The People Could Fly

by Hamilton, Virginia; Dillon, Leo (Illustrator); Dillon, Diane (Illustrator)

• ISBN13: 9780679843368
• ISBN10: 0679843361
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 1993-01-04
• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Summary

"The well-known author retells 24 black American folk tales in sure storytelling voice: animal tales, supernatural tales, fanciful and cautionary tales, and slave tales of freedom. All are beautifully readable. With the added attraction of 40 wonderfully expressive paintings by the Dillons, this collection should be snapped up."--(starred)School Library Journal.

Author Biography

Virginia Hamilton, storyteller, lecturer, and biographer, was born and raised in Yellow Springs, OH, which is said to be a station on the Underground Railroad.  Her grandfather settled in the village after escaping slavery in Virginia. She was educated at Antioch College and Ohio State University and did further study in literature and the novel at the New School for Social Research. Virginia was the first African American woman to win the Newbery Award, for M.C. Higgins the Great.  Since then, she has won three Newbery Honors and three Coretta Scott King Awards.  In 1992, Virginia was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal, which is presented every two years by the International Board on Books for Young People, in recognition of her entire body of work. Virginia writes first for the pleasure of

Table of Contents

Introduction	ix
HE LION, BRUH BEAR, AND BRUH RABBIT
And Other Animal Tales	3	(2)
He Lion, Bruh Bear, and Bruh Rabbit	5	(8)
Doc Rabbit, Bruh Fox, and Tar Baby	13	(7)
Tappin, the Land Tuttle	20	(6)
Bruh Alligator and Bruh Deer	26	(5)
Bruh Lizard and Bruh Rabbit	31	(4)
Bruh Alligator Meets Trouble	35	(8)
Wolf and Birds and the Fish-Horse	43	(10)
THE BEAUTIFUL GIRL OF THE MOON TOWER
And Other Tales of the Real, Extravagant, and Fanciful	51	(2)
The Beautiful Girl of the Moon Tower	53	(7)
A Wolf and Little Daughter	60	(5)
Manuel Had a Riddle	65	(11)
Papa John's Tall Tale	76	(5)
The Two Johns	81	(9)
Wiley, His Mama, and the Hairy Man	90	(17)
JOHN AND THE DEVIL'S DAUGHTER
And Other Tales of the Supernatural	105	(2)
John and the Devil's Daughter	107	(9)
The Peculiar Such Thing	116	(5)
Little Eight John	121	(5)
Jack and the Devil	126	(7)
Better Wait Till Martin Comes	133	(8)
CARRYING THE RUNNING-WAYS
And Other Slave Tales of Freedom	139	(2)
Carrying the Running-Aways	141	(6)
How Nehemiah Got Free	147	(4)
The Talking Cooter	151	(5)
The Riddle Tale of Freedom	156	(4)
The Most Useful Slave	160	(6)
The People Could Fly	166	(9)
Bibliography	175