Shovelful of Sunshine by Stacie Vaughn Hutto, and: Appalachian Toys and Games From A–Z by Linda Hager Pack, and: Young Ray Hicks Learns the Jack Tales by Lynn Salsi, and: Appalachian Jack Tales Told by Hicks, Ward and Harmon Families by Lynn Salsi (review)

Shovelful of Sunshine. By Stacie Vaughn Hutto. Illustrated by Cheryl Harness. Foreword by Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. (Terra Alta, WV: Headline Kids, 2013. Pp. 32.)

Hutton’s picture book is partially based on a 1944 letter written by Ralph Vilkoski, a miner in Powhatan, Ohio, to his wife, in which he advised their two sons to go “where there is sunshine.” It tells the story of young Meggie Gwinn, who’s been frightened by news of miners trapped underground, and now fears that the same might happen to her father, also a miner. Using the shovel that his Welsh great-grandfather used when he arrived in the United States to work in the mines, Meggie’s father begins to plant sunflower seeds, then questions the wisdom of doing so: what if they’re washed away by rain or eaten by a hungry chipmunk? Meggie says that they “have to give them a chance,” and as the flowers grow, so does her hope that her father, too, will always emerge from under the ground.

It’s a nice metaphor, although in other ways the book conveys a mixed message: Meggie’s great-grandfather helped build the local school so that his children might have better opportunities, and her grandpa (who, it’s suggested, died of black lung disease) wanted the same for his children, but Meggie’s dad is still a miner. So one is left to wonder how realistic Meggie’s own dreams of “faraway places” really are.

Appalachian Toys and Games From A–Z. By Linda Hager Pack. Illustrated by Pat Banks. (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2013. Pp. 44.)

This book is an abecedary of Appalachian toys and games from the mid- to late nineteenth century, starting with “apple dolls” and ending with “puZZles,” with entries for such representative items as corn-shuck dolls and limberjacks along the way. Many of the toys and games, like jump rope, kick the can, and marbles, are not unique to Appalachia, nor to the nineteenth century. In these cases, Pack often includes interesting details about the history of the games, which often can be traced back to ancient times and to locations all around the world. Other entries make it clear the authors were stretching for something to fit the letter: O, for example, is for “outside,” and is a poem about how “Outside is where a child went to be a child.”

The book’s watercolor illustrations are lovely; Banks is especially good about changing unusual perspectives for her images, so that sometimes we get a close-up view of the toy in use, and other times a more distanced perspective, like the aerial view of children playing “Anty Over” outside their one-room schoolhouse. These choices add variety and interest to the book. A glossary, list of places to visit, and a bibliography of books about Appalachia for children add additional context to the materials.

For a picture book, this is pretty text heavy, and the font used is quite small. And as an ABC book, there’s not really a narrative. Consequently, this is a book for browsing; parents might read portions of it to younger children, while older, more independent readers would enjoy perusing it and trying out some of the games themselves.

Young Ray Hicks Learns the Jack...