Rootabaga Stories facts for kids

The cover of the first Rootabaga Stories book from 1922. It was illustrated by Maud and Miska Petersham.

Rootabaga Stories is a fun and imaginative children's book written by Carl Sandburg. It was first published in 1922. The book is a collection of short stories that are all connected. These stories are often playful and a bit silly. They sometimes use made-up words and funny language. Carl Sandburg first created these tales for his own three daughters. Their names were Margaret, Janet, and Helga. He even gave them special nicknames: "Spink," "Skabootch," and "Swipes." You might even find these nicknames in some of his Rootabaga stories!

More Rootabaga Adventures

This picture is from the very first edition of Rootabaga Stories in 1922. It was drawn by Maud and Miska Petersham.

Rootabaga Stories was so popular that Carl Sandburg wrote more books! A second book called Rootabaga Pigeons came out in 1923. There was also a lesser-known book of stories called Potato Face. It was published in 1930 by Harcourt, Brace and Company. This book did not have any pictures inside. Many years later, in 1993, a collection of stories that had never been published before came out. This new book was called More Rootabagas and had new drawings by Paul O. Zelinsky.

Listening to the Stories

You can also listen to Carl Sandburg himself read some of his Rootabaga Stories!

• Carl Sandburg Reads His Stories: A special vinyl record was released in 1958. It was called Rootabaga Stories as told by Carl Sandburg. This record was put out by a company named Caedmon Audio. You could also get it on a cassette tape later on.
  • What's on the Record: This recording includes several famous stories. You can hear "How they broke away to go to the Rootabaga country." There's also "How they bring back the village of cream puffs." Other stories include "How the five rusty rats helped find a new village" and "How six pigeons came back to hatrack the horse." You can also listen to "How the three wild Babylonian baboons went away in the rain." Plus, "How six umbrellas took off their straw hats to show respect" and "How Googler and Gaggler, the two Christmas babies, came home."
• More Rootabaga Recordings: There were other recordings too! One was called How to tell Corn Fairies when You see ‘Em and Others of His Rootabaga Stories. Another was Rootabaga Stories Vol. 3.

Illustrated Editions

• Newer Picture Books: A newer edition of some of the stories was published in 2008. It was called 'Never Kick a Slipper at the Moon at Google Books. This version had new illustrations by Rosanne Litzinger.