CELIE AND THE HARVEST FIDDLER

Orange, coal, and autumnal gold paintings complement this tale set on All Hallows' Eve in the rural South of 1870. Celie wants to win the prize for the scariest costume at the annual parade, but her colorful handmade ribbon skirt falls apart when she starts to dance. Humiliated by the townfolks' laughter, Celie runs off to the woods. The fiddler finds her and offers her a mask and a promise that this is the All Hallows' Eve she will never forget. The text is wordy, and the fiddler's mysteriousness forced. But the rich art conveys the spirit of the story, penned by Valerie Flournoy (The Patchwork Quilt, 1985, etc.) and twin sister Vanessa. They conjure an atmosphere that is as much a part of the holiday today as it was in the 1800s.