Gnat Stokes and the Foggy Bottom Swamp Queen [Hardcover]

Sally M. Keehn (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

When Goodlow Pryce is stolen from Mary's Cove, twelve-year-old Gnat is determined to bring hope and peace back to her stricken mountain home. Even if that means she has to face Zelda, the evil Swamp Queen, who lurks in nearby Foggy Bottom. Little does Gnat know that the Swamp Queen she's pitting herself against is her own mother. Or that, in defeating her and saving Goodlow, Gnat will come to learn about the many sides of love and its transforming power.
From the author of The First Horse I See and I Am Regina, comes this hilarious and spirited adventure based on the famous folktale Tam Lin.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 5-8–Motherless Gnat Stokes, 12, is a cheerful, hardy, adventurous sort who is determined to rescue Goodlow Pryce, who was stolen 7 years earlier by Zelda, the malevolent, magical Swamp Queen. When Gnat catches a mysterious swamp cat and discovers that Goodlow sent it to Penelope, his true love, she removes the charmed locket and the rescue message it carries. When she puts in on, she falls in love with Goodlow. Battling scary swamp monsters and the revelation that Zelda is her mother, Gnat comes to realize that she must give Goodlow up in order to save him. Told in Gnat's mountain-tinged, irreverent voice, this imaginative tale is strewn with laughter from humor involving the consumption of beans to send-ups of self-righteous community figures who don't favor education. Imagine Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's Sang Spell (S & S, 1998) with much wilder plot events and characters and you will begin to see the certain appeal of this bounding, delightful, Tam Lin-based story.–Cindy Darling Codell, formerly at Clark Middle School, Winchester, KY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. Keehn spins a magical Appalachian tall tale filled with kid-pleasing elements: a nightmarish swamp swarming with hordes of gruesome, bewitched creatures; sweethearts tragically separated by Zelda, the evil Swamp Queen; Eatmore Beans, a talking cat bearing an enchanted locket; and a most unlikely heroine--feisty, 12-year-old Gnat Stokes. In spite of her unfortunate parentage (no one knows who her mother is and her long-gone father is a "no-good Rebel," though the war ended years ago) and the fact that local folks think she "was born to raise trouble," Gnat longs to be a hero. When she intercepts a mysterious locket, it immediately triggers a series of bizarre, dangerous events, inextricably linking Gnat's fate with the lovers Penelope and Goodlow. Keehn's tale is by turns, creepy, laugh-aloud funny, touching, and utterly satisfying. Her voice is sassy and straight out of the Tennessee hills, making this a book that begs to be read aloud as well as a superb choice for readers' theater. Chris Sherman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Philomel (April 21, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399242872
• ISBN-13: 978-0399242878
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,284,378 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gnat Stokes Is A Keeper!, May 30, 2005

By 

Karen Bashkirew (Emmaus, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gnat Stokes and the Foggy Bottom Swamp Queen (Hardcover)

Gnat Stokes And The Foggy Bottom Swamp Queen is a keeper-- touching, funny, and full of faith in the healing power of love. Sally Keehn has given us a memorable fantasy adventure told in vivid language rich with the tone of the Smoky Mountains and delivered in a fresh, authentic voice. I loved every word and the spaces in between.

The characters, even minor ones, are colorful and well-drawn. Granny Hart, collector of stories, catcher of babies, with second sight, who delivers sermons with every bath, and explains the different kinds of love with the metaphor of a many-sided love-crystal. Grandpa, with his steadfast presence, his wisdom about the importance of properly naming people and animals, and his three Idas. The newly arrived teacher, Miss Hope, with her gold tooth, her love of books, and three magic Latin words, "Amor Vincit Omnia," to be spoken as talisman when facing danger--"Love Conquers All." Eatmore Beans, a talking cat with a Scottish accent who delivers to Gnat a gold locket containing an urgent message, and then befriends wordless Baby Earl. And Gnat herself--a bona fide original, self-described as "twelve and running amok," motherless, a plucky mountain gal hungry for books and learning, an open-hearted scallywag determined to redeem herself and be a hero.

Further enhancing the enjoyment, the settings of Mary's Cove and Foggy Bottom Swamp are vividly imagined and artfully described. And the names of people and places delight: Goodlow Price, Jib Darnell, Hallelujah Pond, Devil's Notch, and my favorite, "The Francis Spittle Home For Wayward Girls." Also, the naming rituals described add an interesting layer of meaning to a story already rich with thoughtful symbols and messages.

I've enjoyed all of Sally Keehn's books, but this one has stolen my heart....

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A perfect story for families to read aloud together, June 24, 2005

By 

A Customer (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gnat Stokes and the Foggy Bottom Swamp Queen (Hardcover)

The year is 1868, but in the back woods of Tennessee, the Civil War is still brewing. Twelve-year-old Gnat Stokes, whose mother abandoned her at birth and whose "no-good pappy" is a "thieving Rebel," lives with her grandfather in Mary's Cove. Gnat has a reputation as a troublemaker, but secretly she just wants to learn about the world --- she loves reading, and desperately wants to go to school.

Mary's Cove is surrounded by misty, creepy swamplands, presided over by the evil Foggy Bottom Swamp Queen, Zelda, and her army of bogie monsters known as Swamp Knights. Seven years earlier, Zelda, who often takes the form of a panther, kidnapped the handsome youth Goodlow Pryce. Since then, Goodlow's sweetheart, Penelope Drinkwater, has pined over her lost love.

Gnat wants to like Penelope, but when a talking cat (soon named Eatmore Beans) delivers an enchanted locket with a cryptic message from Goodlow, Gnat intercepts it and finds herself head over heels in love with Goodlow. Soon Gnat and her three friends are on a quest to rescue Goodlow so that Gnat can become a town hero and find true love.

GNAT STOKES AND THE FOGGY BOTTOM SWAMP QUEEN is written from Gnat's perspective, in a folksy, down-home tone that lends ambience to this Appalachian tale. Inspired by the old Scottish ballad "Tam Lin," GNAT STOKES draws on many folk traditions, but also includes more modern touches such as Gnat's infatuation with LITTLE WOMEN and a running joke about the adverse effects of eating too many beans.

With its Southern tone, dramatic and humorous scenes, and unforgettable heroine, GNAT STOKES AND THE FOGGY BOTTOM SWAMP QUEEN feels like an old-fashioned yarn people used to tell around the camp fire, making it an ideal story for families to read aloud together.

--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

3.0 out of 5 stars Careful on this one, November 15, 2009

By 

5th Grade Teacher (Cincinnati, OH) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Gnat Stokes and the Foggy Bottom Swamp Queen (Hardcover)

I ordered this book for a reading group for my fifth graders. I had a parent of one the students "concerned" about the "spooky" content that Sally Keehn put in this children's book, and I had to switch that child to a different group to accommodate. It is an enjoyable book to read if you stress that it is a fiction book.