Young Ray Hicks Learns the Jack Tales

ISBN. hard cover 0-9706527-5-5
 ISBN soft cover  0-9706527-6-3
157 pgs. – grades 4 - 8
 Author: Lynn S. Salsi – Illustrator: James Young

Young Ray Hicks Learns the Jack Tales, a book for young readers, is a compelling story that will also find its way to adult bookshelves.  It is written as an historical novel and is based on true events in the life of Ray Hicks.  The story combines Ray’s family stories with the history of Appalachian life during the Great Depression. It also answers the question that people asked him often, “Where did you get your stories?”
 
Students of southern Appalachian history and American folklore don’t need an introduction to the late master storyteller, Ray Hicks.  He was the last North American teller of the traditional Jack tales and was considered by the Smithsonian as a National Treasure.  He was America’s most honored storyteller; he was a National Heritage Fellow, a Brown Hudson Folklore winner, North Carolina Folk Life winner, and was honored by the National Storytelling Association.

No one knows his personal stories better than Lynn Salsi, who spent years listening to him tell tales about his family, about Jack, and about the mountain people.  Lynn fondly remembers the times when he pointed his finger, and said, “Write this down”. She has masterfully balanced history with a proper measure of joy and angst, showing that writers can also spin a tale.  Students of any age will identify with Ray’s travails and will cheer his determination to the end.

This edition is far more than a biography of Hicks.  The author shares family stories and little known adventures in the storyteller’s life.  Salsi deftly weaves a ribbon of dialect through the dialogue and provides the reader with clear insight into the Hicks’ language.  Hicks, the author, and the illustrator present an entertaining and authentic picture of Appalachia, which once again proves that Hicks and the Jack tales are not regional; they are part of the multi-cultural quilt that is America.  They are as traditional as Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan, and Johnny Appleseed. 

Ray Hicks spent his life preserving the oral tradition of the Jack tales. His fans questioned his devotion to living in the house of his birth without the conveniences of indoor plumbing and central heating.  He was quick to say to them, “If I moved away from this land, I might lose the meaning of my stories.  If I lived a different kind of life, I’d tell the stories different.”

Salsi wrote The Jack Tales in 2000.  It was honored with a 2001 American Library Association Notable Book Award, a 2001 Willie Parker Peace History Book Award, and in 2003, it received an Anne Izard Storytelling Award. In this new book, Salsi reflects Hicks’ dedication. James Young’s illustrations add a light hearted touch to the adventures of Hicks children.

Hicks lived his entire 80 years as the keeper of Appalachian culture and was widely known as a “walking encyclopedia” of the mountains.  It is clear that Lynn Salsi has brought forth another charming book about Ray Hicks.  While Ray was the keeper of the stories, Lynn is the keeper of the Hicks’ legacy.

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