Evelyn Coleman
It may be that an author has been writing for years, but suddenly several books come out at the same time. If the author is new, this can make for a stunning debut. This is exactly the case in the work of picture book author, Evelyn Coleman. This African-American author unifies themes of injustice with a magic and storytelling gift that has created three very different, very powerful books.
Her first book, The Foot Warmer and the Crow (1994, Macmillan, Ages 8 to 11, $14.95) tells the story of Hezekiah, a slave small in stature, but a giant in his wit, sensitivity and intelligence. Hezekiah has the ability to commune with birds, and like them he wants his freedom. He learns quickly that he must earn that advantage with his cunning. During the cold winter, Hezekiah offers to be his master's foot warmer, knowing that the cruel master talks in his sleep. With the information he gains from the sleep talking and the help of a friendly crow, Hezekiah makes a wager with his master, and wins. His master doesn't want to honor the bargain and would pursue him, but the crow helps Hezekiah by scaring the man to death.
In 1995, Coleman published The Glass Bottle Tree (Orchard, Ages 6 up, $14.95) which is a courageous picture book that combines storytelling, social issues and the supernatural. The title refers to an African-American custom, where colorful bottles are stuck on a tree's limbs to contain the spirits of the family's ancestors. The story's young heroine lives with her grandmother and they have a deep and unwavering relationship with each other and their land. That relationship is often understood without words and this is misinterpreted when the "state's folk" visit. They decide that the grandmother's age and silence mean that the little girl "would be much better off living with a well-to-do family in a beautiful yuppety house....a real family." When they come to take the child, they believe the grandmother has gone even stranger, rocking and humming while the child grieves the coming loss. They can't hear, don't understand that the old woman is speaking to the spirits who are unleashed and fling "those state's folks here and there and everywhere until they lie like worn out rag dolls." Evelyn Coleman's book can help children talk about ways of expressing love, prejudice, and understanding that a family is defined by love, not economic circumstances.
Coleman's newest book is White Socks Only (1996, Whitman, Ages 6 up, $15.95). It tells the story of a young black girl who travels to town, down hot dusty roads because she has to find out if you really can fry an egg on a sidewalk. She walks timidly past the Chicken Man, someone who's magic might turn someone "who's not doing right " into a chicken. After hiding from her mama's friends, the young girl accomplishes her mission, but realizes she feels parched. Spotting a drinking fountain that bears the sign, "Whites Only", she takes off her black shoes, and, now dressed only in white, begins to drink. From n where comes a huge ugly white man who begins to whip the young girl. Her innocence inspires those around her to remove their shoes and drink from the fountain. The Chicken Man tells her she "done good" and should head on home. Illustrated by Tyrone Geter, White Socks Only appeared on the Spring 1996 American Bookseller's "Pick of the Lists."
Ms. Coleman, and others like her, are ushering in a whole new type of children's book. She and other African-American writers are plunging deep into their storytelling heritage to give voice to the power and pictures that their culture has always held dear. The winner of many awards for her writing, in 1987, Coleman is the first African American to receive one of North Carolina's Fiction Fellowships. She curently resides in Atlanta.
