Jezebel's Spooky Spot - Hardcover

Ross, Alice; Ross, Kent

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0525454489 ISBN 13: 9780525454489

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile, 1999

Synopsis

When Jezebel's papa goes off to war, she retreats to a special place in the woods--a swamp filled with soul-stealing pixie lights, the fearsome pond ghosts, and great marsh spiders--to do battle with her own fears.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

The Rosses (Cemetery Quilt), a mother-son team, open their affecting if slightly forced story as Papa leaves for war, advising Jezebel: "Just remember when you get that googery-boogery creepy-crawly catchy feeling, you look it in the eye. That's what I'll be doing." After he departs from the African-American family's log cabin, distraught Jezebel runs into the dark woods: "Oh, it was moky!" The feeling Papa described comes over the frightened girl, but she recalls his words: she tells the twisted trees and "snaky weeds" that she is not afraid and she claims the "ole spooky spot" as her own. Return visits to the "spooky spot" make her feel close to Papa, "because he was in danger, too." Out in the woods Jezebel overcomes various fears (of a large spider, of "swamp ghosts" formed by "fog fingers," and "pixie lights," lightning bugs, which Mammy, her grandmother, has told her can "steal your soul"); the later episodes seem redundant. The imagery, too, is belabored at times and the dialogue runs to phrases like "Lawse a mercy" (uttered by Mammy). The flaws, however, are outweighed by the warmth of the characterizations. Though not as compelling as his art for Knots on a Counting Rope or Paul Revere's Ride, Rand's emotion-charged paintings convey Jezebel's spunk and her powerful bond with her father. Ages 6-9.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 1-4-An uplifting story about the bravery of a spirited African-American girl. Before he goes off to war, Jezebel's father tells her never to be afraid, but to do what he'll be doing: "...when you get that googery-boogery creepy-crawly catchy feeling, you look it in the eye." For the next year, Jezebel visits a spooky place in the swampy wood by her house every time she gets lonely and misses her daddy, and although she gets the feeling he described many times, she stands her ground. Jezebel's character is deftly drawn as she remains steadfastly optimistic, comforting and encouraging Little Brother, reassuring her fearful Mammy, and going about her Papa's daily tasks. Rand's superb double-paged watercolor paintings are perfect complements to the text, portraying the swamp with its wild creatures and changing seasons in loving detail from "moky" fall twilight to a cold foggy winter's morning to a hot summer's evening. Jezebel's admirable personality is wonderfully pictured as is Mammy's pessimistic timorousness. The text is artistically set in a white box bordered in dark red. An exceptional offering in every respect.
Judith Constantinides, East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0525454489
• ISBN 13: 9780525454489
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Rand Ted