I've almost always been enthusiastic about Rose Knox's books. I think she has made a great contribution towards picturing modern children of the South realistically and unsentimentally. And this new one is perhaps the best yet. The background is the Bayou country of Louisiana, and the material is based on the actual content of a miniature newspaper issued by a large family of cousins who lived a generation ago. The children are real personalities; the incidents and the thread of the story are convincing; there is plenty of humor and originality in the telling; and the background is authentic.