The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales
Illustrated by Leo Dillon and Diane Dillon.
This major contribution to children’s literature brings the fascinating range of American Black folktales and humor to all children.
In this treasury, we hear the voice of Virginia Hamilton – a voice that echoes the slaves and fugitives from her own American black ancestry as she tells the stories that keep the culture alive. Here are the spirited trickster tales where the wily Bruh Rabbit outwits larger and stronger animals; robust tall tales filled with riddles and laughter; spine-chilling ghost and devil tales; and finally the moving tales of freedom, including true slave narratives as well as fantasy escapes exemplified by the hauntingly beautiful title story, “The People Could Fly.”
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Virginia Hamilton
Virginia Esther Hamilton (1934–2002) was an award-winning author of children's books. She wrote 41 books, including M. C. Higgins, the Great, for which she won the National Book Award in 1974 and the 1975 Newbery Medal.
Named for her grandfather's home state, Virginia Hamilton grew up in Yellow Springs, Ohio. She attended Antioch College and then transferred to Ohio State University. She married the poet Arnold Adoff in 1960.
Hamilton's first book, as a child was "The Novel". Then came Zeely, published in 1967, and won numerous awards, including the Edgar Allan Poe Award, the Coretta Scott King Award, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal, and the Hans Christian Andersen Award.
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