TRADITIONAL LITERATURE

McKissack, Patricia.  2006.  PORCH LIES.  Ill. by Andre Carrilho.  New York:  Schwartz & Wade Books      ISBN:  9780375836190

PLOT SUMMARY

   This collection of nine "tales of slicksters, tricksters, and other wily characters" was assembled from memories of Patricia McKissack's childhood.  During the summertime she would go to her grandparents home in Nashville, Tennessee where friends and family would often stop by to visit.  She explains, "Some of these visitors loved to tell stories, or porch lies, as we called them - tales of humor and exaggeration told to listeners of all ages gathered together on the porch."

   All the stories compiled here are original creations, but they were fashioned after "the myths, legends, and historical figures who often appear in the African American oral tradition."  The formulation of the characters and situations in each story is rich.  Each tale is introduced with the particulars of the storyteller and the ocassion of their visit.  The band director at the high school stops by to encourage a neighbor to rejoin the band; an insurance agent comes by to collect a one-dollar premium and remembers a story when asked if he had change for a hundred dollar bill; a former boarder, who had become a physician, spends an afternoon during a visit to the medical college.
   Each of these nine recollections involves a cast of characters whose main protagonist is either a "fast-or-slow talking, well dressed city slicker or and innocent-looking country bumpkin...gifted with a silver tongue tarnished by an oily reputation."  In "Change", Mingo Cass is a alleged con-man who can't pay for his shoe shine because all he has to pay with is a one hundred dollar bill, and he knows change cannot be made.  The owner of the barber shop accuses him of "bamboozling" and wagers a bet of a year of free haircuts that "you aine got nothing that looks like a hundred-dollar bill in yo' wallet."
   In "Aunt Gran and the Outlaws", the main character is an innocent grandmother who enlisted the help of "two businessmen from Missouri" who turned out to be Frank and Jesse James.


CRITICAL ANALYSIS

   The winning charm and clever wit of seemingly unsavory characters is portrayed in humorous and sometimes scary situations.  McKissack's prose captures the sound of each storyteller's voice.  Each story also contains one black and white illustration by Andre Carrilho.  The people and surroundings are captured in exaggerated and comical caricatures combined with darkly sharp images.


REVIEW EXCERPTS

Library Media Connection
"This collection is a sheer delight to read and could encourage teachers, students and parents to imaginatively compose tales of a similar genre."

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Crackling dialogue fuels humorous plots, making this collection perfect for a classroom read aloud."


CONNECTIONS
*Other books by Patricia McKissack: 
THE DARK THIRTY: SOUTHERN TALES OF THE SUPERNATURAL
STICHIN' AND PULLIN': A GEES BEND QUILT
MIRANDY AND BROTHER WIND

*This collection of stories would be an excellent adult read aloud in the classroom or a library story time for older children.