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160 pp.
| Morgan
| June, 2008
|
LibraryISBN 978-1-59935-067-7$27.95
(4)
YA
World Writers series.
Hurston's complicated life is represented as both a product of and a response to familial struggles, racial discrimination, and national movements. Sapet makes thoughtful use of Hurston's own words and provides historic background to shape this portrait of the writer and folklorist. Ill-considered design elements, including the blurry cover photo and dense layout, are unfortunate distractions. Timeline, websites. Bib., ind.
80 pp.
| August/Little Folk
| October, 2006
|
TradeISBN 0-87483-791-X$19.95
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Daniel San Souci.
Female tricksters from the southern tradition of Br'er Rabbit get their due in this thoroughly entertaining retelling of stories from At the Big House by Anne Virginia Culbertson (first published in 1904). The amusing paintings, showing well-dressed animals cavorting and posturing, combine with rich language and easy-to-read print on creamy pages to make this a handsome volume.
132 pp.
| Cinco
| May, 2003
|
TradeISBN 0-938317-74-1$$16.95
(3)
4-6
Tingle, a Choctaw storyteller, presents eleven stories, including a legend about a group of Choctaw helping a slave family flee captivity, a supernatural tale concerning a creature who is half man and half owl, a moving account of the Trail of Tears, and some touching reminiscences from the author's childhood and young adult years. The prose contains the cadences of oral storytelling, making these engaging stories strong read-aloud material. Reading list. Glos.
280 pp.
| Farrar
| September, 2003
|
TradeISBN 0-374-31667-8$$18.00
(4)
4-6
When both her father and her mother are spirited away, Adanta, guided by her father's cryptic old stories, travels deep into the Blue Ridge Mountains to find them. This imaginative fantasy is suffused with Cherokee mythology and peopled with giants and fairies, though it is sometimes difficult to determine which elements come from traditional sources and which are purely products of the author's imagination.
32 pp.
| Cavendish
| September, 2002
|
TradeISBN 0-7614-5113-7$$16.95
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Kristina Rodanas.
The characters of three men are tested when they are asked to "go to the mountaintop" and bring back what they find to Chief Sky, who is searching for a successor. Straightforwardly written and illustrated with detailed, near-panoramic images, this lesson on listening based on a Cherokee take culminates in a timeless reminder to look beyond our own suffering to acknowledge that of others. Glos.
(2)
4-6
Illustrated by
James Ransome.
Reneaux showcases the diversity of southern storytelling, both in origin (including Native American, Appalachian, and Creole tales) and type (from tall tale to trickster tale to ghost story to pourquoi tale), in these eight oft-told tales. The cultural speech patterns and distinct vocabulary give the tellings life. Ransome's generous watercolors, a combination of full-page spreads and vignettes, decorate but never overpower the tales. Bib., glos.
Reviewer: Betty Carter
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
March, 2001
143 pp.
| McElderry
| June, 2001
|
TradeISBN 0-689-83595-7$$17.00
(2)
4-6
Illustrated by
James Watts.
The history and culture of the Southeastern indigenous peoples have been infrequently conveyed in children's books, but these twenty-seven stories are familiar as well as new. Curry provides a quick history of each of the sixteen peoples with whom the stories originated. Readers will find enticing images and bits of mystery in this felicitous collection, and many storytellers will find at least one new story for their repertoires.
Reviewer: Margaret A. Bush
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
September, 2001
7 reviews
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