Contributor: Susie Wilde
Reviews
The Glass Bottle Tree
Evelyn Coleman
Illustrated by Gail Gordon Carter
In a rickety old house, with a makeshift pickety fence, down a long dusty road, a little girl lived with her grandmother. And in the middle of their yard was a tree in which the family's spirits lived, captured in bottles placed on the tree's limbs. The grandmother and granddaughter lived peacefully together and understood each other so lovingly and completely that they didn't need words. In the day they tended their garden. Afternoons, they swam in the river, and after supper they sat before the fire and knitted winter blankets. One day, two social workers came to the house and threatened to take the granddaughter away. But the old woman releases the spirits from their bottles and saves her family. Gail Carter's paintings eloquently capture the joy and sadness in this tender story of strength, faith, and commitment. 1995, Orchard Books, Ages 5 to 7, $14.95. Reviewer: Armin A. Brott
ISBN: 0-531-09467-7
ISBN: 0-531-08767-0
The Glass Bottle Tree
Evelyn Coleman
Evelyn Coleman's The Glass Bottle Tree is a courageous picture book that I recommend for older elementary school students. The title refers to an African-American custom where colorful bottles are stuck on a tree's limbs to contain the spirits of the family's ancestors. The young heroine lives with her grandmother and loves those spirits, but respects her grandmother's decision to "put all the spirits inside bottles, so they would get a hold of themselves and behave." The girl and her grandmother have a deep and unwavering relationship with each other and their land. That relationship is often understood without words and this is misinterpreted when the "state's folk" visit. They decide that the grandmother's age and silence mean that the little girl "would be much better off living with a well-to-do family in a beautiful yuppety house... a real family." When they come to take the child, they believe the grandmother has gone even stranger, rocking and humming while the child grieves the coming loss. They can't hear, don't understand that the old woman is speaking to the spirits who are unleashed and fling "those state's folks here and there and everywhere until they lie like worn out rag dolls." Their mind's entirely reversed, the state's folks leave forever. Coleman's book can help children talk about everything from different ways of expressing love, prejudice, and the definition of a family based on love, not economic circumstances. 1995, Orchard, Ages: 5 to 7, $14.95 and $14.99. Reviewer: Susie Wilde
ISBN: 0-531-09467-7
ISBN: 0-531-08767-0
Mystery of the Dark Tower
Evelyn Coleman
In 1928, Bessie Coulter's father suddenly removes her and her younger brother, Eddie, from their North Carolina house and takes them by train to Harlem, New York, where they end up living with their two aunts. Startled by this abrupt departure and worried about her mother's absence, a determined Bessie sets out to find the truth about what's happening to her family. During her stay in the city, she searches for clues about her mother's condition and her father's mysterious job and new acquaintances. Her investigation leads her into the middle of the Harlem Renaissance, where she visits interesting places and encounters intriguing people, including Lillian, a clever girl from next door, Miss Flo, a mysterious woman rumored to have magical powers, and A'Lelia Walker, the daughter of America's first female millionaire. By the end of the story, Bessie discovers that her mother has tuberculosis and her father has become a painter to earn money so the entire family can be together in New York. This suspenseful, historically accurate portrayal of life in the 1920s introduces readers to colorful events and memorable characters. Young history buffs and mystery lovers will enjoy this fast-paced book. Other titles in this series include-The Smuggler's Treasure, The Night Flyers, Voices at Whisper Bend, and Secrets on 26th Street. 2000, Pleasant Company Publications, Ages 10 and up, $9.95 and $5.95. Reviewer: Debra Briatico
ISBN: 1-58485-085-X
ISBN: 1-58485-084-1
The Riches of Oseola McCarty
Evelyn Coleman
Oseola, or Ola as she was called by her family, was born in Mississippi near the turn of the century. She grew up primarily with her grandmother and aunt, two women determined to get ahead by their own hard work. This easy-to-read large print biography gives a number of specifics that let children understand how times have changed and what Ola was up against. She was deprived of education by poverty and the Jim Crow laws. Oseola washed clothes and did hair for eight decades. She found continual reward and pride in jobs well done as her savings mounted. At 87, Oseola established a trust of $150,000 to provide scholarships so that others could have the privilege she was denied. Ola is a model of a woman who, far from being embittered at her own educational deprivation, gave generously so that others could benefit from her hard work. Oseola is an inspiration to a generation that sometimes forgets that earning pride and respect is as important as accumulating money. The heroine of this story is still alive. 1998, Whitman, Ages 6 to 10, $14.95. Reviewer: Susie Wilde
