Sister Tricksters: Rollicking Tales of Clever Females

Rollicking tales of clever females.Everyone remembers the exploits of Br'er Rabbit and his cohorts Br'er Fox, Br'er Possum, and other sly characters. But while these tales were circulating among slaves in the southern United States, another set of stories was passed along just as enthusiastically ... only here the clever tricksters were female. Who better to tackle the stories of these sister tricksters than the San Souci brothers? Utilizing a contagiously rhythmic, pitch-perfect dialect, writer Robert gleefully interprets the exploits of Molly Cottontail, Miz Grasshopper, Miz Duck, and Miz Goose against worthy (and not-so-worthy) foes such as Mistah Slickry Sly-fox, Mistah Rooster, and Mistah Bear. Brother Daniel's comically realistic paintings capture the slapstick frenzy of these characters engaged in battles of wits against the rural Southern landscape that nourished the tales in their infancy. These clever females teach readers the importance of courage, resourcefulness and sharing.

Robert San Souci Bio: Robert San Souci, who was born in San Francisco, raised in Berkeley and attended college at St. Mary’s College in Moraga, knew at an early age he wanted to be a writer. His award-winning books were often spirited retellings of folk tales, fairy tales, myths and legends from around the world. In an interview, he confessed to his fascination of great stories, ＂I think I never outgrew my love of fairy tales when I was growing up. I’d save my allowance money and buy used editions of books like The Wizard of Oz and the Rainbow Colored Fairy books. I love science fiction and ghost stories.＂ Among the many celebrated titles, twelve books written by San Souci and illustrated by his younger brother, Daniel San Souci, stood out as his favorites. San Souci was an American Library Association notable author whose work has also been recognized by American Bookseller and the International Reading Association. He collaborated with Daniel on two award winning LittleFolk picture books: As Luck Would Have It and Sister Tricksters. His third award winning book with August House, Zigzag was illustrated by Stefan Czernecki and named to Scholastic Parent & Child magazine’s ＂Best New Books.＂ Daniel San Souci Bio: Daniel San Souci was born in San Francisco. The family moved across the Bay to Berkeley, where his father was working for the University of California. In the tree-lined Thousand Oaks district, Daniel spent all his waking hours running around the neighborhood with his two brothers and many friends. It was at this time that Daniel discovered the magic of books. ＂There was real excitement about literature in my family,＂ says Daniel. ＂When I wasn’t outside playing, I could be found on the rug in my room, surrounded by my books.＂ When Daniel started reading on his own, he went right for the ＂Scribner’s Adventure Classics.＂ His favorite books were Last of the Mohicans, Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and The Boy King Arthur. It was at this time that he discovered the great illustrators, Howard Pyle and N. C. Wyeth. Daniel started drawing and painting constantly and was soon dreaming of becoming a children’s book illustrator. In high school, Daniel signed up for every available art class. He was also attending the Berkeley Adult School in the evenings. ＂All the other art students were much older than me,＂ he says. ＂But they were serious students, very talented and very helpful.＂ Upon graduation from high school, he enrolled at the California College of the Arts in Oakland, California. There he had the opportunity to study with many outstanding teachers.