Appalachian Children's and Youth Books
    The book listings in all subject categories are in alphabetical order by author.  When the names of the authors are underlined and appear in blue, you may click on them to obtain biographical information on the author.  Please note that this site is under construction and we hope to fill these annotated listings out with more categories of books and more books within each category. 

Picture Books
   These books are meant to be read to children by adults or older children.

Pulling My Leg by Jo Carson. New York: Orchard Books, 1993. 32 unnumbered pages illustrated by Julie Downing.
    This is a delightful story with a universal setting. It is narrated by a girl with a loose tooth whose uncle asks her to get all kinds of tools so he can extract it. At the end, he tells her that if she never puts her tongue in the hole, the new tooth will grow in golden. She replies, "You're pulling my leg," and his response is, "We can do that if you want to...but you'll have to find about twenty feet of rope..."   **Click here to order**

You Hold Me and I’ll Hold You by Jo Carson. New York: Orchard Books, 1992. 32 un-numbered pages illustrated by Annie Cannon.
    This picture book tells the story of a little girl who lives with her sister and father and goes with them to the funeral of her father's sister, a relative whom she does not know. It is meant to be read to mature pre-schoolers. Because it presents a non-traditional family and deals directly with the issue of death, it may raise some questions which need the answers of sensitive adults. Although there is mention of Tennessee, this book has an essentially universal setting.    **Click here to order**

The Tailypo: A Ghost Story retold by Joanna Galdone. New York: Clarion Books, 1977. 30 unnumbered pages illustrated by Paul Galdone, a Caldecott Honor Book illustrator for 1957 and 1958.
    This is one of the most popular and versatile Appalachian picture books. Set in East Tennessee, it makes fun family reading for kids of many ages and is even a good choice for older kids who enjoy ghost stories.   **Click here to order**

A Water Snake’s Year by Doris Gove. New York: Antheneum, 1991. 32 pages illustrated by Beverly Duncan.
    This innovative non-fiction picture book follows the life cycle of a snake living on the Middle Fork of the Pigeon River on the Tennessee side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, near Elkmont.  **Click here to order**

A Little Excitement by Marc Harshman. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1990. 32 unnumbered pages illustrated by Ted Rand.
    A boy who is bored with country life is warned by his grandmother that when a person wishes for excitement, there is a danger that too much will be delivered. Sure enough, a stovepipe fire shortly erupts. It is extinguished successfully, however, leading to a happy ending for a delightful story. Appropriate both to read to pre-readers and for early readers to tackle on their own. Because of the author's sensitive treatment, even children and adults who have experienced the trauma of a house fire are unlikely to feel that this book treats such tragedies too lightly.   **Click here to order**

Only One by Marc Harshman. New York: Cobblehill/Dutton, 1993. 32-unnumbered pages illustrated by Barbara Garrison.
    The author uses a country fair to illustrate some very basic number concepts to pre-schoolers in this attractive picture book.  **Click here to order**

Rocks in My Pockets by Marc Harshman and Bonnie Collins. New York: Cobblehill/Dutton, 1991. 32 unnumbered pages illustrated by Toni Goffe.
    This is a rollicking, folksy tale of mountain-top farmers who use rocks in their pockets to stay on the mountain when the wind blows. They find a temporary prosperity selling their rocks to gullible city people, but keep their mountain roots and values intact.   **Click here to order**

Snow Company by Marc Harshman. New York: Cobblehill/Dutton, 1990. 32 unnumbered pages illustrated by Ted Rand.
    A delightful story of West Virginia mountaineers cleverly coping with country life at its best. Kids will enjoy reading or listening to this book especially on a cold winter evening.   **Click here to order**

My Great Aunt Arizona by Gloria Houston. New York: HarperCollins, 1992. 32 unnumbered pages, illustrated by Susan Condie.
    This book, set in the mountains of North Carolina, is a tribute to one of the author's strongest role models, her aunt who served for decades as a teacher in a one-room mountain school in Mitchell County.  The illustrations make this book especially appealing.   **Click here to order**

