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R.I.P. David R. Davis, 69, in May 2018 ("Texas Mother Goose," 2006)
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Lenona
Dec 15, 2023, 2:04:20 PM12/15/23
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He lived in Fort Worth, Texas. (Or Clinton, Mississippi.)
Not to be confused with the much older TV producer who died last year.
https://www.reporternews.com/story/life/columnists/glenn-dromgoole/2018/06/16/texas-reads-texas-childrens-author-david-davis-friend/681531002/
Glenn Dromgoole Special to the Reporter-News
June 16, 2018
I’m sad to report that David R. Davis, one of my favorite Texas children’s authors and a good friend, died last month. He wrote children’s books that adults probably enjoyed and understood more than the children they read them to.
Among his titles: “Texas Mother Goose,” “Ten Redneck Babies,” “Redneck Night Before Christmas,” “Librarian’s Night Before Christmas,” “Texas Zeke and the Longhorn,” and “The Twelve Days of Christmas — in Texas, That Is.” Most of his books are still in print.
Here are two of my favorites from “Texas Mother Goose,” which Carlton Stowers and I included in our selection of “101 Essential Texas Books” a few years ago.
Breakfast with Humpty Dumpty
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
All the ranch cowboys and all the vaqueros
Got a big breakfast of huevos rancheros.
Three Blind Mice
Three blind mice,
See how they run!
They ran for Senate up Austin way,
Since they’re blind it’s the place to stay;
They’re just like senators in every way,
Those three blind mice.
David had a wonderful sense of humor and often teamed up with fellow Fort Worth children’s author Jan Peck to put on delightful programs for schools, libraries and book festivals. They spoke in Abilene several times...
(snip)
https://cynthialeitichsmith.com/2018/09/in-memory-david-r-davis/
(long list of remembrances)
From Jan Peck:
“My favorite story David told in schools was about how he hated math and got in trouble when he was a kid:
When Grandpaw heard about me not studying my math, he didn’t get mad at me. he just took me fishing at Cibolo Creek in San Antonio.We got out in the lake and Grandpaw said, ‘Dave, what’s this I hear about you not studying your math?’
I said, ‘Aww, Grandpaw, I don’t like math! I just like to draw.’
‘Come over here, boy. I want you to feel my hands.’
I felt my grandpa’s hands, ‘They’re rough as a corn cob, ain’t they?’
‘Yes, sir,’ I said. ‘I’ve had to work like a rented mule my whole life because I didn’t get an education. I don’t want that for you, Dave. Listen, you study hard and learn all you can because a man that can read can teach himself anything else.’
And that’s what I did, I read everything. I read about drawing, and I taught myself to draw cartoons. I learned to write and got to do picture books and I learned my math.
Then David would turn to the kids and say, “You have this wonderful school with all these caring teachers and your good librarian. Use your library and read these books about things you’re interested in for at least five minutes a day. And by the time you grow up, you’ll be an expert in what you have learned.”
https://pelicanpub.com/products.php?cat=153
(brief resume, with photo)
https://olddimebox.blogspot.com/
(his blog)
https://www.google.com/search?q=%22david+r+davis%22+books&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiUkNmGkJKDAxUcEmIAHQYdCtYQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=%22david+r+davis%22+books&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQA1CBCFjUCGD5C2gAcAB4AIABhwGIAdYCkgEDMS4ymAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWfAAQE&sclient=img&ei=IKJ8ZZSABpykiLMPhrqosA0&bih=633&biw=1366&prmd=isbnvmhtz&rlz=1CAJMBU_enUS1088
(book covers)
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/author/david-davis/
(four Kirkus reviews)
https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/5447058.David_R_Davis
(reader reviews)
From "Contemporary Authors":
"I began my love affair with humor and cartooning in the first grade. That is the first time I remember getting the idea that I could do something that other kids did not do. I drew some dynamite comics about Flash Gordon. Unfortunately, they were on the page of schoolwork I was supposed to be doing at the time. I learned two things: one, I could draw; two, drawing did not always make you popular with the powers that be. That lesson has proved true all the rest of my life.
"I never gave cartooning and writing a serious shot until my late thirties. My wife came to me one day and told me that I would always wonder if I could have made it, if I didn't at least give it a try. I have been doing it ever since. It is a passion with me. It is almost beyond meaning whether the work is published or not. I will always do the stuff. Of course, the money makes it easier to get my three squares a day.
