Children's corner

HONEY BABY SUGAR CHILD (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, $15.00) by Alice Faye Duncan is a mother's love song to her baby boy. Written in the spirit of Paul Laurence Dunbar, the text sings and swings like music and is a fun-loving read-aloud for any mother or grandmother's child.

GRANDMA'S GENERAL STORE-THE ARK (Frances Foster Books/Farrae, Straus and Giroux, $16.00) by Dorothy Carter is a moving tribute to the author's grandmother who operated a store in 1930s Jim Crow Florida. Defined in the novel as "a shelter from the storms of life," the Ark is more than a physical structure and houses emotions and provides a sense of security from outside forces, both natural and human-made. PRECIOUS AND THE BOO HAG (Athenum Books for Young Readers, $16.95), by Patricia C. McKissack and Onawumi Jean Moss (illustrated by Kyrsten Brooker), is a delightful folktale that will have youngsters chanting along with Precious in this not-too-scary tale. Will Precious outwit the Boo Hag trickster? The story teaches young children to listen to their parents and to be wary of strangers.

COPYRIGHT 2005 Johnson Publishing Co.
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