GRANNY BUNNY’S HISTORY LETTERS

If you are wondering who is behind this little project, it’s my grandmother alter-ego, Granny Bunny. Part of my Granny mission is to actively work with my grand-daughters to counter the media influences which erode their sense of agency and self-worth. One of the things I’d like to offer is alternative role models who out-shine the TikTok crowd and their ilk.

While I was pondering this challenge, I received in the mail the increasingly rare paper letter from a friend. Everyone loves a letter, right? I know I do. This gave me an idea: I decided to try ghost-writing paper letters from great women in history to my grand-daughters. I call this humble little project History Letters (ya, not too catchy, so maybe I’ll revisit that). My first step was to design a logo. Ta da! 

Next, I needed a pre-text for sending the letters. I invented a woman named Dottie S. Hero. The pseudonym is a sloppy tip of the hat to the ancient Greek historian Herodotus (c. 484 – c. 425 BC), known as the “Father of History.” I composed a letter from Dottie explaining about History Letters. None of my grandchildren are of an age where they will believe the backstory that someone named Dot collected letters from famous dead women. They will know I am behind the ruse, but have learned to play along. That’s why it’s important to start lying to kids early, so they know make-believe from reality. I think the element of fantasy makes things much more fun and compelling. 

Then, I finally sat down to write a lovely letter from Miss Helen Keller talking about her life and her legacy. She also offered encouragement as my grand-daughters face their own challenges and build their own dreams. The letter contains some of her most memorable quotes. I also made up a thing I named the “Helen Keller Challenge”(4 fun activities). Finally, I made a Helen Keller bookmark which includes my favorite photo of her (below). 

I have no idea how this will be received. Some of my ideas are duds. But if this flies, I’ll keep writing letters until it fizzles. Ideas for famous women are welcomed.