The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural
Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that some of these stories are fairly scary, and the combination of supernatural scare (with evil spirits and ghosts) and real-life violence (a lynching, one boy is beaten by his father) may disturb some children. The stories' characters deal with racism throughout American history, and the n-word and other racial epithets are used.
Families who read this book could discuss the racial background of the different eras in which the stories take place and the ways in which that affects the stories. Why would Pullman Porters have a story about a death train? Why does a slavery-era story end in death, but a Depression-era story end in revenge?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Matt Berman
Most of the stories in THE DARK-THIRTY: SOUTHERN TALES OF THE SUPERNATURAL are quite gripping. The supernatural element will draw young readers in, and the historical context may lead them to want to know more about the periods in which the stories are set.
Veteran author Patricia McKissack has a straight-ahead prose style that grabs the reader from the start of each story and makes the pages flow quickly by. She does best with the stories that arise from a melding of history and tradition, rather than, say, the silliness of a story such as "Boo Mama," which involves a secret utopian civilization of Sasquatches.
Pinkney's scratchboard illustrations are striking without actually affecting or interfering with the reader's own visualization of the scenes.
For children who don't like the scary aspects, a better choice is the sequel, Porch Lies, which is about tricksters rather than the supernatural.
From The Book
Chief Baker grabbed Hoop by the collar. "I know that you and them Kluxer maniacs lynched Alvin Tinsley, who had nothing to do with Holt's murder. But what's worse is that I ended up being forced to cover for the lot of you just to save the mayor's boy, who was out there with y'all. But it's not over. Alvin didn't kill Holt. The whole thing sticks in my throat like a fish bone, and I've got to hawk it up or choke to death on it. You get my meaning?" Chief Baker released his hold on Hoop.
"Alvin ain't dead. He's back"
Plot Summary:
Ten supernaturally tinged short stories from the African-American tradition span the period from pre-Civil War to modern times. Each begins with an author's note and contains a black-and-white scratchboard illustration by Brian Pinkney.
Stories include a man lynched by the KKK who exacts revenge from beyond the grave, a Pullman Porter trying to avoid the final all-aboard, a woman who refuses to believe in the evil spirit haunting her family, and a woman denied a bus ride whose ghost keeps on trying to ride.
Related Books:
Other Books by Patricia McKissack
Porch Lies: Tales of Slicksters, Tricksters, and Other Wily Characters
Lu and the Swamp Ghost
Mirandy and Brother Wind
More Creepy Stories
Great Writers & Kids Write Spooky Stories edited by Martin H. Greenburg, et al.
Nothing to Be Afraid Of by Jan Mark
Dark Starry Morning by David Patneaude
The Haunted House edited by Jane Yolen and Martin H. Greenberg
Hook Moon Night by Faye Gibbons
A Nightmare's Dozen: Stories from the Dark edited by Michael Stearns
Seven Strange & Ghostly Tales by Brian Jacques
The Hired Hand: An African-American Folktale by Robert D. San Souci
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ViolenceA man is beaten and lynched; a boy is beaten by his father. |
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LanguageIncludes the n-word and other racial epithets. |
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Social BehaviorIn the face of virulent racism, the stories' main characters persevere. |
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