"The purpose of all my writing and drawing is to make people glad or mad. A Redneck Night before Christmas was a lark, written during the Christmas season late one night. I figured I could get away with it because I am from the South myself. Pelican Publishing rejected it the first time I sent it, but called me back after it was a hit in a magazine. I truly enjoy making folks laugh and see the good-natured humor in things. I reserve my more biting humor for politicians. After all, they deserve it.
"At present, I am working on a project that is close to my heart. Travels with Grandpaw is a comic-art-illustrated oral history based on the stories that my grandfather, Raymond Lacy, told me while I was growing up. They are about my relationship with him and about his family in East Texas in the early 1900s. They are funny, nostalgic, sad, and I hope, in some cases, moving. I guess you could say that this work is my love letter to Texas and my beloved grandfather.
"There are many writers and artists who have influenced me. Mark Twain has always been one of my patron saints. Another is Will Rogers. As far as cartooning goes, I revere Will Eisner and Herblock. I used to try to copy Herblock's political cartoons in the paper when I was a kid. Needless to say, I also loved Alex Raymond's rendition of Flash Gordon. One of my modern heroes is Art Spiegelman. Maus showed us all what can be done with comic art.
"My advice to aspiring writers and artists is: never give up. The world has too many lawyers and businessmen as it is. Don't listen to the common wisdom. If you were born to write or draw, you will be miserable doing anything else--no matter how much money you make. One more thing: `twenty lines a day, genius or not.' I can't remember where I read that, but the author had the key to writing. Just do it.
"None of my work has been made into a movie yet . . . but I keep hoping that Steven Spielberg will call soon."
WRITINGS:
A Redneck Night before Christmas, illustrated by James Rice, Pelican Publishing (Gretna, LA), 1997.
Trucker's Night before Christmas, illustrated by James Rice, Pelican, 1999.
Jazz Cats, illustrated by Chuck Galey, Pelican, 2001.
Nurse's Night Before Christmas, illustrated by James Rice, Pelican, 2003.
Ten Redneck Babies: A Southern Counting Book, illustrated by Sue Marshall Ward, Pelican, 2004.
Librarian's Night Before Christmas, illustrated by Jim Harris, Pelican, 2006.
Rock 'N' Roll Dogs, illustrated by Chuck Galey, Pelican, 2006.
Texas Mother Goose, illustrated by Sue Marshall Ward, Pelican, 2006.
Texas Zeke and the Longhorn, illustrated by Alan Fearl Stacy, Pelican, 2006.
Not to be confused with the much older TV producer who died last year.
https://www.reporternews.com/story/life/columnists/glenn-dromgoole/2018/06/16/texas-reads-texas-childrens-author-david-davis-friend/681531002/
Glenn Dromgoole Special to the Reporter-News
June 16, 2018
I’m sad to report that David R. Davis, one of my favorite Texas children’s authors and a good friend, died last month. He wrote children’s books that adults probably enjoyed and understood more than the children they read them to.
Among his titles: “Texas Mother Goose,” “Ten Redneck Babies,” “Redneck Night Before Christmas,” “Librarian’s Night Before Christmas,” “Texas Zeke and the Longhorn,” and “The Twelve Days of Christmas — in Texas, That Is.” Most of his books are still in print.
Here are two of my favorites from “Texas Mother Goose,” which Carlton Stowers and I included in our selection of “101 Essential Texas Books” a few years ago.
Breakfast with Humpty Dumpty
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
All the ranch cowboys and all the vaqueros
Got a big breakfast of huevos rancheros.
Three Blind Mice
Three blind mice,
See how they run!
They ran for Senate up Austin way,
Since they’re blind it’s the place to stay;
They’re just like senators in every way,
Those three blind mice.
David had a wonderful sense of humor and often teamed up with fellow Fort Worth children’s author Jan Peck to put on delightful programs for schools, libraries and book festivals. They spoke in Abilene several times...
(snip)
https://cynthialeitichsmith.com/2018/09/in-memory-david-r-davis/
(long list of remembrances)
From Jan Peck:
“My favorite story David told in schools was about how he hated math and got in trouble when he was a kid:
When Grandpaw heard about me not studying my math, he didn’t get mad at me. he just took me fishing at Cibolo Creek in San Antonio.We got out in the lake and Grandpaw said, ‘Dave, what’s this I hear about you not studying your math?’
I said, ‘Aww, Grandpaw, I don’t like math! I just like to draw.’
‘Come over here, boy. I want you to feel my hands.’
I felt my grandpa’s hands, ‘They’re rough as a corn cob, ain’t they?’
