Story for a Black Night
| Author | Clayton Bess |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Set in | Africa |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin Company, Lookout Press |
Publication date | 1982 |
| Media type | |
| ISBN | 0618494839 |
| Website | http://webpages.csus.edu/~boblocke/bess/story.html |
Story for a Black Night (ISBN 0618494839) is a 1982 family drama novel by Robert Locke under the pseudonym Clayton Bess set in Africa. It won the 2002 Phoenix Award Honor Book award.
Plot
A 40-year-old man tells a story of his childhood, when he was ten, living with his sister, mother and grandmother. When strangers left a baby with smallpox at the house, the family is affected by the disease.[1][2]
Reception
The book was included in the University of Chicago's Center for Children's Books' volume "The Best in Children's Books: The University of Chicago Guide to Children's Literature, 1979-1984", which called it "a stunning first novel", "taut and tender, deftly structured, vivid".[2]
There is also a link to the efforts of Rose-Marie Vassallo-Villaneau in her two translations into French. After the English version won the Phoenix Honor Award in 2002 for a book that has endured, she decided that she wanted to do a second translation, this time attempting her own French West African dialect.
Awards
- 1982 California Book Awards - (silver) First Novel
- “A Contribution of Cultural Significance” - the Southern California Council on Literature for Children and Young People
- Family Circle - Best Book for Kids
- 2002 Phoenix Award Honor Book
Play
Also from this main page is a link to the 2014 one-act play "PURE HEART in Black of Night" with the author now using his playwright's name Robert Locke.
References
- ↑ "Story for a Black Night", Kirkus Reviews, https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/clayton-bess-2/story-for-a-black-night/
- 1 2 Zena Sutherland, The Best in Children's Books: The University of Chicago Guide to Children's Literature, 1979-1984, U of Chicago Press, 1986
External links
July, 2017 NOTE from Robert Locke, Pseud. Clayton Bess: The link to "Robert Locke" in the first paragraph at top of page is not to this author "Robert Locke" but to a different Robert Locke. Also the "Clayton Bess" link is not functioning. The best way to find out more, perhaps "way too much more", is to click the link just above this NOTE: "Author website" where you will find a total life story of "Robert Locke, Pseud. Clayton Bess" plus contact info among the labyrinthine webpages. Bob Locke