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[Laura Richards] and her closest brother, Henry, avid readers and "constant playmates," spent much of their time "hunting elephants and rhinoceroses (which other persons did not see) in the garden" and having "wonderful adventures under the dining room table." (Estes 314)  Laura E. Richards grew up during the gilded age and World War II, yet she somehow has a fairytale childhood and this juxtaposition is reflected in her writings. She has a rich background of interaction with children and youth that allows her writing to be highly relatable.  This is highly evident in The Green Satin Gown because of the style of writing she establishes.  Laura Richards is widely known as the first prominent American writer of nonsense verse for children.  The tense war time environment allowed young adults to seek refuge within her writing.  In addition, her ideal childhood played a major role in formulating fairy-tale children’s stories.  In The Green Satin Gown the authors perspective of being surrounded by children her entire life, social and political environment juxtaposed with her easy style, and her ideal childhood create a short story that is truly relevant to young people.

Laura Richards was surrounded by children growing up, which gives her a unique perspective into the minds of young people.  This view allows her to write in a way that youth can understand and relate to on a deeper level.  Laura Richards was one of six children, and her father was an educator at a school for the blind (Estes 313).  She was surrounded by children and the imagination and purity of their minds that she fed off of in order to create truly unique and light stories.  These stories have the ability to transport young readers to another world of learning and creativity.

Non-sense verse is a very unique style of writing that has an extremely light tone that often rhymes and is targeted towards children.  This carefree verse stands in stark contrast to the social and political atmosphere of the world when she was writing these stories.  She wrote many of her stories during the challenging times of the gilded age and World War II.  These periods in history where extremely difficult and tense, yet her writing is the exact opposite.  In a way, her stories non-sense verse brought some much needed light into a time of war and economic hardship.

Laura Richards spent most of her childhood in "a delightful old house set in a lovely garden in a suburb of Boston that her mother named Green Peace” (Estes 314). This beautiful setting and even the name of her home sets a fairytale scene of her childhood that is translated into all of her works.  In addition, later in life she falls in love, goes on a honeymoon to Europe and eventually returns to Green Peace, her childhood home.  This sequence of events appear very dream-like and unlikely to happen, yet they are a part of her life.  This positivity and fantasy influences her works and allows them to transport a young reader in to a fantasy of their own.

In The Green Satin Gown the authors perspective of being surrounded by children her entire life, social and political environment juxtaposed with her easy style, and her ideal childhood create a short story that is truly relevant to young people.  In the early years of her life she is instantly surrounded by young people, including her five brothers and sisters.  Laura Richards writes during a time of political turmoil and tension, yet her stories are light and fantastic written in a non-sense verse style.  She also grows up in a beautiful house and spends long days playing with her brother, this fairytale childhood is conveyed through her stories.

Works Cited

Estes, Glenn E. American Writers for Children before 1900. Vol. 42. Detroit: Gale Research, 1985. Print.