Procure The Poppy Lady: Moina Belle Michael And Her Tribute To Veterans Scripted By Barbara Elizabeth Walsh Copy

biography tells the story of the woman who founded the tradition of wearing poppies to honor World War I's fallen soldiers and eventually all veterans in connection with Memorial Day.
I had no idea one woman was the Poppy Lady capping off a lifetime of service especially to soldiers,

Good information and beautifully illustrated,
Read while planningth Anniversary of Armistice Day library program for kids, What a BEAUTIFUL book!!! I learned a number of new things, The illustrations are wonderful. There are a number of other books I would like to read about this topic, The one I most want to read and possibly own, "The Miracle Flower", by Moina Belle Michael herself, Yet the cost for it being overis a little out of my reach, Moina Belle Michael is the woman behind wearing poppies to honor the war dead, I am concerned about the prologue as it glosses over the civil war and tries to create sympathy for the plantation owners, Great history book. An absolutely beautiful story, I think this book should be an annual read to every child on Veterans Day, What a great, forgotten story! Not only is it true, it inspires the reader to support our military and defenders we have now! Also, I think much more highly of poppies than I did before.
Walsh, Barbara E, and Layne Johnson, The Poppy Lady: Moina Belle Michael and Her Tribute to Veterans, Honesdale, Pennsylvania: Calkins Creek,. Print.

The story of Moina Belle Michael is unfamiliar to many that have grown up in the past twenty or thirty years, To older Americans, her name may have slipped, but the memory of veterans with poppies is as familiar as an oftenrecited poem about Flanders Fields.
For me, those memories date back to my neighbor, Mr, Yeager and his everpresent cigar, He was a veteran of WWI and I remember seeing him outside Kresges Dime Store giving away poppies and encouraging everyone to remember the veterans.
He was my poppy guy, Today, my father is in a veterans home, but is not engaged in making poppies, he writes feature stories for their inhouse newsletter,

For those with no background knowledge, The Poppy Lady provides a perfect opportunity to gain both perspective and appreciation, The story crafted by Walsh is filled with inspiration to future generations with her oft cited “But she wanted to do more, ” The oils by Layne Johnson provide a powerful backdrop for war and its aftermath, Together, the words and pictures tell of a time, place, and way of life that are all to unfamiliar to Americans, even when war is ongoing.
The story provides opportunity to reflect: upon ones past, future, and all the space in between where we too can do more,

Schools and public libraries will want to add The Poppy Lady to their collections, It is more than a childs picture book with a civics lesson, Perhaps an ideal way to do more is to make a gift of this book to a veterans organization or home, Creative classroom teachers will see plenty of opportunities to continue the traditions and spread the word of The Poppy Lady,
The story of a dedicated woman who did all she could to be supportive of our troops in WW, Loved learning about one persons plan to brighten a soldiers day became a national symbol, What a beautiful book to honor those who have served our country, An earnest tribute to the dedication of Moina Belle Michael, a schoolteacher from Georgia who was inspired by a poem to launch a national campaign establishing the red poppy as the symbol of sacrifice and courage of Americas soldiers.


While searching through her fathers WWII memorabilia, ten year old Barbara Elizabeth Walsh found a postcard addressed to her mother with a red poppy pinned to one corner.
Her father explained who “The Poppy Lady” was and how kind she had been to him and his soldier buddies during the war, Decades later, Barbara was inspired to research Moiras story and write this beautiful, moving book for children, Layne Johnsons lightbathed illustrations are soft and luminous,

As a child, I loved buying and wearing red poppies on Memorial Day and Veterans Day, It was as much a part of our family tradition as attending the town parade and planting geraniums at the cemetery, Sadly, it has become far less common to find poppies being sold, and I have often resorted to asking local friends on Facebook to let me know where I can buy them! I am grateful for Barbaras lovely book telling Moinas story and ensuring

that the red poppy tribute will endure.


Bank Street College of Education for Best Books, TriState Young Adult Book Committee for Books of Note, Eureka! Silver Award California Reading Association.


A portion of the books proceeds will support the National Military Family Associations Operation Purple, which benefits children of the U, S. military.

