HOW ANIMALS SAVED THE PEOPLE

These tasty tales have Aesopean flavor with Southern spiciness. While each of this wonderful storyteller’s eight stories indicates its specific origins, many edify while some are simply entertaining. In “The Golly Whumper,” while the tongue is having fun with cadence, Aunt Molly is depending on her friends the animals to help her escape the witchy Golly Whumper (unripe gourd) that is chasing her about trying to whump her. The reader learns that one good turn deserves another. “Waiting for BooZoo,” however, is “Wait ’Til Martin Comes” in a new version of the spinetingler about a brave stranger who, hoping to earn $1,000, tries to spend the night in an old haunted house. All he has to do is face the monster cat and break its spell. The story builds in suspense and nobody can blame the stranger for finally losing his nerve. In the title story creatures big and small make a deal with a poisonous vine, which has inadvertently been infecting the people, in which they take on its poison, but also acquire markings that warn the humans of their venom. Reneaux’s last story ends with the quote, “Respect earth’s creatures, and you will repay their gift, and help to saved the animals just as they once save the people.” It is the late Reneaux’s gift that her wonderful way with words comes through on these pages, leaving us with the spirit of her voice. Ransome radiantly illuminates these tales with lush watercolors that paint touchably realistic animals with a dash of humanity in their expressive faces and bits of clothing. Every single page is a joy to read. (glossary, sources, bibliography of stories and recordings) (Folktales. 5-10)