''The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales'' is a 1985 collection of twenty-four folktales retold by Virginia Hamilton and illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. They encompass animal tales (including tricksters),

fairy tales A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cult ...

, supernatural tales, and tales of the enslaved Africans (including slave narratives).

Publication history

*1985, Knopf, , hardback *1987, Knopf, , audiobook on CD, 12 tales read by James Earl Jones, 1 disc and book *2005, Audio Bookshelf, , audiobook on CD, read by Andrew L. Barnes, 4 discs and book

Reception

A review by the '' School Library Journal'' stated, "The well-known author here retells 24 black American folk tales in sure storytelling voice. ... All are beautifully readable," and concluded: "With the added attraction of 40 bordered full- and half-page illustrations by the Dillons wonderfully expressive paintings reproduced in black and white this collection should be snapped up." '' The New York Times'' review by

Ishmael Reed Ishmael Scott Reed (born February 22, 1938) is an American poet, novelist, essayist, songwriter, composer, playwright, editor and publisher known for his satirical works challenging American political culture. Perhaps his best-known work is '' M ...

called ''The People Could Fly'' "extraordinary and wonderful", commended Hamilton for writing "these tales in the Black English of the slave storytellers" and found it "Handsomely illustrated". ''The People Could Fly'' has also been reviewed by '' Publishers Weekly'', '' Booklist'', Common Sense Media, It has been used in

study Study or studies may refer to: General * Education **Higher education * Clinical trial * Experiment * Observational study * Research * Study skills, abilities and approaches applied to learning Other * Study (art), a drawing or series of drawi ...

. The book inspired the title of the 2021 Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition, '' Before Yesterday We Could Fly''.

Awards

''The People Could Fly'' has received a number of awards, including: * 1985 – Horn Book Fanfare Book * 1985 – ''New York Times'' Best Illustrated Children's Books book * 1986 –

Coretta Scott King Award The Coretta Scott King Award is an annual award presented by the Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table, part of the American Library Association (ALA). Named for Coretta Scott King, wife of Martin Luther King Jr., this award rec ...

author winner * 1986 – Coretta Scott King Award illustrator honor * 1988 – William Allen White Children's Book Award nominee

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:People Could Fly: American Black Folktales, The 1985 children's books 1985 short story collections American children's books Children's books based on American folklore American short story collections Books illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon Children's books about African-American history Children's books about American slavery Children's short story collections Collections of fairy tales Coretta Scott King Award-winning works Fables Fictional slaves Gullah culture Gullah history Literature by African-American women Slave narratives