‘Yes, sir,’ I said. ‘I’ve had to work like a rented mule my whole life because I didn’t get an education. I don’t want that for you, Dave. Listen, you study hard and learn all you can because a man that can read can teach himself anything else.’
And that’s what I did, I read everything. I read about drawing, and I taught myself to draw cartoons. I learned to write and got to do picture books and I learned my math.
Then David would turn to the kids and say, “You have this wonderful school with all these caring teachers and your good librarian. Use your library and read these books about things you’re interested in for at least five minutes a day. And by the time you grow up, you’ll be an expert in what you have learned.”
https://pelicanpub.com/products.php?cat=153
(brief resume, with photo)
https://olddimebox.blogspot.com/
(his blog)
https://www.google.com/search?q=%22david+r+davis%22+books&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiUkNmGkJKDAxUcEmIAHQYdCtYQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=%22david+r+davis%22+books&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQA1CBCFjUCGD5C2gAcAB4AIABhwGIAdYCkgEDMS4ymAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWfAAQE&sclient=img&ei=IKJ8ZZSABpykiLMPhrqosA0&bih=633&biw=1366&prmd=isbnvmhtz&rlz=1CAJMBU_enUS1088
(book covers)
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/author/david-davis/
(four Kirkus reviews)
https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/5447058.David_R_Davis
(reader reviews)
From "Contemporary Authors":
"I began my love affair with humor and cartooning in the first grade. That is the first time I remember getting the idea that I could do something that other kids did not do. I drew some dynamite comics about Flash Gordon. Unfortunately, they were on the page of schoolwork I was supposed to be doing at the time. I learned two things: one, I could draw; two, drawing did not always make you popular with the powers that be. That lesson has proved true all the rest of my life.
"I never gave cartooning and writing a serious shot until my late thirties. My wife came to me one day and told me that I would always wonder if I could have made it, if I didn't at least give it a try. I have been doing it ever since. It is a passion with me. It is almost beyond meaning whether the work is published or not. I will always do the stuff. Of course, the money makes it easier to get my three squares a day.
"The purpose of all my writing and drawing is to make people glad or mad. A Redneck Night before Christmas was a lark, written during the Christmas season late one night. I figured I could get away with it because I am from the South myself. Pelican Publishing rejected it the first time I sent it, but called me back after it was a hit in a magazine. I truly enjoy making folks laugh and see the good-natured humor in things. I reserve my more biting humor for politicians. After all, they deserve it.
"At present, I am working on a project that is close to my heart. Travels with Grandpaw is a comic-art-illustrated oral history based on the stories that my grandfather, Raymond Lacy, told me while I was growing up. They are about my relationship with him and about his family in East Texas in the early 1900s. They are funny, nostalgic, sad, and I hope, in some cases, moving. I guess you could say that this work is my love letter to Texas and my beloved grandfather.
"There are many writers and artists who have influenced me. Mark Twain has always been one of my patron saints. Another is Will Rogers. As far as cartooning goes, I revere Will Eisner and Herblock. I used to try to copy Herblock's political cartoons in the paper when I was a kid. Needless to say, I also loved Alex Raymond's rendition of Flash Gordon. One of my modern heroes is Art Spiegelman. Maus showed us all what can be done with comic art.
"My advice to aspiring writers and artists is: never give up. The world has too many lawyers and businessmen as it is. Don't listen to the common wisdom. If you were born to write or draw, you will be miserable doing anything else--no matter how much money you make. One more thing: `twenty lines a day, genius or not.' I can't remember where I read that, but the author had the key to writing. Just do it.
"None of my work has been made into a movie yet . . . but I keep hoping that Steven Spielberg will call soon."
WRITINGS:
A Redneck Night before Christmas, illustrated by James Rice, Pelican Publishing (Gretna, LA), 1997.
Trucker's Night before Christmas, illustrated by James Rice, Pelican, 1999.
Jazz Cats, illustrated by Chuck Galey, Pelican, 2001.
Nurse's Night Before Christmas, illustrated by James Rice, Pelican, 2003.
Ten Redneck Babies: A Southern Counting Book, illustrated by Sue Marshall Ward, Pelican, 2004.
Librarian's Night Before Christmas, illustrated by Jim Harris, Pelican, 2006.
Rock 'N' Roll Dogs, illustrated by Chuck Galey, Pelican, 2006.
Texas Mother Goose, illustrated by Sue Marshall Ward, Pelican, 2006.
Texas Zeke and the Longhorn, illustrated by Alan Fearl Stacy, Pelican, 2006.
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