THE RETURN OF BUDDY BUSH

Pattie Mae Sheals returns in the sequel to THE LEGEND OF BUDDY BUSH. Cherise Booth snaps into the dialect of the sharp-eyed 12-year-old narrator, revealing her wonder as she travels in 1947 from North Carolina to Harlem in search of her uncle. When Pattie Mae finds Buddy, she also meets up with Richard Wright, whose advice provides a framework for the young girl's eyewitness accounts of racism. Boothe's soft-voiced narration is irresistible. She captures the characters' country accents and shares the bright intelligence of her questing protagonist. Booth also reads Moses's afterword on the roots of the story, informing readers about the Civil Rights Movement and extending the usefulness of her superb story to the classroom. D.P.D. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/ SEP 06]