A Gathering of Flowers - Softcover

Thomas, Joyce Carol

3.71

24 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0064470822 ISBN 13: 9780064470827

Publisher: HarperTeen, 1992

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

A young Chicano family places all its dreams for the future on a golden cockroach.
Children on a Chippewa reservation carve a tribal trickster from a block of ice in the middle of July.

A young black woman with a gift for preaching decides she'll fly on Sunday at the Perfect Peace Baptist Church.

Written by such distinguished authors as Maxine Hong Kingston, Lois Lowry, Gary Soto, and Joyce Carol Thomas, the short stories in this collection are a celebration of diversity--a tribute to the races and cultures that make up America. Here are exquisitely crafted fables and fantasies, surprising turns of plots, intricate patterns, and powerful rhythms that take the reader from rural Oklahoma to a Chicago Latino barrio, from an East Coast neighborhood to urban San Francisco, and beyond. Here are stories that illuminate the glory, the splendor, the achings and failings of young people growing up across the country--and that address what it is truly like to be ethnic and American.

"Readers are treated to the cultural richness of [eleven] stories depicting the frustrations and celebrations of young people in the United States: Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, White Americans, and Japanese Americans." ?EJ. "The collection is rich and colorful, containing strong individual voices. A subtle and sophisticated assortment, dominated by an appealing honesty and authenticity." ?C.

1991 Books for the Teen Age (NY Public Library)

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author:

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.

From School Library Journal:

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
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.