From Booklist
Part of Twayne's United States Authors series, this lucid, insightful discussion of a great children's writer talks about Hamilton as an African American writer who has deepened and extended our awareness of universal childhood experience. The introductory chapters describe Hamilton's own childhood and the influence of her extended rural midwestern family on the "nurturing of narrative." Then Mikkelsen combines in-depth literary criticism of each of Hamilton's 30 books--grouped by genre and arranged in chronological order--with a general evaluation of her themes, techniques (including "psychic realism and surrealistic setting"), and her crucial influence on other writers in the field. There's also a fascinating comparison with adult writers, such as Morrison, Kingston, and Tan, all of whom, like Hamilton, blend genres, experiment with language, and celebrate a diverse ethnic heritage through storytelling. This will be read by librarians and teachers and by students from high school through college. Hazel Rochman
