(4) K-3 Ready-to-Read series. Illustrated by Felicia Marshall. The publisher's copyright-page claim that "this book is a work of fiction" to the contrary, this standard account of Tubman's life cites events that correspond to those in other biographies of the Underground Railroad leader. The text is choppy but accessible. The accompanying full-page acrylic paintings are sometimes too dark but convey feeling. Chronology.

Reviewer: Barbara Barstow

(4) 1-3 Illustrated by Felicia Marshall. In 1978, ten-year-old Sylvia moves to a small South Carolina town with her mother and befriends their one-hundred-year-old neighbor. Eventually she discovers that her father, whom she believed dead, is alive, and that Miz Lula Maye is actually her great-grandmother. Although most of the plot strains credibility, the intergenerational friendship is endearing and convincing. Black-and-white illustrations accompany the text.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Felicia Marshall. An author's note reveals that some southern families still make their own sorghum molasses, like the rural African-American family pictured in this book. The Molasses Man's grandson describes his family working together to cut the cane, boil down the syrup, and sell the molasses at a roadside stand. Although facial expressions often seem distorted, the realistic paintings convey the warm feelings of the extended community.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Felicia Marshall. Animal apparitions and human specters haunt this collection of brief tales adapted from African-American folklore. Some are set in the slavery era, while others have a more contemporary flavor. Most of the entries read as spooky vignettes, rather than fully plotted stories, but this only increases the authenticity of the tales as examples of folk tradition. Illustrated with competent black-and-white artwork.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta