At a busy sawmill in Virginia, a stranger tells Old Sam he wants to learn the trade. Old Sam happily hires the man. His son, Young Sam is glad to have someone to boss around. But when Young Sam tries to imitate the new hand in the name of greed, he causes an old woman's death. When he repents, the new hand finds a way to make everything right again. Full color.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Remember the sorcerer's apprentice? He had problems with his boss's spells, but at least he never killed anybody. In this African-American folk tale with roots in many cultures, author Robert D. San Souci takes a similar legend and dumps it in the lap of a lazy, selfish boy. Sam won't help out at the mill, and his father handles everything until the day the hired hand arrives. The new employee is a model worker, but he's got other skills, too. Magic ones. Sam tries a few of the newcomer's tricks, and nearly ends up in prison. He ends up wiser instead. As usual, Jerry Pinkney's illustrations add lyric beauty, emotional heft, and a sense of "once upon a time" to this well-told tale.
[Suggested for, but not limited to ages 5-9. The story is an ageless folktale and the illustrations have universal appeal.]
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 4. The Hired Hand explores the danger associated with stealing someone's magic. It echoes this talented team's collaboration for The Talking Eggs (Dial, 1989) in its distinguished appearance, understated mood, straightforward retelling, and even pace. The story spins around a New Hand at a sawmill who returns youthfulness to an old man, and a miller's son who tries unsuccessfully to duplicate that feat for profit. San Souci makes a choice in favor of "softening the heavy use of dialect," found in the original tale. Pinkney adopts a corresponding tone in his illustrations, polishing any harshness away. Pencil sketches showing through his watercolors add character and interest, but never mar the finish. The result is a first-class treat for readers' eyes and ears. However, the prettiness has a price. The beauty (each illustration perfectly composed and delivered in a charming palette of subdued colors; each bit of dialogue tastefully framed; each character devastatingly handsome) keeps drawing readers' attention back to the surface, to the elegance of the presentation. Beneath that surface, down where the folktale's dynamic themes of filial disobedience, sin and redemption, and the search for immortality all converge, is where the real power lies. Libraries looking for African-American folktales should consider this title and bask in the splendor of its delivery. For fun, pair it with dePaola's Strega Nona (S&S, 1975), in which another magician wannabe misses the master's nuance.?Liza Bliss, Worcester Public Library, MA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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