#959 of 1001 · March 17, 2023

Name of the Helper Week moves from England to America with Barry Moser’s Tucker Pfeffercorn. An old miner named Jefferson Tadlock invents a story that a local woman can spin cotton into gold. Unfortunately, he is overheard by Hezakiah Sweatt, a wealthy and greedy landowner. The subject of Tadlock’s farfetched claim is Bessie Grace Kinzalow, a widow with a young daughter. The villainous Sweatt demands that Bessie Grace make good on Tadlock’s claim, holding her child hostage. A bizarre little man offers to perform the task for her, and she rashly promises him whatever he wants as a reward. Later on, the stranger names his price: Bessie Grace’s daughter. The mother begs and pleads, and finally gets him to agree to forgive the debt if she can guess his name. Fortunately, she successfully tracks him down in a cemetery at night and overhears his name: Tucker Pfeffercorn. When she triumphantly confronts him with his name, the little man is so angry that he bounces up to the ceiling and berates her while upside down. Moser pairs a text full of folk whimsy with paintings rich in expressive color. A note for folklore enthusiasts: Though American “Name of the Helper” folk variants do exist, this narrative is a direct adaptation of the Brothers Grimm tale “Rumpelstiltskin”, reimagined by Moser in the American South. #spin #spinning #cotton #gold #mother #baby #name #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbooks #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookillustrations #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks