Today's "ASOTV" literary showcase is somewhat different in that we focus on
the original story rather than a character adapted for television from that
story. This is because the topic has had a long tradition of being read to the
audience from the Trueniverse (although it was also adapted for the Tooniverse
on 'Sesame Street' thirty years ago.)
On the season finale of 'Louie', Louie C.K. gave his youngest daughter a
copy of "The Story About Ping" for Christmas and then read it/will read it to
her (if its Christmas 2012). Later, after Louie has an emotional crisis during
the holidays, he goes off to China on a holy grail quest to find the Yangtze
River because of that book.
Here's the story about "The Story About Ping".....
"THE STORY ABOUT PING"
WRITTEN BY:
Marjorie Flack
ILLUSTRATED BY:
Kurt Wiese
AS SEEN IN:
'Louie'
'Captain Kangaroo'
'The Shari Lewis Show'
'The Howdy Doody Show'
'Sesame Street'
'The Soupy Sales Show'
From Wikipedia:
"The Story About Ping" is a popular children's book written by Marjorie
Flack and illustrated by Kurt Wiese. First published in 1933, "Ping" is a
colorfully illustrated story about a domesticated Chinese duck lost on the
Yangtze River. Based on a 2007 online poll, the National Education Association
named the book one of its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children."
Ping is the
name of a domesticated duck who lives on a riverboat on the Yangtze River in
China. He gets sent out every morning to forage along the river with his
relatives, and is expected back every evening. The last duck on the boat would
get a swat with a stick and one day he is the last duck. He is afraid to return
and spends the night on shore. When he awakens his boat is gone and he is soon
caught by a boy on another boat where he worries about becoming their dinner.
After some time the boy lets Ping go just as all his duck relatives are getting
back on Ping's boat nearby. Ping rejoins his family and happily receives the
last duck swat.
"Ping" has appeared on television since the 1950s. Captain
Kangaroo (or his friend Mr. Greenjeans) read Ping once a week on his show for
seventeen years, while displaying its colorful illustrations in stark black and
white on the screen. Only "Stone Soup", "Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel",
and "The Little Engine That Could" had longer runs on the show.
Soupy Sales
and Howdy Doody both featured "Ping" on numerous occasions, and Shari Lewis's
sock puppet Lambchop once played the role of Ping in an adaptation for sock
puppets and ventriloquists.
'Sesame Street' had an animated version that ran
in the 1970s. This version featured the song "Jinzhur" as the background
music.
It served as an important plot point on the Season Three finale of
'Louie' in which Louie gives his daughter a copy of the book for
Christmas.
BCnU!