ISBN: 0-8075-6961-5
The Riches of Oseola McCarty
Evelyn Coleman
Illustrated by Daniel Minter
At the tender age of five, Oseola, also known as Ola, went to live with her grandmother and an aunt. Her grandmother was a laundress in Hatiesburg, Mississippi, who made her own soap. The entire family worked hard in their laundry business and, by the time she was in the sixth grade, Ola dropped out of school because she was needed in the business. It was hard work, six long days each week, and the pay was meager. Ola, her grandmother, and her aunt persevered and they even managed to save money in their own savings accounts. Ola never stop learning and she often reflected on how much she would have liked to have had an opportunity to further her education. For more than eighty years, Ola washed and ironed clothes for other people, saved her money and lived frugally. In 1995, she established a scholarship fund of $150,000 at the University of Southern Mississippi to help a high school graduate go to college. Her gift was widely acclaimed and she received the Presidential Citizens Medal. This truly inspirational story is illustrated with simple woodcut prints that are reproduced in black and white and bordered appropriately by a clothespin motif. The concluding pages include notes, information about other resources and guidance for setting up a savings plan. 1998, Albert Whitman, Ages 7 and up, $14.95. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot
ISBN: 0-8075-6961-5
To Be a Drum
Evelyn Coleman
Art by Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson
Mat and Martha's daddy tells them a story about the spirit of African people. He uses the image of drumbeats to explain their history and accomplishments. Coleman's simple, repetitive narrative is amplified by Robinson's art-collages of fabric scraps, raw cotton, clay, and other evocative elements which primary art teachers should find both fascinating and inspirational. 1998, Albert Whitman, Ages 4 up, $16.95. Reviewer: Kathleen Karr
ISBN: 0-8075-8006-6
To Be a Drum
Evelyn Coleman
Illustrated by Aminah Robinson
Daddy Wes tells his two children "long before time...on the continent of Africa, the rhythm of the earth beat for the first people." He describes how the beat moved through bodies, pushed out from fingers, and a drum was born. The drums were taken away from slaves. Those who became the drum pushed out the earth's spirit with their entire bodies. In brief but poignant vignettes of African-American history Coleman tells how her people embraced this beat: courage became drums in war or minds became drums in inventions; drums became communities, art, story and dreams. The book ends as Daddy Wes walks off with his children, "the heartbeat of the earth sounding their way." Incredible textural collages become the drums of Coleman's story, beating out the history, beauty, and a richness of movement and color. 1998, Whitman, Ages 5 to 9, $16.95. Reviewer: Susie Wilde
ISBN: 0-8075-8006-6
White Socks Only
Evelyn Coleman
Illustrated by Tyrone Geter
Evelyn Coleman, a new and powerful voice in children's books, blends themes of injustice and magic with her special storytelling gift. During the Civil Rights era, a young black girl dresses up in her white Sunday best and, for the first time, she ventures into town alone to find out if you really can fry an egg on a sidewalk. She walks timidly past the Chicken Man, who's learned African magic from his grandmother, and might turn someone "who's not doing right" into a chicken. Mission accomplished, the parched child spots a drinking fountain that bears the sign, "Whites Only". She takes off her black shoes, and now, dressed only in white, begins to drink. When a white man begins to whip the young girl, her innocence inspires those around her to remove their shoes and drink from the fountain as well, including the Chicken Man who tells her she "done good." 1996, Whitman, Ages 5 to 8, $15.95. Reviewer: Susie Wilde
ISBN: 0-8075-8955-1
White Socks Only
Evelyn Coleman
Illustrations by Tyrone Geter
The actions of a young girl confused by the "Whites Only" sign hanging from the town water fountain spark a confrontation that ultimately involves the whole town. The young girl's confusion while shared by the readers who may have as much trouble understanding the actual problem as they do understanding the laws of segregation themselves. Even though this story might require some explaining by adult reading partners, it's an important one that will help young children start thinking and talking about race relations in this country both historically and in the present. 1996, Albert Whitman, Ages 6 and up, $15.95. Reviewer: Judy Katsh
ISBN: 0-8075-8955-1
Updated 2000
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