The House at Pooh Corner

May 28, 2001
Blake draws a powerful portrait of a mother who will risk everything, including imprisonment, to save her eight-year-old daughter's life in the fourth installment of her Louisiana Gentlemen series (after Roan). Janna Kerr's daughter, Lainey, has end-stage renal disease and will die if she doesn't receive a kidney transplant. In desperation, Janna turns to a doctor who deals in black-market human organs and moves Lainey to a secluded fishing camp owned by her friend, Denise, a member of the Benedict clan of Turn-Coupe, La., to await the shady doctor's summons. A short while later, Clay Benedict shows up at Janna's door to check on the new guests. Janna, for reasons never made entirely clear to the reader, drugs Clay and ties him to the bed. It doesn't take long for Clay to realize that Lainey is his deceased twin brother's child or to fall in love with his adorable niece and her mother. When two teenaged boys are found murdered, their vital organs harvested, Janna begins to understand the price that she has agreed to pay for her daughter's life. At times, this poignant tale treads the fine line between drama and melodrama, but the lush setting of the Louisiana marshlands and Blake's vivid prose will send newcomers back to the shelves to pick up the first three books of the series.

January 1, 1998
Gr all levels-Penguin's production amplifies the fact that A.A. Milne has created some of the most memorable poetry and prose in children's literature. Charles Kuralt narrates all the tapes. When We Were Very Young resounds with Kuralt's lively reading of the nonsensical and onomatopoetic rhymes that fill the heads of toddlers. Opposite these poems, the narrator reads, with loving care, the verses about the real and imaginary playmates that warm youngsters' hearts. Now We Are Six reflects the growing complexity of a child's world. The narrator's voice is soft and vulnerable when reading of the innocent, inquisitive thoughts that preoccupy children, yet Kuralt speaks with a touch of exasperation when reading the poems depicting the young's struggle to understand the adult world. He does equally as well with Milne's stories. All the inhabitants of the Hundred Acre Wood are introduced and their humorous escapades chronicled in Winnie-the-Pooh. While portraying the characters, Kuralt's child-like tone reflects their goodness, innocence, and wee intellect. The House at Pooh Corner continues the adventures of Pooh and introduces the bouncing, pouncing, lovable Tigger. Besides the delight children will experience when listening to the light-hearted, captivating stories, young listeners will also identify with the universal hopes, fears, and wishes of the characters. Kuralt's deep, learned-sounding voice gives the narration a fatherly, comforting feel. Libraries will want to acquire these high quality productions.-Mark P. Tierney, William B. Wade Elementary School, Waldorf, MD