(3) K-3 Illustrated by Geraldo Valério. Lester recounts a ghost story so full of lyrical jollity that the tale will delight (not frighten) almost any young reader. Valério's soothing blue, curving acrylic-paint brush strokes capture the fun as young Malcolm David learns that the eerie-sounding ghosts in his room aren't scary--they're hungry. Readers will be first surprised to learn what these ghosts eat, then satisfied with the story's ending.

Reviewer: Henrietta M. Smith

(2) YA In a small southern town in 1946, white fourteen-year-old Ansel Anderson is on the cusp of manhood. Tragedy strikes when Mary Susan, the girl he likes, is brutally murdered. An innocent man is lynched for it, and Ansel cannot--or does not--do anything to prevent it. The writing is lyrical, the subject is dark, and the ethical dilemmas will keep readers riveted.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2008

(2) YA Although Lester has sexed up the title by focusing on the more lubricious of the pair, what he presents is a fairly straightforward retelling of "Cupid and Psyche." What distinguishes this version is the garrulous, worldly-wise narrator. Well-attuned to the current zeitgeist on love, Lester creates a practical navigational chart for those newly embarking on romance's stormy seas.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2007

(2) YA In a dramatic program of monologues and conversations (with simple stage directions), Lester imaginatively reconstructs what could have been going on in the minds of fictional slaves and owners on a Georgia plantation on the concluding day of the largest slave auction in American history. The story provides a frequently surprising variety of responses to the events. An author's note discusses the historical record.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2005

(4) K-3 Illustrated by John Clapp. Born "black and silent as wonder" into an African-like village, Shining grows without making a sound. At Shining's coming of age, The One appears and explains to the suspicious villagers the value of listening. The poetic black similes ("black as wisdom") work a little too hard, but with its sooty charcoal and mixed-media images, brightened with touches of orange, this elemental tale has power.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(2) 1-3 Illustrated by Joe Cepeda. Lester sets a second pourquoi tale in the hip heaven of What a Truly Cool World. When the newly created snakes become such a menace that people and creatures flee up the ladders from earth to heaven, God doesn't know what to do. Mrs. God and angel Shaniqua think to consult the snakes and come up with a solution. Amiable caricatures plus a vibrant palette accompany this freewheeling tale. An excellent note details sources.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2002

(4) 1-3 Illustrated by Emilie Chollat. These six fables are by turns funny, serious, effective, and forced. Each features a different animal and alliteration for a different letter; amid many morals, a common thread is to appreciate yourself. Bright acrylic and collage pictures illustrate and exaggerate parts of the fables, where wisecracking contemporary animals reveal their lessons in ordinary type interspersed with phrases in different colors and fonts.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Lisa Cohen. Framed as a conversation with the author's granddaughter, this book affectionately and elegantly presents the contributions of Bessie Smith, Robert Johnson, Mahalia Jackson, Muddy Waters, Billie Holiday, B. B. King, Ray Charles, Little Richard, James Brown, and Aretha Franklin, all influenced by the blues if not strictly classifiable in that genre. Stylized portraits in bold colors illustrate the book. Bib.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(2) YA After Jeremy, twelve, and Jenna, fourteen, learn that their father has shot and killed their mother, disturbing bits and pieces of the truth emerge. Although the story's roll call of sensational events sometimes takes on a melodramatic quality, the telling is undeniably gripping, and readers will find believable the siblings' efforts to sort through the truth about their parents and begin to build a new life.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2001

(2) 4-6 This is the story of Moses and of the Hebrews in Egypt during the reign of Ramesses II, but in Lester's telling, history has been humanized, icons made flesh. Through a stunning blend of imagination and research, readers are transported into ancient Egypt, vividly evoked through a narrative that seems to reflect ancient discourse without sounding artificial. Bib., glos.

Reviewer: Mary M. Burns | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2000

(2) 1-3 Illustrated by Joe Cepeda. In this take-off on a tale recorded in Zora Neale Hurston's Mules and Men, God walks around in house slippers, has a wife named Irene, and a secretary named Bruce. After the earth is created, Shaniqua (the angel in charge of everybody's business) decides the earth is boring and helps God create butterflies. The language is contemporary, colloquial, and humorous, and Cepeda's colorful, stylized illustrations capture the spirit of what Lester calls a "black storytelling voice."

Reviewer: Rudine Sims Bishop | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 1999

(1) 4-6 Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. Lester's superb retellings of the stories of Brer Rabbit and friends--The Tales of Uncle Remus (1987), More Tales of Uncle Remus (1988), Further Tales of Uncle Remus (1990), and The Last Tales of Uncle Remus (1994)--are brought together in one handsome, imposing volume. An exceptional resource for scholars as well as for adult and child readers. Reviews 7/87, 9/88, 7/90, 5/94.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(1) 4-6 Illustrated by Emily Lisker. Lester fuses two traditions here--the "loving irreverence" of African-American storytelling and the imaginative inquiry of midrashim (Jewish stories that extend and interpret biblical texts). Lisker's paintings capture the stories' primal essence (and a bit of their playfulness) in bold, archetypal forms. A reverent, wise, witty, and wonderfully entertaining book, handsomely produced. Bib.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 1999

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Tom Feelings. Quotations--chiefly from narratives by ex-slaves--are embedded in a clear, forceful, and orderly discussion and running commentary on the history of African Americans. The black-and-white drawings embody the simple, somber dignity of the text. This thirtieth anniversary edition of the Newbery Honor book contains new author's and illustrator's notes, along with the author's note from the original edition.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc. | Horn Book Magazine Issue: February, 1969

(2) K-3 In vivid, poetic prose, Lester tells the tale of cowboy Bob Lemmons, a story he first told in 'Long Journey Home: Stories from Black History'. A former slave with no formal education, Lemmons possessed the unusual ability to bring in a herd of wild mustangs alone. Pinkney's magnificent earth-toned paintings bring to life the wild beauty of the horses and the western plains.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(3) 4-6 The plight of Africans from capture to auction to freedom is told in expressive paintings and a powerful, thought-provoking text. An introduction explains how Lester wrote the text as a personal response to Brown's paintings and that he found himself addressing the reader, "begging, pleading, imploring you not to be passive, but to invest soul and imagine yourself in the images." A list of paintings is appended.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.