Eight-year-old Sallie Gal desperately wants hair ribbons like her cousin Wild Cat’s, but with her father away in the army, times are hard on Cumbo Road and her mother insists she work to pay for them. Sallie and her cousins already chop weeds in the cotton fields five days a week and a half-day on Saturday, but that money will go for school clothes. With initiative and diligence, Sallie achieves her goal, but not before she gets into trouble with her mama for taking charity and keeping a secret. Set in the rural North Carolina of the author’s own childhood, this is a clear depiction of the mid-century world of African-American country folk. These are sharecroppers who shop from the car of the traveling salesman, and the children use the clothesline for a jump rope. But Sallie’s need to dress as well as her cousin will be familiar to young readers. Adding to the appeal of the straightforward story and short chapters, Daly’s numerous illustrations bring the characters to life. (Fiction. 7-10)
