I LLJ IN OI S UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN PRODUCTION NOTE University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library Large-scale Digitization Project, 2007. University of Illinois Graduate School of Library and Information Science University of Illinois Press *-,, ,y *>: <.**" 4 ,i AT ,^ ,, . *,» l-r ·- ' * .»"'. * - ' * ^.*/ '** _I "Minna and her family are fictional characters, but their experiences are representative of many African-Americans fom the mid-1500s to the md-1800s. Johnson's moving artwork offers many details of African and plantation life....[She] recounts the African American story with honesty and sensitivity."- *Booklist ik"In an author's note, Johnson writes that this 'is not a pleasant story, nor does it have a happy ending. Ye it is a story that must be told.' On all ponts, she is absolutely correct....Johnson's stately, slightly impression- istic illustrations underscore the anguish and sadness of her story - and of the entire slavery experience."-Starred, Publishers Weekly "A compelling, elegantly composed narrative."-Kirkus Reviews "Almost no historical fction (or nonfiction) about slavery has been pub- lished for this age group, and Johnson...manages to be honest without becoming brutal. The informational aspects alone make the book worth- whil."-Bultin of the Centerfor Children'sBooks $14.95 RSBE/Ages 5-10/0-02-747699-5 SRSBEindicaes a side sewn •inforced hadovr edition. MA~~LAN CHILRN'S BOOKS An mprint of the Macillan Children's Book Group U 866 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10022 THE B UL LE T IN OF THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN'S BOOKS February 1994 Vol. 47 No. 6 aoo Po A LOOK INSIDE 179 THE BIG PICTURE The Last Tales of Uncle Remus adapted by Julius Lester; illustrated by Jerry Pinkney 180 NEW BOOKS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE Reviewed titles include: 181 * A Question of Trust by Marion Dane Bauer 198 * Flip-Flop Girl by Katherine Paterson 203 * The Magic Purse adapted by Yoshiko Uchida; illus. by Keiko Narahashi 205 * Rite ofPassage by Richard Wright 207 PROFESSIONAL CONNECTIONS Still Got It: African-American Poetry for Children 209 SUBJECT AND USE INDEX EXPLANATION OF CODE SYMBOLS USED WITH REVIEWS * Asterisks denote books of special distinction. R Recommended. Ad Additional book of acceptable quality for collections needing more material in the area. M Marginal book that is so slight in content or has so many weaknesses in style or format that it should be given careful consideration before purchase. NR Not recommended. SpC Subject matter or treatment will tend to limit the book to specialized collections. SpR A book that will have appeal for the unusual reader only. Recommended for the special few who will read it. The Bulletin ofthe Centerfor Children's Books (ISSN 0008-9036) is published monthly except August by the Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Illinois Press, 1325 S. Oak, Champaign, IL 61820. STAFF Betsy Hearne, Editor and Associate Professor, GSLIS (BH) Roger Sutton, Executive Editor (RS) Deborah Stevenson, Assistant Editor (DS) Kathryn Jennings, Reviewer (KJ) Carol Fox, Reviewer (CF) Reviewers' initials are appended to reviews. THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN'S BOOKS ADVISORY BOARD Leigh Estabrook, Dean, GSLIS, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Selma K. Richardson, Professor, GSLIS Richard C. Anderson, Director, Center for the Study of Reading, UIUC Jean Osborn, Associate Director, Center for the Study of Reading P. David Pearson, Dean, College of Education, UIUC Violet J. Harris, Associate Professor, College of Education Nancy O'Brien, Education Subject Specialist, Library, UIUC Peggy Miller, Associate Professor, Department of Speech Communication, UIUC Ann D. Carlson, Assistant Professor, GSLIS, Rosary College Janice Harrington, Head of Children's Services, Champaign Public Library Elizabeth Huntoon, Director Systemwide Children's Services, Chicago Public Library Janie Schomberg, Librarian, Leal Elementary School, Urbana, Illinois SUBSCRIPTION RATES 1 year, institutions, $35.00; individuals, $29.00. In countries other than the United States, add $7.00 per subscription for postage. Japanese subscription agent: Kinokuniya Company Ltd. Single copy rate: $4.50. Reprinted volumes 1-35 (1947-1981) available from Kraus Reprint Co., Route 100, Millwood, NY 10546. Volumes available in microfilm from University Microfilms, 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. Complete volumes available in microfiche from Johnson Associates, P.O. Box 1017, Greenwich, CT 06830. Subscription checks should be made payable to the University of Illinois Press. All notices of change of address should provide both the old and new address. