Neeny Coming, Neeny Going (Coretta Scott King Honor Award) - Hardcover

Kindergarten-Grade 3?A story set on Daufuskie Island, South Carolina, in the 1950s. Essie eagerly awaits the arrival of her cousin Neeny, who went to the mainland to live with her mother and is now returning for a visit. Essie is disappointed to find that Neeny has changed, and is now unwilling to take part in gathering berries and fishing. She no longer likes "clashy" colors, and wears only store-bought dresses, abhorring the bright clothing their grandmother made. At her farewell party, she seems happy to be returning to her new home, and invites Essie to visit her in the city. She leaves with an unopened gift from her cousin-Essie's quilt, made by their grandmother and full of bits of memorable clothing and clashy colors-which will eventually connect her with her heritage. The story is told in an imitation of Gullah speech patterns, not so faithful that it becomes an exercise in phonetic transliteration, but lilting in the verbs and inflections and occasional uses of island diction. The illustrations are done in what appear to be collages of bright, flat colors with faces expressive in their shapes, indicating attitude and motion, for there are no drawn facial features. Size, shape, and motion are all evident, as are the brilliant, deep, "clashy" colors. But these are not collages, but drawings, the hard edges achieved by careful craftsmanship. A physically beautiful and memorable book.?Ruth K. MacDonald, Bay Path College, Longmeadow, MA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This book purports to acknowledge changes that have taken place over the years in the Sea Islands off South Carolina: the encroachment of pollution, job losses, migration to the mainland. However, newcomer English tells her tale in such an oblique way that without the introduction it would be difficult to glean her intent. The narrator, Essie, lives with her grandmother on Daufuskie Island and is eagerly awaiting the arrival of cousin Neeny. The two girls had been "like sisters" until Neeny moved to the mainland to be with her mother. At first Essie's emotion is infectious ("Neeny coming!-Neeny coming tomorrow!"), but as soon as her cousin steps ashore, twirling a parasol, it is obvious (to the reader, if not to Essie) that the visit will be a letdown. Neeny has changed-"Neeny come like a visitor who didn't want to visit" and the rest of the text catalogues her disdainful comparisons of island ways with the refinements of her city home. Saint James's (Tukama Tootles the Flute) abstract artwork, for all its bright blocks of color and dramatic style, fails to add much zest; her silhouetted figures seem to be suspended in silence and stillness. Only her spread of Neeny's going-away party suggests the vigor of island life. A disappointment. Ages 5-8.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.