(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

(2) 1-3 Illustrated by Daniel Minter. When a Southern country boy wakes up after falling from a tree, he is being carried off to heaven. Heaven, it turns out, is much like an idealized earthly African-American community: religion is important, basic needs are met, justice reigns, and children are the responsibility of the entire village. Linoleum block prints illustrate this book written in the early 1930s, now published for the first time. Bontemps, a terrific teller of tales, is a voice worth reviving for a new generation.

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

(2) 1-3 This literary fairy tale set in the days of slavery offers a vision of utopia and demonstrates the possibility of redemption and the power of love. The Great Lady of Peace tells Mama Love, a slave, that she and Papa Love will have a baby girl--"a princess who would bring peace, freedom, and love" to the plantation's slaves. The book's strength is the artwork; the colors are strong, and the images are memorable.

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