John Henry: An American Legend by Ezra Jack Keats. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1965. 32 un-numbered pages, illustrated by the author.
    This dazzling book, popular with adults and kids alike, is great for building both regional an minority pride. It is the story of the incredibly strong Black workman, John Henry, who beat a steam engine in a contest in a Summers County, West Virginia, railroad tunnel. "Keats' illustrations, cast under an agate sky, ripple and pulsate with energetic beauty." - The New York Times. So stunning and simple it can easily be read even to very young children, but it is also especially appealing for early readers.   **Click here to order**

A Regular Rolling Noah by George Ella Lyon. New York: Alladin/Macmillan, 1986. 32 unnumbered pages,an over-sized trade paperback, illustrated by Stephen Gammell.
    This is one of the most captivating picture books for children ever published. It tells a family story of a young mountain boy, living in the first half of this century, who was hired by neighbors to tend their farm animals in a train's boxcar when they moved from a Pike County, Kentucky, farm to a farm in Canada. Most kids love animals, trains, and kids who shine. This book has all three! "With text that sings and shimmering paintings that fairly burst with color...this poetic work is a feast for the eyes and ears." - Publisher's Weekly.   **Click here to order**

Miss Maggie by Cynthia Rylant. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1983. Illustrated by Thomas DiGrazia. 32 unnumbered pages.
    This is a heart-warming story of a young boy who serves as a kind of protector to an old lady who lives on a nearby mountain farm. Boys who are just learning to read love this book because the hero plays such an important role in the woman's life, and because there are so many engaging elements to the story, including a black snake, sure to delight young children. This book is very well-written, exciting in a kind of low-keyed way, and yet accessible to early readers. It is especially appropriate for first and second graders who read very well but who have not yet limited their reading to "chapter books." It is also excellent for reading to children in these grades, an experience which may motivate some to read it on their own.     **Click here to order**

Night in the Country by Cynthia Rylant. New York: Bradbury Press, 1986. Illustrated by Mary Szilagyi. 32 unnumbered pages.
    "A remarkable picture book that sweeps the reader into the quiet, special world of a country night. Exceptionally beautiful illustrations bring the scenes to life as the text whispers...lines...Night in the Country is a gentle, soothing story that's perfectly suited for bedtime reading." - Publisher's Weekly. This book is ideal for the parent who is preparing a child for a country visit. The setting is essentially universal, but those who know of Cynthia Rylant's West Virginia background will find it consistent with that. The difference in tone between this book and The Relative Came shows Rylant's terrific range as a writer, for the two books actually have a similar theme--the experience of a child coming to a new and different place.   **Click here to order**

The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant. New York: Bradbury Press, 1985. 32 unnumbered pages,illustrated by Stephen Gammell.
    Zany pictures and wacky text tell the story of Virginia folks driving over to West Virginia to visit their kinfolks. Kids just love to find all the little goof-ups in the pictures, from the jam spilling off the sandwiches to the broken mail box. The picture of the members of the two families asleep all over the bedroom with toes poking out from under the covers and belly-buttons revealed by ill-fitting pajamas is a great favorite. This book was a Caldecott Honor Book.   **Click here to order**

This Year’s Garden by Cynthia Rylant. New York: Alladin/Macmillan, 1984, reprinted in 1987. Illustrated by Mary Szilagyi. 32 unnumbered pages.
    "Stunningly evocative, the paintings are a remarkable combination of deep tones and glittering shades. This is a lovely, unpretentious story." - Publisher's Weekly.. Truly a universal setting, but certainly appropriate to Appalachia and based on the author’s recollections of growing up in West Virginia.   **Click here to order**

When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1985. Illustrated by Diane Goode. 26 un-numbered pages.
    This compelling picture book presents a positive view of being raised in the coalfields. "Sometimes writer and illustrator harmonize perfectly, as they do in this lovingly understated picture book." - People. Named a Caldecott Honor Book. This book helped launch a revival in Appalachian children’s books because it was so popular.  **Click here to order**

Primary - For Early Readers
    These books are designed for beginning readers to read by themselves.  They are appropriate for most 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders to read.