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, University of Illinois Press, 1325 S. Oak, Champaign, IL 61820. Subscription Correspondence. Address all inquiries about subscriptions and advertising to University of Illinois Press, 1325 S. Oak, Champaign, IL 61820. Editorial Correspondence. Review copies and all correspondence about reviews should be sent to Betsy Hearne, The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, 1512 N. Fremont St., #105, Chicago, IL 60622 Second-class postage paid at Champaign, Illinois © 1994 by The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois Drawings by Debra Bolgla. This publication is printed on acid-free paper. Cover illustration by Jerry Pinkney, from The Last Tales of Uncle Remus ©1994 by Jerry Pinkney and used by permission of Dial Books. FEBRUARY 1994 * 179 THE BIG PICTURE The Last Tales of Uncle Remus adapted by Julius Lester; illustrated by Jerry Pinkney One way to hang onto a book you love is to slow down and read the last page over and over to keep it from ending. Such is the reluctance with which I finished The Last Tales of Uncle Remus, the final volume in a series of four collections celebrat- ing the trickster who outflanked most of the animals around, be they big, little, smart, or dumb. Brer Rabbit made no allowances for political correctness. This, plus the fact that Lester updates the storytelling voice of Uncle Remus, has drawn flack from African-American literati as notable as June Jordan (New York Time Book Review, May 17, 1987). Alice Walker's not too crazy about Joel Chandler Harris, either (see "The Dummy in the Window: Joel Chandler Harris and the Invention of Uncle Remus" in Walker's Living by the Word). Uncle Remus was, after all, an Uncle Tom who accepted the outrage of slavery and passed on his priceless traditions to a little white boy. Or was he and did he? These stories are the soul of subversive irreverence, and maybe Remus/Harris had a trick up his sleeve in targeting a gullible white audience that dominated the marketplace and- all unawares of being the butt of the joke-made sure the stories went public. A more cultural point has to do with the commonality of tricksters to all societies. Any psychologically attuned folklorist (or folklorically attuned psychologist) will tell you the same thing Lester does in replying to Jordan, ". .. the trickster is in each of us. He is created in our image. Our task is to receive him and thereby uncover our humanity-if we dare." (Letters, NYT Book Review, June 14, 1987) Lester, who has written a distinctive introduction to each of the other books, specifically addresses the Uncle Remus controversy here, and then proceeds to retell thirty-nine tales with the natural narrative flow that distinguished their pre- decessors. Indeed, the narrator is one of the most vivid characters as he admon- ishes with verve ("Nothing in this world will get you in trouble quicker than your mouth") and expounds with pizazz. A brief passage from "Why the Earth Is Mostly Water" exemplifies the casual style edged with satire: "I don't have to tell you that when an Elephant steps on you, you have been stepped on. When the Elephant lifted up his foot, there was not even a memory of the Crawfish left. To make matters worse, the Elephant didn't even know he had done it. All the other Craw- fish got mad. They had a caucus, which is a little meeting which nobody could come to except crawfish." Will children ever forget that definition, or fail to ap- preciate its irony as they get older? Storytellers using the book as a resource will be happy to meet up with variants of other familiar tale types. "The Adventures of Simon and Susanna" contains motifs from Baba Yaga and several Jack tales. Both Wicked John and Big Sixteen lurk in "The Blacksmith and the Devil." "The Little Boy and His Dogs" is a twin 180 * THE BULLETIN of "Wiley and the Hairy Man," and "How Tinktum Tidy Recruited an Army for the King" recalls "Travels of a Fox." Folklore is one place where African and European influences were integrated early on. Ghost stories vie with tales of trans- formation. You're bound to find several suited to your own particular telling. The humor ranges from sass to slapstick violence; take your pick. Everybody gets a fair share of backhanded ridicule, including feminists, chauvinists, ageists, handicapists, and racists. Sometimes the storyteller confines himself to sideswiping one group: "that's how men can be-adding two and two and coming up with seventy-seven." Sometimes he manages to insult two with one blow, as in his under-the-breath indictment of both politicians and voters: "You don't have to be smart to be king or president. (I could name presidents who didn't have any brains)." Ultimately, like Brer Rabbit, he makes fun of just about anything on two, four, or seven legs. Jerry Pinkney, as he has done for the other books (BCCB 7/87, 10/88, 5/90), supplies realistically detailed watercolors to illustrate a rustic world of talking ani- mals invaded by the occasional stray human.