Grandaddy's Place

The collaborators on Georgia Music return to that landscape, with a story that predates the first one. Janetta is nervous about meeting her grandaddy who lives in the country. The old place doesn't appeal to her much; there is a mean-looking cat, an even meaner wasps' nest, some noisy chickens and a giant nosey mule. Grandaddy tells one tall tale after another, and when he and she go fishing, he not only knows how the worms feel about it, but he ""fish-talks.'' Janetta, too, learns to speak it. After the fishing trip even the cat seems to have mellowed, and the pushy mule is also showing signs of affection. Griffith tells a bracing story of a young city girl's rediscovery of the past and its importance to her. Though old and run-down, Grandaddy's place is one of wonder and grace. Stevenson's art is particularly adept; he encompasses the essence of the old man's ways and the little girl's fresh experiencing of them. Ages 5-8. (August)