Appalachian Jack Tales Told by Hicks, Ward, and Harmon Families

Publisher: Forza Renea Editions

Genre: Middle grade – adult

This is a story collection that is excellent for classroom learning as well as for family reading. Lynn collected stories from the late Ray Hicks and combined them with her knowledge of mythology, her research of Appalachian history, and her research of early Hicks, Ward, and Harmon family members who have recordings in various archives and libraries.

Using her gift for storytelling, she has created a treasure trove of Jack tales for everyone to read and re-tell. At the beginning of each chapter (or story), she sets the scene by cluing readers into why the stories were told, different ways they might have been told, and history about the mountains.

Best of all, the stories themselves are framed in the old traditional storytelling manner in the way that Ray Hicks told them all his life, the way his son, Ted Hicks, continues to tell them, with a few hints from their cousin Jerry Harmon who relates how his granddaddy, Ben Harmon told them.

This is a fascinating collections with illustrations by well-known children’s illustrator, James Young. The artwork is indicative of his style and lends a cheerful look to Jack, the trickster hero of Appalachia.