Rowena Bastin Bennett

Rowena Bastin Bennett
Bennett, from a 1917 newspaper
Born
Rowena Beardsley Bastin

(1896-07-29)July 29, 1896
Merchantville, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedMarch 7, 1981(1981-03-07) (aged 84)
Cortland, New York, U.S.
OccupationsWriter, poet, playwright

Rowena Beardsley Bastin Bennett (July 29, 1896 – March 7, 1981) was an American writer of stories, plays, and poetry for children.

Early life and education

Bastin was born in Merchantville, New Jersey and raised in Highland Park, Illinois, the daughter of Edson Sewell Bastin and Abbie Beardsley Bastin. Her mother was a teacher.[1] Her father was a botany professor who died when she was a baby,[2][3] and her older brother was a geologist.[4] Her great-grandfather John Jerome Beardsley was a lawyer who corresponded with Abraham Lincoln.[5] She graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in English literature.[6][7]

Career

Bennett wrote poetry, plays, and stories for children. Agatha L. Shea in the Chicago Tribune reviewed Bennett's 1930 book Around the Toadstool Table as "real poetry for children, not something of vague, indefinable charm which adults love, and wish that children would."[8] Music educator Berenice Benson Bentley put some of Bennett's verse to music.[9] Bennett judged a poetry contest in 1948.[10] She adapted Puss in Boots for a Chicago theatrical production in 1954.[11][12]

Bennett's poetry was widely published and anthologized. Her poem "Come Out and Join the Caroling" was featured on the cover of the December 1925 issue of St. Nicholas.[13] Individual works by Bennett appeared in collections such as The Golden Flute (1932),[14] The Big Golden Book of Elves and Fairies (1951), Four-Star Plays for Boys (1957),[15] Piper, Pipe that Song Again (1965),[16] Poems Children Will Sit Still For (1969),[17] Poetry of Witches, Elves, and Goblins (1970), The Haunted House and Other Spooky Poems and Tales (1970), Poetry for Space Enthusiasts (1971), and Witching Time (1977).

Publications

  • Around a Toadstool Table: A Child’s Book of Verse (1930, illustrated by Lucille Webster Holling; a later edition was illustrated by Betty Fraser)[18][19]
  • Alphabet Book (1938)
  • Story-teller Poems (1948, illustrated by Donald E. Cooke)[20][21]
  • Lots of Stories (1946)[22]
  • Happy Hour Stories (1946, illustrated by Sally De Frehn)[23]
  • Puss in Boots: A Three-Act Dramatization of the Old Fairy Tale (1954)[11]
  • Beyond Fire (poetry collection)[12]
  • Runner for the King (illustrated by Fiore Mastri)[12]
  • Teddy's Sailboat (illustrated by Fiore Mastri)
  • Here Comes Christmas: A Book of Christmas Poems for Youngsters (1962)
  • Creative Plays and Programs for the Holidays (1966)[24]
  • The Day Is Dancing and Other Poems (1968, illustrated by Raney Bennett)[25]

Personal life and legacy

Bastin married Kenneth Chisholm Bennett in 1917.[26] They had three children. They moved to Galena, Illinois, in 1956.[5][27] Her husband died in 1959, and she died in 1981, at the age of 84, in Cortland, New York. Poems by Bennett were included in The Random House Book of Poetry for Children (1983), Sing a Song of Popcorn (1988),[28] Monster Soup and Other Spooky Poems (1992), and on a Baby Einstein product, Baby Shakespeare World of Poetry (2003).[29]

