverty to befall the farm. Another version satirizes capitalism by depicting the hen promising the animals slices of bread if they make it, but keeping the largest slice for herself despite not doing any work. A version by Malvina Reynolds adapts the story into a pro-work socialist anthem as the hen retains the fruits of her labor, saying "And that's why they called her Red". In some versions it's her children who help her and after she refuses to share with
286-667: The idea for the song. She asked my dad to take the wheel, and she wrote it on the way to the gathering in La Honda where she was going to sing for the Friends Committee on Legislation . When Time Magazine (I think, maybe Newsweek ) wanted a photo of her pointing to the very place, she couldn't find those houses because so many more had been built around them that the hillsides were totally covered. In her later years, Reynolds contributed songs and material to PBS' Sesame Street , on which she made occasional appearances as
308-492: The other animals they promise to help from now on. An episode of the animated series Super Why! features a revision of the story. In the episode, the Super Readers change the ending so that the hen tells the animals why she needs their help and they listen, enabling them to help her finish the cornbread so that she shares it with them. Malvina Reynolds Malvina Reynolds (August 23, 1900 – March 17, 1978)
330-423: The other farmyard animals to help her plant it, but they refuse. The hen then harvests and mills the wheat into flour before baking it into bread; at each stage she again asks the animals for help, but they still refuse. Finally, with her task complete, the hen asks who will help her eat the bread. This time the animals eagerly accept, but the hen refuses, stating that no one helped her with her work and decides to eat
352-534: The public with forms of women-based medicine. Shortly before her husband's death in September 1972, she was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis . However, she refused to let the disease keep her from her usual performance schedule, until she fell ill in the afternoon of March 15, 1978, after a photo shoot in Berkeley. Rushed to hospital, she died during the early morning hours of March 17, 1978. Reynolds' career
374-485: The song "Little Boxes" at the end of the episode aptly titled "Little Boxes". In 2020, most of the second verse of her one-minute ditty "Place to Be," as recorded by her, was used as the sound for a Zillow commercial. Two of her songs are included on The Specials ' album Protest Songs 1924–2012 (2021). Four collections of Reynolds' music are available on compact disc. The Smithsonian Folkways label released Another County Heard From ( Folkways 02524) and Ear to
396-411: The work". The friends happily promise to help her next time. From then on, her farmyard animal friends become eager helpers. In some variations, the hen has chicks who help her out with the entire process, and the hen and her brood then proceed to eat the bread as a family. They cut some sandwiches to have during the day, then have a bit of toast the following morning before feeding the stale leftovers to
418-463: Was an American folk / blues singer-songwriter and political activist, best known for her songwriting, particularly the songs " Little Boxes ", " What Have They Done to the Rain " and " Morningtown Ride ". Malvina Milder was born on August 23, 1900 on Folsom Street in San Francisco , California , United States. Her parents were David and Abagail Milder, Jewish immigrants. Her mother
440-717: Was born in Russia and her father was born in Hungary . They became socialists when Reynolds "was a little girl", to which she attributes her lifetime proximity to the socialist movement in the United States . They opposed involvement in World War I . As a child, she took violin lessons and "fooled around" with pianos, writing music occasionally. Reynolds earned her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in English from
462-422: Was produced by Walt Disney Productions in 1934. It is notable for the first appearance of Donald Duck as one of the lazy animals who refuses to help the hen. Politically themed revisions of the story include a conservative version based on a 1976 monologue from Ronald Reagan . This version features a farmer who claims that the hen is being unfair by refusing to share the bread and forcing her to do so, removing
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#1732798808900484-465: Was subject to a biographical short film, Love It Like a Fool , released during her lifetime in 1977 and directed by Susan Wengraf. In 1979, the Supersisters trading card set was produced and distributed. One of the cards featured Reynolds's name and picture. Reynolds' song "Little Boxes" was used as the theme for Showtime 's TV series Weeds (2005–2012). The TV show Big Sky featured
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