IN COAL COUNTRY

by Judith Hendershot ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 1987

This handsome, reflective picture book reminisces about life in a company coal town in Ohio during the 1930's, showing the hardship but also having a romantic tone. Hendershot has drawn on her own as well as her parents' and grandparents' memories to tell of waiting for father to return and wash in the tin tub, of wildflowers and home-canned food, and of the joy of Christmas Eve. The text is brief, with one or two paragraphs to the page, but the illustrations make the book. Allen has used pastels on tinted paper with a heavy grain that adds a hazy quality to the pictures, suitable for the atmosphere in a coal town. The tinted backgrounds, with white highlights and gentle colors, add a note of softness to the otherwise harsh environment. This will be useful in school and public libraries, for middle-grade social studies and younger-grade story times.

Pub Date: May 1, 1987

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1987

Categories: CHILDREN'S