Sallie Gal And The Wall-a-kee Man
Grade 3–5—Cousins Sallie Gal and Wild Cat live near each other on Cumbo Road in North Carolina. Sallie Gal's father is serving in Vietnam. Although the eight-year-olds spend many of their summer days chopping cotton, they also play and scheme together. Sallie Gal's greatest desire is to have hair ribbons just like Wild Cat's, but money is tight and Momma is proud and self-sufficient. The girls try several ways to earn enough for the coveted ribbons and run into trouble along the way. Customers are few at their lemonade stand, and disaster strikes when Sallie Gal breaks her mother's glass pitcher. When the Wall-a-Kee Man, a salesman with a whole store in his station wagon, gives Sallie Gal ribbons, she knows Momma will make her return them, so she hides the gift and struggles with her conscience. Appealing black-and-white illustrations in various sizes embellish the text. Moses takes a fond look at strong family ties and the values of honesty and hard work. Short paragraphs and peppy dialogue make this easy chapter book a candidate for reading aloud.—Kathryn Kosiorek, formerly at Cuyahoga County Public Library, Brooklyn, OHCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.