1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
McKissack, Patricia C. 2006. PORCH LIES: TALES OF SLICKSTERS, TRICKSTERS, AND OTHER WILY CHARACTERS. Ill. by Andre’ Carrilho. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books. ISBN 978-0-375-93619-7
2. PLOT SUMMARY
In the lengthy introduction, McKissack explains that she grew spending summers at her grandparents’ house in Nashville, Tennessee, listening to adults tell what she calls “porch lies.” Modern librarians may call the lies “folk tales.” McKissack says she attempts to capture the feel of those summer nights with her stories, and in many instances this writer forgets that McKissack warned the reader that the stories included in this volume are completely fiction. She introduces each story with a realistic character sketch of the person supposedly telling the story, and each one is completely believable.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
McKissack’s stories are not typical folk tales, in that her characters are not necessarily archetypal or symbolic. Instead, they seem realistic, even if their exploits are somewhat farfetched. Her style is completely natural, with some word spelled phonetically so that reading the stories aloud would sound completely natural to the setting of a Black neighborhood during and just after the Great Depression. With each story, the reader is exposed to more cultural markers. For example, in the story “Change” the character Sam Perkins says, “One day around noon-thirty….” And later Perkins describes the lunch they had -- “two meat loaf sandwiches and two soda pops down at Sadie’s Place.” Unless one grew up in the South, noon-thirty, dark-thirty, or dawn-thirty would have little meaning. The language McKissack uses also includes cultural clues to living in the South. She spells work phonetically so that the reader truly knows how the characters spoke, with “aine, whilst, yo’, and mighta.” Such spelling begs to be read aloud with a strong southern drawl.
Andre’ Carrilho’s illustrations are a perfect match with the tales of ghosties and devils. A cartoonist and caricaturist, as well as illustrator, the characters take on bigger-than-life presence with elongated hands reaching toward or large toothy smiles grimacing at the reader. Each adds dimension and meaning to the stories.
4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
From School Library Journal --Carrilhos eerie black-and-white illustrations, dramatically off-balance, lit by moonlight, and elongated like nightmares, are well-matched with the stories. … they’re great fun to read aloud and the tricksters, sharpies, slicksters, and outlaws wink knowingly at the child narrators, and at us foolish humans.–Susan Hepler, formerly at Burgundy Farm Country Day School, Alexandria, VA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist*Starred Review* … uproarious collection draw on African American oral tradition and blend history and legend with sly humor, creepy horror, villainous characters, and wild farce. Without using dialect, her intimate folk idiom celebrates the storytelling among friends, neighbors, and family as much as the stories themselves. … In black and white, Carrilho's full-page illustrations--part cartoon, part portrait in silhouette--combine realistic characters with scary monsters. History is always in the background (runaway slaves, segregation cruelty, white-robed Klansmen), and in surprising twists and turns that are true to trickster tradition, the weak and exploited beat powerful oppressors with the best lies ever told. Great for sharing, on the porch and in the classroom. Hazel RochmanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
5. CONNECTIONS
*Collect local folklore and create a community collection.
*Visit Story Corps (http://www.storycorps.net/) Have children record their families’ stories.
*Have children read other tales by McKissack.
*Locate and have available other African American folktales.
*Have children define “slickster, trickster, and wily characters” and have them write a tale of their own.
McKissack, Patricia C. 2006. PORCH LIES: TALES OF SLICKSTERS, TRICKSTERS, AND OTHER WILY CHARACTERS. Ill. by Andre’ Carrilho. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books. ISBN 978-0-375-93619-7
2. PLOT SUMMARY
In the lengthy introduction, McKissack explains that she grew spending summers at her grandparents’ house in Nashville, Tennessee, listening to adults tell what she calls “porch lies.” Modern librarians may call the lies “folk tales.” McKissack says she attempts to capture the feel of those summer nights with her stories, and in many instances this writer forgets that McKissack warned the reader that the stories included in this volume are completely fiction. She introduces each story with a realistic character sketch of the person supposedly telling the story, and each one is completely believable.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
McKissack’s stories are not typical folk tales, in that her characters are not necessarily archetypal or symbolic. Instead, they seem realistic, even if their exploits are somewhat farfetched. Her style is completely natural, with some word spelled phonetically so that reading the stories aloud would sound completely natural to the setting of a Black neighborhood during and just after the Great Depression. With each story, the reader is exposed to more cultural markers. For example, in the story “Change” the character Sam Perkins says, “One day around noon-thirty….” And later Perkins describes the lunch they had -- “two meat loaf sandwiches and two soda pops down at Sadie’s Place.” Unless one grew up in the South, noon-thirty, dark-thirty, or dawn-thirty would have little meaning. The language McKissack uses also includes cultural clues to living in the South. She spells work phonetically so that the reader truly knows how the characters spoke, with “aine, whilst, yo’, and mighta.” Such spelling begs to be read aloud with a strong southern drawl.
Andre’ Carrilho’s illustrations are a perfect match with the tales of ghosties and devils. A cartoonist and caricaturist, as well as illustrator, the characters take on bigger-than-life presence with elongated hands reaching toward or large toothy smiles grimacing at the reader. Each adds dimension and meaning to the stories.
4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
From School Library Journal --Carrilhos eerie black-and-white illustrations, dramatically off-balance, lit by moonlight, and elongated like nightmares, are well-matched with the stories. … they’re great fun to read aloud and the tricksters, sharpies, slicksters, and outlaws wink knowingly at the child narrators, and at us foolish humans.–Susan Hepler, formerly at Burgundy Farm Country Day School, Alexandria, VA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist*Starred Review* … uproarious collection draw on African American oral tradition and blend history and legend with sly humor, creepy horror, villainous characters, and wild farce. Without using dialect, her intimate folk idiom celebrates the storytelling among friends, neighbors, and family as much as the stories themselves. … In black and white, Carrilho's full-page illustrations--part cartoon, part portrait in silhouette--combine realistic characters with scary monsters. History is always in the background (runaway slaves, segregation cruelty, white-robed Klansmen), and in surprising twists and turns that are true to trickster tradition, the weak and exploited beat powerful oppressors with the best lies ever told. Great for sharing, on the porch and in the classroom. Hazel RochmanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
5. CONNECTIONS
*Collect local folklore and create a community collection.
*Visit Story Corps (http://www.storycorps.net/) Have children record their families’ stories.
*Have children read other tales by McKissack.
*Locate and have available other African American folktales.
*Have children define “slickster, trickster, and wily characters” and have them write a tale of their own.
