LORDY, AUNT HATTIE

by Ianthe Thomas ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 9, 1973

It's evident that Jeppa Lee and her Aunt Hattie are playing a game here, for what little girl wouldn't know that summer vacation had begun, and what grownup would answer a straight question (""What day is today, Aunt Hattie?"") with ""A day so hot that the cotton snakes done slithered down under the cotton-bulb shade""? Even so Aunt Hattie seems curiously unconcerned about the accuracy of her pretty imagery (""Sun done shined and whistled to the crocuses"" -- in summer?), but never mind: if her loving evocation of juicy huckleberries and jumping catfish and cool, sweet lemonade is as fuzzy as di Grazia's sunbathed, soft focus scenes of milk jugs and willow trees and brown Jeppa Lee in a green and yellow field, Thomas' and di Grazia's game here is not so much recreation of a Southern summer day as undifferentiated nostalgia for a black childhood -- and they are sure to have an impressive gallery of grownup takers.

Pub Date: May 9, 1973

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harper & Row

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1973

Categories: CHILDREN'S