References

  1. ↑ "Abbie B. Bastin Library Dedicated". Waukegan News-Sun. 1935-12-13. p. 13. Retrieved 2026-07-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ Bastin, Edson Sewell (1890). Elements of Botany. G.P. Engelhard & Company.
  3. ↑ "Edson S. Bastin's Funeral; the Well-Known College of Pharmacy Professor Buried from his New Jersey Home". The Philadelphia Times. 1897-04-10. p. 3. Retrieved 2026-07-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ Bastin, Edson S. (1939-01-01). Contributions to a Knowledge of the Lead and Zinc Deposits of the Mississippi Valley Region. Geological Society of America. doi:10.1130/SPE24. ISBN 978-0-8137-2024-1. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  5. 1 2 Arpy, Jim (1964-02-09). "Memories of Lincoln in a Quaint Home". Quad-City Times. p. 53. Retrieved 2026-07-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Pacifist to Wed Soldier; Co-ed Who Led a Love Revolt on War Has Surrendered". The Kansas City Star. 1917-04-07. p. 12. Retrieved 2026-07-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Joan of Arc is Ready to Lead Army of Peace". The Ann Arbor News. 1917-04-04. p. 2. Retrieved 2026-07-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Shea, Agatha L. (1930-03-01). "Story of Earth Now, Told for Young Readers; With Now and Then a Funny Picture". Chicago Tribune. p. 14. Retrieved 2026-07-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Woodland Vignettes (advertisement)". The Musical Leader. 56 (7): 24. February 14, 1929.
  10. ↑ "Mrs. Rowena Bennett Will Judge Poetry". The Morning Star. 1948-09-19. p. 26. Retrieved 2026-07-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. 1 2 Rowena Bennett (1954-01-01). Puss In Boots: A Three-Act Dramatization of the Old Fairy Tale. Internet Archive. Samuel French Inc.
  12. 1 2 3 Nelson, Isadora (1961-09-17). "Playwright Shares Ovation with 'Puss in Boots' Cast". The Morning Star. p. 34. Retrieved 2026-07-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ Bennett, Rowena Bastin (December 1925). "Come Out and Join the Caroling". St. Nicholas. 53 (2): 115.
  14. ↑ Alice Hubbard and Adeline Babbitt (1932). The golden flute : An anthology of poetry for young children. Internet Archive.
  15. ↑ Burack, A. S. (Abraham Saul) (1957). Four-star plays for boys : a collection of fifteen royalty-free, one-act plays for all-boy casts. Internet Archive. Boston : Plays, Inc.
  16. ↑ Larrick, Nancy, ed. (1965). Piper, Pipe that Song Again. Internet Archive.
  17. ↑ Poems children will sit still for; a selection for the primary grades. Internet Archive. New York, Citation Press. 1969.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  18. ↑ Bennett, Rowena (1930). Around a toadstool table, a child's book of verse. The Library of Congress. Chicago, Thomas S. Rockwell company.
  19. ↑ Rowena Bennett (1967). Songs from Around a Toadstool Table. Internet Archive. Follett Pub. Co.
  20. ↑ Rowena Bennett (1948). Story Teller Poems.
  21. ↑ Hurlow, W. J. (1948-08-21). "On the Book Table". The Ottawa Citizen. p. 22. Retrieved 2026-07-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ↑ Bennett, Rowena (1946). Lots of stories. Internet Archive. Racine, Wis. : Whitman Pub. Co.
  23. ↑ Rowena Bennett; Sally de Frehn (1946). Happy Hour Stories. Internet Archive. Whitman Publishing Company.
  24. ↑ Bennett, Rowena (1966). Creative plays and programs for holidays; royalty-free plays, playlets, group readings, and poems for holiday and seasonal programs for boys and girls. Internet Archive. Boston, Plays, inc.
  25. ↑ Bennett, Rowena (1968). The day is dancing; and other poems. Internet Archive. Chicago, Follett Pub. Co.
  26. ↑ "Pacifist Girl a Bride; Guardsman in Khaki Won Rowena Bastin of Michigan University". The Kansas City Star. 1917-08-15. p. 14. Retrieved 2026-07-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ↑ Distler, Larissa. "Rowena Bastin Bennett". Galena Bicentennial. Retrieved 2026-07-08.
  28. ↑ Brown, Marcia; De Regniers, Beatrice Schenk; Beatrice Schenk De Regniers; Jan Carr; Maurice Sendak; Leo and Diane Dillon; Richard Egielski; Arnold Lobel; Marcia Brown (1988). Sing a song of popcorn : every child's book of poems. Internet Archive. New York, NY : Scholastic Inc. ISBN 978-0-590-40645-1.
  29. ↑ Julie Aigner-Calrk (2003-08-29), Baby Shakespeare 2003 VHS, retrieved 2026-07-08
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