Writing was to dry And I don't think it would make it as read aloud, With the centennial of the World War I armistice approaching on Novemberth,, I decided I wanted to feature books about 'The Great War' or World War II each Monday of this month for my Marvelous MiddleGrade Monday posts.


A couple of months ago I began searching the local library's online catalog for appropriate titles, and I was thrilled to find this gem in the collection!

Moina Belle Michael was raised in the small community of Good Hope, Georgia, after the Civil War.
Families had lost everything in 'The Surrender' and could not afford to hire a teacher for the local children, Moina's mother was determined to help her daughter become educated so Moina could teach her younger siblings and the neighbor's children,

After three years of boarding school fifteenyear old Moina cleaned out an abandoned slaves' cabin on the plantation and opened a school for her siblings and a few local children.


In the summer of, Miss Michael had been traveling in Europe when World War I broke out, When the Germans sank an American ship in March,, she prayed the United States would not enter the war,

At this time, she was a teacher and dorm mother at the University of Georgia's Normal School, She dreaded the U. S. Congress's vote on whether the nation would enter the war, When it was announced that the United States was joining in the war in Europe, Moina vowed to do whatever she could to help the soldiers.
She wanted them to be remembered for their service and sacrifice,

She knitted sock and rolled bandages with other local women, She delivered treats to the nearby military camp and invited soldiers to share a meal at her home,

In the autumn of, she completed the training presented by the YMCA and held at Columbia University in New York City so she could become a canteen worker.
She applied to go overseas but was denied due to the fact that she was too old, She was fortynine years old at the time,

She wanted to help out somehow, She reflected upon what she could do to help the war effort, She decided it would be worthwhile to help the soldiers before they left for their assignments overseas, so she opened a reading/meeting room in the basement of a hall on Columbia's campus.


Men and women in the military along with university secretaries visited the room each day to read, sing, and visit with others, Miss Michael used her own meager salary to buy flowers to brighten up the dreary basement, She felt called to do more to ease the stress of these soldiers who were serving or had served their country in war,

By chance, Moina read a poem in a magazine written by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae who was a Canadian physician, The poem, 'In Flanders Fields', was a tribute to the soldiers who perished on the battlefields of Flanders, In the poem, the battlefield was covered with white crosses and bright red poppies,

Then and there Moina Belle Michael vowed to buy red poppies to give out to others and to always wear a red poppy herself in honor of the poppies of Flanders Fields.


She went out shopping in New York City to purchase red poppies, She found one large and twentyfour small silk poppies in a single department store, She pinned one poppy to her collar and hurried back to the basement room, She placed the large poppy in a vase and handed out the twentythree smaller ones to the men and women leaving for France,

It is striking that two days after she purchased the twentyfive poppies, World War I ended, She was not ready to rest, She saw how difficult it was for the returning troops to find jobs and get the medical care they needed,

She decided to help out by trying to get various organizations to honor and support the veterans by adopting the Flanders Fields Memorial Poppy.
People around the world began to donate money to the funds to help veterans, war widows, and orphans,

Many unemployed and disabled veterans made and distributed poppies, Moina was named the 'Poppy Lady',

Moina Belle Michael died at the age of seventyfour and was honored with a military funeral in her honor in Athens, Georgia,

The 'Author's Note' tells the touching story of how her own father had met Miss Michael when he was a soldier in World War II.
The soldier, Pat, told his author daughter about how nice Miss Michael was, This prompted Barbara Elizabeth Walsh to research and write this compelling biography,

The 'Legacy' section tells how the Flanders Poppy is still recognized as a symbol of remembrance, These poppies are still distributed by several veterans groups in America,

A 'Selected Biography' is included,

The original paintings by artist Layne Johnson are beautiful and contribute greatly to this amazing woman's biography,

If you would like to read the touching poem which began this red poppy tradition, you will find the text of 'In Flanders Fields' and a brief biography of the poet who wrote it at the following link:
'In Flanders Fields' Poem

This biography is highly recommended to parents/grandparents, librarians, teachers, and fans of American history/World War I history/military history/twentieth century history.
It is inspiring and engaging and will show a truelife example of a woman who dedicated her life to serving others,

I borrowed this book from the local public library,


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