The author of The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural (1992), illustrated by Brian Pinkney, mines a lighter vein with nine original tales that hark back to yarns from her Tennessee childhood. Opening with reminiscent scene-setters, all feature human “slicksters and tricksters” able to get what they want with charm, like con man Pete Bruce—who scores a generous portion of coconut cream pie from an undeceived cook—or despite bad reputations end up performing some worthy deed, as does chauffeur Lincoln Murphy, who excavates a prematurely buried employer. Other tales feature appearances from Frank and Jesse James, helping to rid sharecroppers of a white predator; from Ralph, king of the ghosts; and from the Devil himself, who makes a young musician the same so-tempting offer once made to bluesman Robert Johnson at a certain crossroads. Capped by blues harmonica player Cake Norris’s two-part odyssey up and down the ladder to Heaven, these tales all lend themselves to telling or reading aloud, and carry the common theme that even the worst rascals have saving graces. (author’s introduction) (Short stories. 10-12)
Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2006
ISBN: 0-375-83619-5
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
World exploration from 6000 B.C. to 1989 A.D., in chronological order with plentiful illustrative material: portraits; photos and drawings of instruments, equipment, exotic plants, animals, people, and landforms; maps (not always easy to follow when several routes are shown on the same map). The brief explanatory text touches on political and economic outcomes. The standard folks are here, plus some less familiar ancients: Egyptian, Muslim, Chinese. It all adds up to less information than a general encyclopedia, but the treatment is much more colorful. No women are mentioned; Matthew Henson, the only African American included, is described (in one sentence) as Peary's ``servant and friend.'' Attractive despite its brevity. Index. (Nonfiction. 10- 12)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-679-81660-7
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1992
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Despite its colorful photos and intriguing subject, this title in the ``Technology in Action'' series makes for dull reading. Topics like ``Heat Treatment'' or ``Drying Food'' receive brief, general discussions with a European slant—e.g., a section on ``Food Additives'' details how countries in the European Community label packaged foods with ``E numbers,'' but no information is given on US labeling. Lambert's perspective can also be odd: ``The quality of manufactured food is important, from the points of view of both the consumer and the producer; a poor quality product does not continue to sell.'' Certainly more serious consequences could be envisioned. Elsewhere, he is redundant or uninformative: ``In a modern meat-processing plant, animals are processed from live animals to cuts of meat.'' Marginal. Brief glossary; five titles for further reading; index. (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: April 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-531-18400-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1992
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