Ol' Sandy Claw : A Christmas Poem in Gullah

Rating:
Summary: A delightful retelling of a holiday classic
Review: The Gullah dialect, once common among African-Americans living in coastal Georga and South Carolina, has been on the decline as mass media continues to homogenize American English. Ms. Pinckney attempts to preserve a small slice of this rich patois through a delightful translation of Clement Moore's "The Night Before Christmas".

The dialect and gentle humor will delight young and old alike; however, the phonetic spellings can be challenging on the first reading, especially to one who has limited familiarity with the sound and cadence of Gullah

Printed magazine-style on moderately heavy stock, the volume is somewhat fragile and needs to be handled gently and put away carefully at the end of each holiday season. Libararies and classroom teachers would be well advised to have the cover laminated. I would love to see a deluxe, hardbound edition, perhaps with an audio CD of the text being read by the author or a native Gullah speaker.

Although the illustrations have a cartoonish style reminiscent of an earlier, less politically correct time, readers should approach the material with holiday spirit of peace and goodwill in which it is intended.