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Searching... Salem Main Library | J ILLUST McKissack, P. | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
When Precious is left home alone with a stomachache, she's got nothing but a warning from Mama -- "Don't let nothing or nobody into this house" -- to keep her company. You see, "nothing or nobody" could turn out to be something awful: the Boo Hag! The Boo Hag's got a voice that rumbles like thunder and hair that shoots out like lightning. And she can disguise herself to look like anything. So when the Boo Hag comes calling, will Precious be clever enough to outwit even the trickiest trickster?
Here's an oh-so-funny -- and not- too -scary -- story from Newbery Honor-winning author Patricia C. McKissack and Onawumi Jean Moss that's paired with spirited, folksy illustrations by Kyrsten Brooker.
Author Notes
Patricia C. McKissack was born in Smyrna, Tennessee on August 9, 1944. She received a bachelor's degree in English from Tennessee State University in 1964 and a master's degree in early childhood literature and media programming from Webster University in 1975. After college, she worked as a junior high school English teacher and a children's book editor at Concordia Publishing.
Since the 1980's, she and her husband Frederick L. McKissack have written over 100 books together. Most of their titles are biographies with a strong focus on African-American themes for young readers. Their early 1990s biography series, Great African Americans included volumes on Frederick Douglass, Marian Anderson, and Paul Robeson. Their other works included Black Hands, White Sails: The Story of African-American Whalers and Days of Jubilee: The End of Slavery in the United States. Over their 30 years of writing together, the couple won many awards including the C.S. Lewis Silver Medal, a Newbery Honor, nine Coretta Scott King Author and Honor awards, the Jane Addams Peace Award, and the NAACP Image Award for Sojourner Truth: Ain't I a Woman?. In 1998, they received the Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement.
She also writes fiction on her own. Her book included Flossie and the Fox, Stitchin' and Pullin': A Gee's Bend Quilt, A Friendship for Today, and Let's Clap, Jump, Sing and Shout; Dance, Spin and Turn It Out! She won the Newberry Honor Book Award and the King Author Award for The Dark Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural in 1993 and the Caldecott Medal for Mirandy and Brother Wind. She dead of cardio-respiratory arrest on April 7, 2017 at the age of 72.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-When Precious's bellyache keeps her from helping in the fields, she is left at home alone, with Mama's strict instructions to let no one inside the house for any reason, no matter what. This admonition is reinforced by Brother's warning that if she is not careful, Pruella the Boo Hag might sneak in. Frightening Boo Hags tell lies and are rude, and try to get children to disobey their mamas. Worst of all, they change shapes, so they are hard to recognize. Temptation comes in many forms and Precious is surely baited. But she is a plucky girl who confronts her fears and, in the end, clings to what she knows is right. The spirited language and vivid images will draw out the performer in every reader. The authors have produced an enchanting tale that is a pinch scary but a peck of fun. Brooker's oil-and-collage illustrations enhance the excitement while providing a glimpse of a modest home with peeling paint, braided rugs, and homemade jam. These images evoke real warmth and comfort, fortifying Precious-and readers-to meet her challenges. Find a comfy chair, gather an audience, and enjoy this wonderful book.-Mary Hazelton, Elementary Schools in Warren & Waldoboro, ME (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Newbery Honor author McKissack (The Dark-Thirty) teams up with storyteller Moss to relay-with flair and humor-the tale of a girl with a stomachache who stays at home while her mother and brother go off to the fields to plant corn. Mama leaves Precious with a warning ("Don't let nothing and nobody in this house") and Brother slyly adds that if Precious does let someone in the house, it may well turn out to be Pruella the Boo Hag ("She's tricky and she's scary, and she tries to make you disobey yo' mama"). Though the girl tries to reassure herself that there's no such thing as the Boo Hag, suddenly the honeysuckle wilts on the vine and "the sunny day took on a dark and dreary disposition." The creature, with "eyes of burning cinder and hair that shot out like lightning," appears "riding on the back of a storm," demanding that Precious let her inside with a voice "that rumbled like rolling thunder." Precious bravely sings a chant announcing her refusal to let the hag in and the creature disappears-only to return three more times in various guises, including that of a shiny penny. Brooker (Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street) conveys the rowdy, larger-than-life goings-on in playfully exaggerated, stylized collage art which features a range of textures. The story's lively language, pleasing cadence and effective repetition of Precious's chant make this a buoyant read-aloud. Ages 4-8. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
(Primary) Precious is old enough to stay home alone while the rest of her family goes out to plant the corn, but Mama makes her promise to let ""nothing and nobody"" into the house. Easier said than done: before he leaves, Brother warns Precious about Pruella the Boo Hag: ""She's tricky and she's scary, and she tries to make you disobey yo' mama."" He explains, though, that a Boo Hag can only get inside if you let her in. Sure enough, Pruella shows up and demands to be let in; Precious sings a defiant song and keeps her out. The Boo Hag tries a number of disguises, but Precious trips her up every time. Mama and Brother return, and Precious is triumphant -- but the story ends ominously: what's that scary creature outside her window when she goes to bed that night? Brooker's collage and oil paint illustrations combine the realistic with the fantastic, which suits the text's down-to-earth yet magicaltone perfectly. In Her Stories (rev. 1/96), Virginia Hamilton's Boo Hag is a somewhat grim and powerful metaphor for mental illness in women; this Boo Hag tale is lively, funny, and (despite the disturbing ending) a great choice for storytelling. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
A quick-witted child confronts a scary character (here somewhat toned down) from Gullah folklore in this largely original tale. Left alone to nurse a stomachache while the rest of her family works the fields, young Precious isn't sure whether to take seriously her brother's warning about letting the evil, shapeshifting Boo Hag into the house--until the creature herself shows up, flashing "eyes of burning cinder and hair that shot out like lightning." Brooker underscores the story's rustic flavor by surrounding most of her terrific paint and collage scenes with a peeling board frame and gives pigtailed Precious a winningly scared but resolute look. After repeatedly seeing through a series of flawed disguises (the Boo Hag being powerful, but none too bright), Precious drifts off to sleep in triumph, supposing--wrongly, as a nape-prickling final scene reveals--that the Hag has given up. Fine fare for Halloween, or general under-the-covers reading. (Picture book. 6-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
K-Gr. 2. With the grand feel of a folktale, this lively story speaks to choosing right in a world full of temptation and peril. Precious isn't feeling well, so when her family leaves, she stays home. Before they go, Mama reminds her not to let anyone in, and Brother tells her to watch for the Boo Hag, who tries to make you disobey yo' mama! Precious thinks Brother is kidding--until Hag swoops down from an angry sky, demanding entry. Fearful yet fierce, Precious isn't intimidated; nor is she fooled when Hag returns in clever disguise. Kids will be as excited as Precious after she bests the crone, and her catchy song of triumph is contagious. Expressive and fluid, Brooker's mixed-media art, comical yet scary, too, pops from the pages, and her window sill-like picture borders add intimacy to the story of feisty Precious--strong, smart, and oh so pleased with herself. Adults will want to discuss the surprising, slightly unsettling end----which points to more adventures coming Precious' way. --Stephanie Zvirin Copyright 2005 Booklist