Little Orphant Annie by James Whitcomb Riley

James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley
Listen to: "Little Orphant Annie."

Download: Audio (3.2 MB MP3, 3 min 18 sec)

Read by Lois Moore

Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley reminds all of us children to beware of goblins.

James Whitcomb Riley (1849–1916) was an American writer and poet, born on a farm in Indiana. Over half of the approximately one thousand poems that Riley published are written in Hoosier dialect, as is this one.

This poem was first published in the newspaper Indianapolis Journal, November 15, 1885, under the title, "The Elf Child." Riley wrote a regular society column for the newspaper beginning in 1879 and often included his poems. The original name of the orphan was "Little Orphant Allie," named for twelve-year-old orphan Mary Alice "Allie" Smith who was a hired girl for Riley’s family during the Civil War. A typesetter’s error changed the name, and later Riley changed the title of the poem.
Raggedy Ann Stories
Raggedy Ann Stories by Johnny Gruelle
Annie
Annie, 1982
Annie soundtrack
Annie Soundtrack

 

 

The story of "Annie" was adopted by other artists and writers after Riley's death. One "Annie" is the popular Raggedy Ann doll. The name is a combination of two of Riley's poems, "Little Orphant Annie" and "The Raggedy Man." Another “Annie” adaptation is the long-running nationally syndicated comic strip “Little Orphan Annie” created by comic strip artist Harold Gray in 1924. The comic strip was adapted to the Broadway musical Annie in 1977 and subsequently to the musical film Annie in 1982, the made-for-television Annie in 1999, and the contemporary film version of the same name to be released in 2014. The soundtrack of the Broadway musical is also available at NYPL.

The full text of this poem is available online at Google books if you search for the title “Little Orphant Annie.” It is also available at this website dedicated to Riley. Other well-known poems written by Riley in Hoosier dialect are “When the Frost is on the Punkin” and “The Raggedy Man.” Most of Riley's work is available online at HathiTrust through the NYPL catalog.

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Comments

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I got goosebumps!

Fabulous, Lois! My mother often read this poem to me when I was a child - in an accent that was much more Buffalo, NY than Hoosier. I enjoyed your interpretation very much. Am forwarding this blog to her - I'm sure she'll love it!

Great! Just what I was hoping for!

In preparation for Halloween and reading Scary Stories at Story Time for Grown-Ups in October, I wanted to post a scary audio. Yay, it worked. Thanks for letting me know how much you enjoyed it.

Fabulous reading Lois!

Fabulous reading Lois!

Thanks!

Glad you enjoyed it. Hope it doesn't scare Otto!

Fantastic!

Fantastic reading Ms. Moore. I love your sound effects, intonation, and stress of words. I love hearing you read, you have a soothing voice.

Thanks for taking time to listen!

Glad you liked it Kelly! I had fun doing it. My brother said I sounded just like the way our aunts in Indiana talked.

:-o!!!!!!

:-o!!!!!!