Review by Booklist Review
PreS-Gr. 3. Zora Neale Hurston was a pioneer collector of folklore in the rural South in the 1930s, but her retellings, written in heavy dialect, aren't accessible to children. Using simplicity, humor, wit, and a colloquial style true to the spirit of the originals, Thomas has adapted some of Hurston's rich pourquoi tales, and Collier's double-page-spread pictures combine painting and collage to show the animal characters' sly human machinations. The stories are very short, leaving lots of space for storyteller and audience. Why the Waves Have Whitecaps is a sad and angry tale about Water and Wind in a fight on the coast, and the title story is a wry variation on a trickster tale. Perhaps most haunting, however, is Why the Dog Hates the Cat, a story of good friends who quarrel, with Collier's beautiful images showing the characters together and then alone. Thomas includes Hurston's sources for the stories, among them, ordinary people such as M. C. Ford, age 55, gardener, Florida. The audience will hear his voice. --Hazel Rochman Copyright 2004 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Joyce Carol Thomas adapts a raft of folklore originally collected by Zora Neale Hurston in What's the Hurry, Fox? And Other Animal Stories, illus. by Brian Collier. The pourquoi tales told to Hurston by native Southerners (and compiled in Hurston's Every Tongue Got to Confess: Negro Folk-tales from the Gulf States) explain such mysteries as "Why Donkey Has Long Ears" or "Why the Waves Have Whitecaps." The folksy voice of a storyteller pervades each tale and will draw in young readers; Collier's full-bleed collages and watercolors are every bit as satisfying, as he endows humans and animals alike with distinctive character. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-4-These animal pourquoi stories have been selected from Zora Neale Hurston's collection, Every Tongue Got to Confess. In her adaptations of the nine short tales (there are two versions of one of the stories), Thomas stays very close to the original text, making only minor word changes. Surprisingly, the selections never quite engage readers. With the exception of the Aesop-like "What's the Hurry, Fox?" and "Why the Waves Have Whitecaps," they come across as rather lackluster, and leave their audience with a sense that there must be more to the story. Even with Collier's wonderful double-page collage-and-watercolor illustrations, which invite closer inspection, this work will have limited appeal.-Mary N. Oluonye, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Adapted (and scrubbed of ""dialect"") from Hurston's Every Tongue Got to Confess, these nine pourquoi animal tales are characterized by brevity, a sly sense of humor, and a dependence on the storyteller's intonation for just the right effect. Collier's collaged paintings add some funny modern touches to the tales but often seem crowded on the pages. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Thomas polishes up nine anecdotes and pourquoi tales collected by Hurston, but only recently rediscovered (along with hundreds more) and published in a collection for adults. Originally transcribed in dialect, their regional flavor has been toned down, but not completely erased: when Porpoise outraces the Sun, for instance, God says, "Aw, no, this ain't gonna do!" and fixes Porpoise's tail "on crossways." Sandwiched between not-quite-identical versions of "Why the Buzzard Has No Home," these short tales of rivalry ("Why the Dog Hates the Cat"), friendship ("Why Frog Got Eyes and Mole Got Tail"), and troubles explained ("Why Flies Get the First Taste") will appeal to readers and tellers alike for their simplicity, humor, and action. To all of this, Collier adds an unexpected, but not overdone, layer of visual complexity with painted collages in which easily recognizable animals and background features, abstract forms, and swirls of color coexist. Younger audiences might not know Hurston as a folklorist; here's help for that, in an inviting mix of new tales and familiar ones made fresh. (source notes) (Folk tales. 7-10) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
