drawing of the headless horseman holding a pumpkin and riding a horse through the woods

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

by Washington Irving

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Explore some of the various illustrated editions of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" available in the children's section of the library. You can also check out video or filmstrip adaptations. Compare the illustrations of Ichabod Crane in these versions with Washington Irving's textual descriptions. How detailed is Irving's depiction of Crane? Do the illustrations align with your own mental image of Crane's appearance?

Locate a copy of "The Castle of Indolence," a 1748 poem by Scottish poet James Thomson. Consider why Irving might have chosen to attach four lines from this poem to his own story. What similarities do these two works share?

Investigate the status of African Americans in New York at the end of the eighteenth century. Examine Irving's casual disrespect towards the "Negro" characters in his story. How might his contemporary audience have reacted to this portrayal, and how do modern readers perceive it?

Analyze the passages where Irving provides detailed descriptions of food. Using the modern food pyramid as a reference, assess the healthiness of the diet of wealthy Dutch farmers in the late 1800s.

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