![]() ![]() ![]() Because of Woodson and Muth's restraint, the rosy qualities of this tale do not impair its emotional truth. Muth evokes the characters' emotions and supplies information that Woodson wisely omits from Johnson's narration (the emptiness of the apartment, with the children's spilled glasses and broken toy the hospital setting). Muth's ( Gershon's Monster) spare paintings, often set as vignettes against a white background, effectively convey the children's sense of isolation and, later, belonging. After a visit to their apparently hospitalized mother, who assures them that Gracie will care for them until she is able to, the two return to Gracie's open arms. Johnson is enchanted by the idyllic setting and by his aunt, who bakes cookies and tucks him in at bedtime, and even Beebee slowly warms up to her. Aunt Gracie is as warm and welcoming as her clapboard house with its sprawling porch, flowerbeds and tire swing. ![]() ![]() A kind woman appears at the door, explaining that her job "is to make sure little kids get taken care of" it sounds good to Johnson, but his more cynical older sister, Beebee, warns him the woman means foster care: "It's when you live with somebody that's not your mama." Eventually, the woman drives the siblings to their mother's sister, who is estranged from their mother. That's how it was with our mama," says Johnson. Woodson's ( Miracle's Boys) affecting story introduces a boy and girl seemingly abandoned by their mother. When a brother and sister are taken to stay with their mothers sister because their mother neglects them, they wonder if they will see their mother again. ![]()
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