The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales (Treasured Gifts for the Holidays) (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Leo Dillon (Illustrator), Diane Dillon Ph.D. (Illustrator), James Earl Jones (Narrator) "Say that he Lion would get up each and every mornin..." (more)
Key Phrases: peculiar such thing, black folktales, croaker sack, Hairy Man, Bruh Rabbit, Little John (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Virginia Hamilton, Newbery Medal winner and recipient of the National Book Award and the Hans Christian Andersen Award, teams up with two-time Caldecott Medal winners, Leo and Diane Dillon, in this classic collection of American black folktales, winner of the Coretta Scott King Award. By turns droll, grisly, and spine-tingling, the 24 stories celebrate the indomitable human spirit, surviving under the most crushing circumstances of slavery. Traditionally, storytelling has helped people to push through sorrow and pain, especially when the stories are saturated with magic, mysticism, and fantasy. Bruh Rabbit, He Lion, Tar Baby, and other animals populate many of the stories. In others, John, the traditional trickster hero, outwits the slave owner time after time to win his freedom.

Included with this very special edition is a CD featuring the commanding voices of Hamilton and actor James Earl Jones. Eleven selections, including "The Peculiar Such Thing," "John and the Devil's Daughter," "A Wolf and Little Daughter," and "The People Could Fly," bring to life the rhythm and lyrical energy of Hamilton's text. Leo and Diane Dillon's strikingly beautiful black and white illustrations continue to mesmerize and haunt the reader. (All ages) --Emilie Coulter

From Publishers Weekly

Three winners of multiple honors have created this incomparable book. The Dillons illustrate Hamilton's 24 stories with marvelous pictures alive with the spirit of each: sly humor, mystery, pathos and, most powerfully, the human need for freedom. In the author's introduction and notes, we find information on black history, on the original slave storytellers"voices from the past"that include her own ancestors. The stories are given full effect by Hamilton's use of colloquial language, evoking the artless entertainer relating the exploits of "Bruh Rabbit" and other animal tricksters. The reader's emotional response, however, is to the artists' depictions and the author's narrative in "The People Could Fly." They are the slaves from Gulla who, according to legend, escape the master's abuse one day. "They rose on the air. Say they flew away to Free-dom." (All ages).
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (October 10, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375804714
• ISBN-13: 978-0375804717
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #965,850 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #24 in	Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( D ) > Dillon, Leo
  #32 in	Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( H ) > Hamilton, Virginia
  #32 in	Books > Teens > Authors, A-Z > ( H ) > Hamilton, Virginia

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars wonderful, March 26, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales (Paperback)

This book rates way up there as a wonderful resource for anyone who is trying to raise children to have an appreciation for the cultures that make up our great country. As a home educator, I am always on the lookout for multi-cultural resources that provide a window into the backgrounds of others. Since the author writes from personal background experience, as well as research into the African-American folktales, I believe it is an excellent representation of stories that children would have grown up with in that culture. Besides, it's exciting, interesting, fun to read aloud, and has wonderful illustrations!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-have for every American home, November 21, 2001

By	Reginald D. Garrard "the G-man" (Camilla, GA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Fascinating folktales from an African-American perspective, this work evokes memories of the strength of a people to find magic, wonder, and spirituality in a time when oppression was the norm. Miss Hamilton, along with illustrators Leo and Diane Dillon, has produced a work of timeless importance. One of the few books that I can't keep on the shelves of my classroom, it is an essential for every teacher or person interested in exposing children to a wealth of literature.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a good book for kids that are 9 - 12 year old., February 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales (Paperback)

I really enjoyed reading this book, I am 9 year old. I read the book in about 2 days, it was about African-American folk tales. The best story in the book was "if the people could fly".