Sallie Gal admires cousin Wild Cat’s hair ribbons that fly in the wind when she jumps Double Dutch. More than anything, Sallie Gal wants a set of her very own. But money is hard to come by. Especially for things she doesn’t really need. One day, the Wall-a-kee Man comes through town. He has a whole general store—right in the back of his station wagon! When he secretly slips Sallie Gal some ribbons as a gift, she is delighted. But Mama has too much dignity to take charity. Sallie Gal really wants those ribbons. Now she must struggle with her conscience to do the right thing. In this immediate and exciting child-sized adventure, Shelia P. Moses tells a heartwarming story of a cotton sharecropper family on a North Carolina farm in the 1960s. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Gr 3-5-Cousins Sallie Gal and Wild Cat live near each other on Cumbo Road in North Carolina. Sallie Gal's father is serving in Vietnam. Although the eight-year-olds spend many of their summer days chopping cotton, they also play and scheme together. Sallie Gal's greatest desire is to have hair ribbons just like Wild Cat's, but money is tight and Momma is proud and self-sufficient. The girls try several ways to earn enough for the coveted ribbons and run into trouble along the way. Customers are few at their lemonade stand, and disaster strikes when Sallie Gal breaks her mother's glass pitcher. When the Wall-a-Kee Man, a salesman with a whole store in his station wagon, gives Sallie Gal ribbons, she knows Momma will make her return them, so she hides the gift and struggles with her conscience. Appealing black-and-white illustrations in various sizes embellish the text. Moses takes a fond look at strong family ties and the values of honesty and hard work. Short paragraphs and peppy dialogue make this easy chapter book a candidate for reading aloud.-Kathryn Kosiorek, formerly at Cuyahoga County Public Library, Brooklyn, OH Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Drawing on Moses' warm memories of growing up in a close-knit sharecropping community in North Carolina in the 1970s, this lively chapter book unfolds through the eyes of Sallie Mae, almost nine, who hates having to work in the cotton fields during summer vacation and longs for more time to play. Her dream is to buy hair ribbons like those worn by her cousin and best friend, Alice (Wild Cat). But with Daddy away in Vietnam and Mama having to take in washing, there is no money for extras; and when the white traveling salesman (the Wall-a-kee Man) offers Sallie Mae the ribbons as a gift, she takes them, but doesn't tell Mama, who is too proud to take charity. Daly's many black-and-white drawings capture the child's bond with the vital community as well as the drama of the secret. Together words and pictures show the child's happiness and excitement, while never denying the hardship of life all around her.--Rochman, Hazel Copyright 2007 Booklist From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.