The Underneath

July 28, 2008
On the page, Appelt's first novel, about abused animals and set in a Deep South swamp, reads like it might be spoken with a pronounced twang. Zackman's interpretation, however, is so mellifluous that it sounds like a lullaby. That smooth delivery strikes a discordant note with the material, a story that braids three dark narrative strands: the vodka-swilling Gar Face's battle with the 100-foot-long Alligator King; Gar Face's abused, chained hound dog's ill-fated shepherding of a mother cat and her kittens; and the thousand-year imprisonment of Grandmother Moccasin, a serpent so selfish she resents her daughter falling in love. The even-keel delivery also makes it hard to keep track as the story shifts among the myriad points of view, which include those of the villain, a family of shape-shifters, various animals and sentient trees. Appelt's stylistic choice to use repetition as a construct—“This cat, this feline, this creature he is supposed to hate...”—makes for a monotonous audio experience, and her use of words such as “goldy” (to describe sunshine) makes this disquieting book sound precious. Ages 9–12. Simultaneous release with the S&S/Atheneum hardcover.

June 1, 2008
Gr 4-8-Appelt brings Southern Gothic to the middle grade set. Three separate but eventually entwined stories are told piecemeal. There is the tale of an abandoned, pregnant calico cat who finds shelter and friendship with the bloodhound, Ranger. He is the abused and neglected pet of Gar Face, a broken-jawed recluse who lives in the Texas bayou, where he fled 25 years previously to escape an abusive father. And finally there is the story of Grandmother Moccasin, a shape-shifting water snake who has lain dormant in a jar for a thousand years, buried beneath a loblolly pine tree. The threads are brought together when Puck, one of the newborn kittens, breaks the rule of straying from the safety of The Underneath, the sliver of space beneath Gar Face's porch where Ranger is chained and the cats live. The pace of this book is meandering, and there is a clear effort by the dominant third-person narrator to create a lyrical, ancient tone. However, the constant shift of focus from one story line to the next is distracting and often leads to lost threads. Small's black-and-white illustrations add a certain languid moodiness to the text. Themes of betrayal, hope, and love are reflected in the three stories, but this is a leisurely, often discouraging journey to what is ultimately an appropriate ending."Kara Schaff Dean, Walpole Public Library, MA"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2008
Deep among the Texan bayous, underneath a ramshackle cabin, an abandoned cat seeks refuge. Above lives Gar Face -- the scarred, embittered, unredeemable product of a loveless, abusive childhood. Gar Face embodies cruelty and hate; yet his battered, ill-fed old bloodhound, Ranger, welcomes the cat; soon, with newborn kittens Sabine and Puck, they've made a loving, loyal family. Counterpointing the animals' present-day story is another that reaches back centuries. Aspects of nature itself are personified as ancient beings: poisonously wicked old Grandmother Moccasin, a lamia (snake-woman) trapped under a loblolly pine for a thousand years, plotting revenge for the loss of her shape-changing daughter; the mammoth alligator that Gar Face, ignorant of its venerable power, hopes to kill. Watching over all are the birds and the sentient trees; making a litany of the trees' multitudinous names, Appelt spins a lyrical, circling narrative, Homeric in its cadenced repetitions. Gar Face's discovery of the family "Underneath" is a catastrophe. Puck is set adrift, desperately seeking a way home. Meanwhile, the lamia's long past unfolds, reaching its denouement in the same moment that the animals' ordeal comes to its swift-paced end. Easily read, with many brief chapters and full of incident, its endearing characters (and scary ones, too) well realized in Small's excellent full-page drawings, this fine book is most of all distinguished by the originality of the story and the fresh beauty of its author's voice -- a natural for reading aloud.

(Copyright 2008 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2008
Underneath a ramshackle cabin, an abandoned cat, newborn kittens, and an old bloodhound make a loving family. Counterpointing their present-day story is another reaching back centuries. Appelt spins a lyrical, circling narrative, its characters well realized in Small's excellent full-page drawings. This fine book is distinguished by the originality of the story and the fresh beauty of its author's voice.

(Copyright 2008 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)