practitioner and the memory of alumnus
Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital has received the first donation of a special toy box on wheels based on the children's book characters created by the late David Saltzman '89 while he was a Yale undergraduate.
The "Jester & Pharley Smile Cart" was donated to the hospital by the William and Wilma Dooley Foundation of Chicago. Ned Dooley, whose uncle oversees the Dooley Foundation, graduated from Yale with Saltzman in 1989.
Saltzman, who died of cancer at age 22 in 1990, wrote and illustrated "The Jester Has Lost His Jingle," which became a New York Times best-seller after being published by his parents, Barbara and Joe Saltzman,
"The Jester Has Lost His Jingle" is about a court jester who, along with his helper, Pharley, sets off to find the laughter missing from their kingdom. The book ultimately shows children that laughter is inside all of them waiting to be let out. The book has an afterword by author Maurice Sendak.
Saltzman began the book as his senior thesis at Yale and completed it after his cancer was diagnosed.
Since its publication, 35,000 copies of the book have been donated to children with cancer and special needs, and to literacy programs.
Saltzman's parents came to New Haven for the donation of the Smile Cart, which was dedicated in honor of Molly Meyer, a nurse practitioner at Yale University Health Services who was among Saltzman's caregivers. Saltzman recognized Meyer in his book by writing her first name, graffiti-style, on a subway car that is among the book's illustrations.
The bright yellow rolling Smile Cart includes copies of "The Jester Has Lost His Jingle," a Jester doll, a television, a VCR, a CD player donated by Sony Medical Systems, and educational materials based on the book.
The Reverend Harry Adams, who was master of Trumbull College when Saltzman lived there, also attended the ceremony at the hospital. Adams recalled that he first met Saltzman when he was struggling to plant an overwhelming number of daffodil plants given to the college. Adams said Saltzman walked right up to him and offered to help.
Barbara Saltzman, who has traveled widely since the publication of the book to donate copies and to give readings in hospitals and schools, said Smile Carts will also be donated to a number of hospitals in California, where the Saltzmans live. The Smile Cart allows caregivers to "roll laughter right to children's bedsides,"
Joe Saltzman noted that children sometimes hold Jester dolls while they are undergoing medical tests that require them to remain still. The children concentrate on keeping the bells on the jester's hat from tinkling, making the tests easier to get through.
The Saltzmans maintain a website with information about the book and the programs for children that it has inspired at www.thejester.org.
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