The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales

Synopsis

24 folktales briefly and dramatically told lend themselves to be read aloud or acted out around campfires, on stormy nights, or to be discussed for readers of all ages. Their heroes prevail through cleverness, perseverance, quick thinking and, often, magic. The stories come from far and wide where enslavement of Africans was practiced from Portugal, to the United States, to the Cape Verde Islands. After each story, Virginia Hamilton, the Newberry Award winning author, provides concise information about its source, history, symbols, storytelling elements and interpretation. Find out how the lion who goes about scaring the other animals by roaring, "Me and myself!" is silenced, how Little Daughter evades a stalking wolf with her goodest, sweetest, song, and how a man whose horse and grandmother is killed by a bully, avoids being killed himself, becomes wealthy, and brings the brute to justice. In one story a young man uses his three obedient rabbits to outwit a princess, queen, and king, catching them in a sackful of lies. Another story warns that should you ever cut off a creature's big , long tail and eat it, it will come for you in the night calling for you to give it's, "tailypo," back. It will creep up your wall, through your window, across your floor, on to your bed and you'll be too scared to move, too scared to scream...

Winner of the Coretta Scott King Medal

Copyright:

1985

Book Details

Book Quality:

Excellent

Book Size:

180 Pages

ISBN-13:

9780394969251

Publisher:

Random House

Date of Addition:

10/15/07

Copyrighted By:

Virginia Hamilton

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

Children's Books, Nonfiction, Literature and Fiction, Social Studies

Submitted By:

Jamie Yates

Proofread By:

Lissi

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.