Frances Carpenter facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Frances Carpenter
frontispiece, Tales of a Russian Grandmother.
Born	Frances Aretta Carpenter (1890-04-30)April 30, 1890 Washington, DC
Died	November 2, 1972(1972-11-02) (aged 82) Washington, DC
Resting place	Oak Hill Cemetery, Washington, DC
Nationality	USA
Occupation	Folklorist, Author, Photographer
Known for	Extensive collection of folklore material; Ethnographic Photography; Children's books; illustrating her father's works on travel and world geography
Board member of	Board of Trustees, Smith College; Vice President, International Society of Woman Geographers; member of the Sulgrave Club, the Cosmos Club, the Chevy Chase Club and the Cosmopolitan Club
Spouse(s)	William Chapin Huntington
Children	Joanna Huntington Noel and Edith Chapin Huntington Williams
Parent(s)	Frank G. Carpenter, Joanna Condict.

Frances Aretta Carpenter (born April 30, 1890 – died November 2, 1972) was an American expert in folk stories, an author, and a photographer. She traveled to many countries on five different continents. In these places, she collected and published many traditional folk tales.

Early Life and Education

Frances Carpenter was born in Washington, D.C. in 1890. Her father, Frank G. Carpenter, was a famous traveler and writer. Her brother was John Carpenter.

When Frances was a teenager, her father took her on his travels. She helped him as his secretary and took photos. This was quite unusual for girls at that time. She took a break from traveling to go to college in 1908. In 1912, she graduated from Smith College. After college, she went back to working as her father's assistant.

Travels, Photography, and Writing

From a young age, Frances took many photos of different cultures for her father's books. They traveled all over the world together. She worked closely with her father until he passed away in 1924.

Tales of a Russian Grandmother cover

In 1930, Frances published her first book of folk tales, called Tales of a Basque Grandmother. This book was the start of her popular "Grandmother" series. In these books, she used a wise grandmother character to share stories and details about a country's culture. Her book Tales of a Russian Grandmother (1933) became very famous. It featured classic drawings by Ivan Bilibin.

Frances continued her travels and writing throughout her life. In the early 1960s, she visited Canada and the Mediterranean. In 1964, she drove across Africa. She visited Japan and Korea in 1966. Her last major collection of folk stories was People from the Sky; Ainu Tales from Northern Japan. This book shared the stories of the Ainu people, whose culture was disappearing. It was published in 1972.

Frances also helped edit her father's work. She put together Carp's Washington, a collection of his writings about life in Washington, D.C. This book came out in 1960 and became a bestseller.

Frances Carpenter was a member of the Royal Geographical Society. She was also the president of the Smith College Alumnae Association. She served on the college's Board of Trustees from 1936 to 1944. She was also the vice president of the International Society of Woman Geographers.

Personal Life

On April 6, 1920, Frances Carpenter married William Chapin Huntington. He was a diplomat, which meant he worked for the United States government in other countries. They continued to travel the world together. William worked at the Embassy of the United States, Paris and for the United States Foreign Service until 1961.

Frances and William had two daughters: Joanna Huntington Noel and Edith Chapin Huntington Williams. Even though Frances took her husband's last name, she kept publishing her books under her birth name, Frances Carpenter.

Death and Legacy

Frances Carpenter passed away on November 2, 1972. She is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

Her writings and papers are kept at the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College. The Library of Congress has a large collection of her and her father's photos. There are about 7,000 negatives and 16,800 photographs. These pictures show the different cultures and places they visited.

Works

With Frank G. Carpenter

• Carpenter, Frank, & Carpenter, Frances. The Food We Eat: Journey Club Travels. New York: American Book Co., 1925.
• Carpenter, Frank, & Carpenter, Frances. The Clothes We Wear: Journey Club Travels. New York: American Book Co., 1926.
• Carpenter, Frank, & Carpenter, Frances. The Houses We Live In: Journey Club Travels. New York: American Book Co., 1928.

Grandmother Tales Collections

• Carpenter, Frances. Tales of a Basque Grandmother, ill. Pedro Garmendia. New York: Junior Literary guild/Lippincott, 1930.
• Carpenter, Frances. Tales of a Russian Grandmother. NY: Doubleday, Doran & Co. Inc, 1933.
• Carpenter, Frances. Tales of a Chinese Grandmother, ill. Malthe Hasselriis. NY: Doubleday, Doran & Co. Inc, 1937.
• Carpenter, Frances. Tales of a Swiss Grandmother, ill. E. Bieler. Doubleday, Doran & Co. Inc, New York, 1940.
• Carpenter, Frances. Tales of a Korean Grandmother: 32 Traditional Tales from Korea. New York: Doubleday, Doran & Co. Inc, 1947.

