CALICO AND TIN HORNS
by Candace Christiansen & illustrated by Thomas Locker
The most interesting thing about this book is the incident that inspired it: an 1844 Boston Tea Party-style rebellion of Hudson Valley farmers against landlords still dishonoring their predecessors' promise to sell land to Revolutionary War veterans. In Christiansen's dramatization, young Hannah is curious about her parents' mysterious preparations and the gatherings of masked neighbors, costumed in calico. Summoned by a tin horn, the men have ridden away when she spies the sheriff and his troop and saves the day, calling the farmers back with the horn; in a bloodless encounter, they win the sheriff's support against the Van Rensselaers. The narration here is straightforward but unexceptional, while Locker's beautifully wrought oil paintings are romantic set pieces that contribute little to its flow. Still, a valuable footnote to history, handsomely presented. (Picture book. 4-8)