Released January 7, 1999

NEW OSEOLA MCCARTY CHILDREN'S BOOK DRAWS RAVE REVIEWS

HATTIESBURG -- A new children's book based on the inspirational story of Mississippi washerwoman Oseola McCarty is drawing rave reviews from several journals that help librarians and others with book selection.

The Riches of Oseola McCarty, written by Evelyn Coleman and published by Albert Whitman and Company of Morton Grove, Ill., is described by Horn Book Magazine as a work that "evokes a world few contemporary children will know and introduces a heroine they will greatly admire."

Horn Book said Coleman's focus in the book is "on the pride the women took in their work. And rather than preach, she details that work with a respect that confirms its dignity.

"While Ola worked, she saved and saved -- and thus the scholarslhip endowment given upon the occasion of Ola's retirement at the age of 87," Horn Book said of McCarty's donation of $150,000 of her life's savings to The University of Southern Mississippi.

Kirkus Reviews likewise praised the book, illustrated with black-and-white woodcut-like prints, as "full of wisdom and quiet courage; readers will be drawn to the simplicity of the habits that led to Ola's riches. A small, fine book."

Coleman interviewed McCarty about her lifetime of work and life's savings that allowed her to endow the Southern Miss scholarship, then wrote a book emphasizing the value of work.

"I wanted to help children understand that we work not just to have money, but to gain the feeling that comes from working at something we love," said Coleman.

Another important review magazine, School Library Journal, said the author "tells this story with great respect, incorporating information gathered from interviews with McCarty and people in Hattiesburg who know her... a worthy addition."

Earlier, Smithsonian named The Riches of Oseola McCarty as a Notable Book for Children in 1998, adding: "This affectionate biography salutes the dignity of hard work and keeps us mindful of the privilege that underlies education."

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