International Folklore Anthologies

• Carpenter, Frances. Wonder Tales of Horses & Heroes, ill. William D. Hayes. Garden City: New York: Doubleday & Co., Inc., 1952.
• Carpenter, Frances. Wonder Tales of Dogs and Cats, ill. Ezra Jack Keats. Garden City: New York: Doubleday & Co., Inc., 1955.
• Carpenter, Frances. Wonder Tales of Seas & Ships, ill. Peter Spier. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1959.
• Carpenter, Frances. The Elephant’s Bathtub: Wonder Tales From The Far East. ill. Hans Guggenheim. Garden City: New York: Doubleday & Co. Inc., 1962.
• Carpenter, Frances. African Wonder Tales. ill. Joseph Escourido. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1963.
• Carpenter, Frances. The Mouse Palace. ill. Adrienne Adams. McGraw-Hill Book Co. 1964.
• Carpenter, Frances. South American Wonder Tales. ill. Ralph Creasman. Chicago: Follett Publishing (1969).
• Carpenter, Frances. People from the Sky; Ainu Tales from Northern Japan. ill. Betty Fraser. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1972.

Additional Ethnographic Works

• Carpenter, Frances. Ourselves & Our City: Journey Club Travels. New York: American Book Co., 1928.
• Carpenter, Frances. The Ways We Travel: Journey Club Travels. New York: American Book Co., 1929.
• Carpenter, Frances. Our Little Friends of Eskimo Land: Papik & Natsek, ill. Curtiss Sprague. New York: American Book Co., 1931.
• Carpenter, Frances. Our Little Friends of the Arabian Desert: Adi & Hamda, ill. Curtiss Sprague. New York: American Book Co., 1934.
• Carpenter, Frances, Our Little Friends of the Netherlands: Dirk & Dientje. New York: American Book Co., 1935.
• Carpenter, Frances, Our Little Friends of Norway: Ola & Marit. New York: American Book Co., 1936.
• Carpenter, Frances, Our Little Friends of China: Ah Hu and Ying Hwa, ill. Curtiss Sprague. New York: American Book Co., 1937.
• Carpenter, Frances. Our Little Neighbors at Work & Play: Here, There, Then & Now. New York: American Book Co., 1939.
• Carpenter, Frances. Our Little Friends of Switzerland: Hansli & Heidi, ill. Curtiss Sprague. New York: American Book Co., 1941.
• Carpenter, Frances. Our South American Neighbors. New York: American Book Co., 1942.
• Carpenter, Frances. The Pacific: Its Lands & Peoples. New York: American Book Co., 1944.
• Carpenter, Frances. Our Neighbors Near & Far. New York: American Book Co., 1946.
• Carpenter, Frances. Canada & Her Northern Neighbors, New York: American Book Co., 1946.
• Carpenter, Frances. Children of Our World. New York: American Book Co., 1949.
• Carpenter, Frances. Caribbean Lands: Mexico, Central America, & the West Indies. New York: American Book Co., 1950.
• Carpenter, Frances. Children of Our World. New York: American Book Co., 1956.
• Carpenter, Frances. Our Homes & Our Neighbors. New York: American Book Co., 1956.
• Carpenter, Frances. Pocahontas & Her World, ill. Langdon Hihn. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 1957.
• Carpenter, Frances, in Best in Children's Books, Volume 24. Nelson Doubleday, 1959.
• Carpenter, Frances. The Story of East Africa. Wichita, Kan.: McCormick-Mathers Pub. Co., 1967.
• Carpenter, Frances. The Story of Korea. Cincinnati: McCormick-Mathers Pub. Co., 1969.
• Carpenter, Frances. Spooks and Scoundrels. SRA Pilot Library IIb Book 14. 1976.

Memoir

• ed. Frances Carpenter. Carp's Washington. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1960.
• Carpenter, Frances. Holiday in Washington. ill. George Fulton. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 1966.

Reprints

• Carpenter, Frances. Tales of a Korean Grandmother: 32 Traditional Tales from Korea. Clarendon: Tuttle Publishing (1989).
• Carpenter, Frances. Tales of a Chinese Grandmother: 30 Traditional Tales from China. Clarendon: Tuttle Publishing (2001).