Daniel’s Duck by Clyde Robert Bulla. New York: Harper and Row, 1979. 64-pages illustrated by Joan Sandlin.
    Part of Harper and Row's "I Can Read" series, this book is especially designed for early readers. It is set in East Tennessee in pioneer days, and the main character is a boy who wants to become a wood-carver. This is a sensitive treatment of the role of crafts in mountain life by a very well-respected children's book author.**Click here to order**

White Bird by Clyde Robert Bulla. New York: Random House, 1966. 63 pages illustrated by Donald Cook.
    Set during the first generation of the settlement of East Tennessee by Europeans, this book tells the story of a boy who is raised by a hermit and whose efforts to tame a bird force him to relate, for the first time, with others. The Weekly Reader Children's Book Club kept this book in print throughout the 1970's. It is particularly appropriate for most third grade boys, but many girls will relate easily to this story as well.   **Click here to order**

The Best Loved Doll by Rebecca Caudill. New York: Henry Holt, 1962. 64 unnumbered pages.
    This is an ideal book for an elementary school girl to read to her pre-school sister. The setting is essentially universal inspired by an incident which happened to Rebecca Caudill's own daughter.  **Click here to order**

A Certain Small Shepherd by Rebecca Caudill. 48-pages illustrated by Pene Du Bois who was a Caldecott Honor Book illustrator for 1952 and 1957.
    When this book was first issued, Publisher's Weekly exuded, "This Christmas will be remembered as the year A Certain Small Shepherd was published and a new classic was born...a joyful and loving experience that families will share on Christmas Eves as long as there are Christmases."  Set in the Kingdom Come community of Eastern Kentucky where the author was born.  Adults are especially enchanted by this book, but, despite the early reader design, this book appeals primarily to rather advanced beginning readers Thus it makes a great choice for an older sibling to reader to a younger one. **Click here to order**

Did You Carry the Flag Today, Charlie? by Rebecca Caudill. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1966. 94pages, illustrated by Nancy Grossman.
    This is another popular story based on experiences related to Rebecca Caudill at Pine Mountain Settlement School in Harlan County, Kentucky. It tells of the first school experience of a boy from a large mountain family.   This book is similar to Caudill's A Certain Small Shepherd in both its appeal and its sophistication.   **Click here to order**

A Pocketful of Cricket by Rebecca Caudill. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1964. 40 unnumbered pages illustrated by Evaline Ness who also had Caldecott Honor Books in 1966 and 1967.
    This book was a 1965 Caldecott Honor Book!  Simple, short, and   boldly illustrated, this book, about a child's experience ce at school, is perfect to read to kindergartners. Set in the Tennessee hills where the author first went to school.    **Click here to order**

Mrs. Gaddy and the Ghost by Wilson Gage. New York: Greenwillow Books, 1979. 55 pages illustrated by Marylin Hafner.
    This is another adventure of Mrs. Gaddy in the Greenwillow Read Alone Series written by Mary Q. Steele under her pen name, Wilson Gage. In this book, Mrs. Gaddy first tries to get rid of the ghost in her farmhouse by a series of hilarious efforts. Ultimately she feels sorry for him and decides he has as much right as she to stay in "their" house! It is difficult to imagine a book that early readers will enjoy more heartily than this one! To read a ghost story without help is great for almost all beginning readers.   **Click here to order**

My Stars, It’s Mrs. Gaddy by Wilson Gage. New York: Greenwillow Books, 1991. 96 pages illustrated by Marylin Hafner.
   It is wonderful to have all of Mary Q. Steele's Mrs. Gaddy books under one cover because kids love them so much. In addition to MRS. GADDY AND THE GHOST, included here are THE CROW AND MRS. GADDY (1984) and MRS. GADDY AND THE FAST GROWING-VINE (1985). They all retain the original drawings by Marylin Hafner which serve only to heighten the fun.   **Click here to order**

Willie Pearl by Michelle Y. Green. Bethesda, Maryland: William Ruth, 1990. 45 pages illustrated by Steve McCracken.
    The author was raised in Number 6 holler at Jenkins, Kentucky, where her father still lives. That is the setting for this up-beat story of coalfield life among Black people which may also be appropriate for upper elementary girls.   **Click here to order**

Reviews by George Brosi, Copyright 1998