A Gathering of Flowers - Softcover

Joyce Carol Thomas is an internationally renowned poet, novelist, and playwright. She received the National Book Award for her first novel for children, Marked by Fire, and a Coretta Scott King Honor for her first picture book, Brown Honey in Broomwheat Tea. She also received a Coretta Scott King Honor, an International Reading Association Teacher#146;s Choice Award and an American Library Association Notable Award for her epic poem, I Have Heard of a Land.

In addition to these celebrated titles, Joyce Carol Thomas has written other books of poetry, such as A Mother#146;s Heart, A Daughter#146;s Love: Poems for Us to Share; Crowning Glory; and Gingerbread Days. She has also written collections of short stories, including A Gathering of Flowers: Stories About Being Young in America; The Bowlegged Rooster: And Other Tales That Signify; and What#146;s the Hurry, Fox? And Other Animal Stories, which is an adaptation of short stories collected by Zora Neale Hurston.

Joyce Carol Thomas has also written two board books, Cherish Me and You Are My Perfect Baby, and the novels Bright Shadow and When the Nightingale Sings.

A native of Ponca City, Oklahoma, Joyce Carol Thomas now lives in Berkeley, California.

An uneven collection of 11 short stories--ranging in quality from the trite (Gary Soto's "First Love") to the terrific (Thomas' "Young Reverend Zelma Lee Moses")--gathered as a bouquet to celebrate the ethnic diversity of the young American experience. Among the stories are two very funny ones: Gerald Vizenor's "Almost a Whole Trickster," a tall tale with roots in native American trickster tales, and Gerald Haslam's "Upstream." Maxine Hong Kingston's "Twisters and Shouters" is a sophisticated story about interpersonal relationships, while Rick Wernli offers a somber, heavy-handed sci/fi fantasy. Lois Lowry tells an unforgettable story about a young woman who has gone mad. Kyu Kyung's "Autumn Rose " deals with parental reaction to intercultural relationships. A collection such as this requires a delicate balance, stressing universal experience without losing respect for differences. A few of the stories achieve this; however, in others, ethnic words and expressions too often serve as cultural punctuation points without emphasizing true attitudinal differences and similarities. Also, there is an offensive stereotype in Ana Castillo's story; the Jewish pawnbroker who moves to Florida can only reinforce prejudices. A few stories will be read and remembered, but in too many, ethnicity neither enhances the plot, enriches the characterization, nor helps young audiences empathize and sympathize with cultures not their own. --Marjorie Lewis, Scarsdale Junior High School, NY
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