The Red Comb

In mid-nineteenth-century Puerto Rico, an old woman and a young village girl conspire to prevent the capture of a runaway African slave.

Grade 2-4-An original story, smoothly translated from the Spanish and based on fact, set in Puerto Rico in the mid-19th century. Pedro Calderon has become a rich man by capturing runaway slaves from nearby sugarcane plantations and claiming the rewards. Although some people are jealous of his success, a few-like Rosa and her young neighbor Vitita-think his actions are disgraceful. When Vitita finds a young, frightened black woman trying to steal eggs from under her house, she asks Rosa for help. Together they contrive to feed the young woman and keep her hidden. When Calderon suspects the runaway's presence and tries a variety of ways to ambush her, the tale takes on a folkloric quality as Vitita and Rosa outwit him each time. The stylized, full-color illustrations evoke the countryside, and the spare peppering of Spanish words add to the book's authenticity. An excellent addition to multicultural collections.
Rosanne Cerny, Queens Borough Public Library, NY
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.