M.C. Higgins, the Great

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From a perch on his 40-foot pole (a gift from his father for swimming across the Ohio River), M.C. likes to slide his hand over the rolling mountains, smooth out the sky, and fluff up the trees to the south of Sarah's Mountain. To the north, though, no amount of pretending can make the whine of bulldozers and deep gashes in the mountain disappear. Ever since M.C.'s great-grandmother Sarah came here as a runaway slave, Sarah's Mountain has been home to the Higgins family. But now their home is threatened by the strip-mining that has left a giant slag heap perched precariously above their house. Will the two strangers who appear in the hills help M.C. save his family?

Reissued in celebration of its 25th anniversary, M.C. Higgins the Great has a power that runs deeper than the coal seam snaking through M.C.'s mountain. The intensity of family bonds, the depth of rural superstition, and the grim tragedy of environmental destruction weave together in a story that is as complex as it is beautiful. Not surprisingly, Virginia Hamilton, who has won every major award given to authors, received the Newbery Medal, the National Book Award, and the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award for this excellent novel. (Ages 13 and older) --Emilie Coulter


From Publishers Weekly
This rare bookwinner of the Newbery Medaltells of a young boy's fighting chance to save his family's home. Ages 12-up. Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Review
Booklist A unique experience for mature readers.


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Roscoe Lee Browne's reading voice is as rich as the language of Virginia Hamilton's Newbery Medal classic about a thirteen-year-old African-American boy who dreams of his family's escape from poverty and the dangers of the strip-mining slag heap that is slowly moving toward their home. Browne does not attempt an Appalachian dialect, but he individualizes the characters' voices superbly, making them both believable and unforgettable. He reads so expressively that the listener clearly senses the love shared by the members of the Higgins family and the strength of their bond to their Appalachian home. Browne's sensitive reading should make Hamilton's story more accessible to young people. It will haunt listeners and draw them back for repeated listening sessions, and those who turn to the book will find their own reading that much more satisfying as memories of Browne's exceptional narration linger. C.R.A. An AUDIOFILE Earphones Award winner ￯﾿ﾽAudioFile, Portland, Maine


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