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The People Could Fly

American Black Folktales

Hardcover
$24.99 US
8.38"W x 10.25"H x 0.81"D   | 29 oz | 12 per carton
On sale Jan 13, 2009 | 192 Pages | 9780394869254
Age 10 and up | Grade 5 & Up
Reading Level: Lexile 480L | Fountas & Pinnell X
"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. 

This book has been selected as a Common Core State Standards text Exemplar (Grade 6-8, Stories) in Appendix B.
  • WINNER
    ALA Notable Children's Book
  • WINNER
    New York Times Best Illustrated Book
  • WINNER
    Library of Congress Children's Books of the Year
  • WINNER
    IBBY Honor List
  • WINNER
    Horn Book Fanfare
  • WINNER
    New York Times Notable Book
  • WINNER
    Booklist Books for Youth Editors' Choice
  • WINNER | 1988
    Kentucky Bluegrass Master List
  • WINNER | 1987
    Kansas William White Master List
  • WINNER | 1986
    Coretta Scott King Author Award
  • WINNER | 1986
    Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book
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 using words and language to evoke characters and their world, and in historical accounts such as Anthony Burns, the lives of real people. Secondly, Hamilton writes to entertain, to inspire in people the desire to read on and on good books made especially for them.

Leo and Diane Dillon have twice won the Caldecott Medal View titles by Virginia Hamilton
Leo Dillon was born to Trinidadian parents in New York in 1933. He met his future wife, Diane, when they were both studying at the Parsons School of Design in New York in 1953. They married in 1957 and became an iconic artistic duo. Leo and Diane collaborated on covers and woodcuts for a number of Harlan Ellison books; in 1981, Ellison edited a biography of them entitled The Art of Leo & Diane Dillon. Leo and Diane are the only illustrators to win the Caldecott Medal two years in a row, which they did in 1976 and 1977. They produced more than 100 speculative book and magazine covers together. Leo Dillon passed away in 2012.  View titles by Leo Dillon

Educator Guide for The People Could Fly

Classroom-based guides appropriate for schools and colleges provide pre-reading and classroom activities, discussion questions connected to the curriculum, further reading, and resources.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

About

"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. 

This book has been selected as a Common Core State Standards text Exemplar (Grade 6-8, Stories) in Appendix B.

Awards

  • WINNER
    ALA Notable Children's Book
  • WINNER
    New York Times Best Illustrated Book
  • WINNER
    Library of Congress Children's Books of the Year
  • WINNER
    IBBY Honor List
  • WINNER
    Horn Book Fanfare
  • WINNER
    New York Times Notable Book
  • WINNER
    Booklist Books for Youth Editors' Choice
  • WINNER | 1988
    Kentucky Bluegrass Master List
  • WINNER | 1987
    Kansas William White Master List
  • WINNER | 1986
    Coretta Scott King Author Award
  • WINNER | 1986
    Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book

Author

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 using words and language to evoke characters and their world, and in historical accounts such as Anthony Burns, the lives of real people. Secondly, Hamilton writes to entertain, to inspire in people the desire to read on and on good books made especially for them.

Leo and Diane Dillon have twice won the Caldecott Medal View titles by Virginia Hamilton
Leo Dillon was born to Trinidadian parents in New York in 1933. He met his future wife, Diane, when they were both studying at the Parsons School of Design in New York in 1953. They married in 1957 and became an iconic artistic duo. Leo and Diane collaborated on covers and woodcuts for a number of Harlan Ellison books; in 1981, Ellison edited a biography of them entitled The Art of Leo & Diane Dillon. Leo and Diane are the only illustrators to win the Caldecott Medal two years in a row, which they did in 1976 and 1977. They produced more than 100 speculative book and magazine covers together. Leo Dillon passed away in 2012.  View titles by Leo Dillon

Additional Materials

Educator Guide for The People Could Fly

Classroom-based guides appropriate for schools and colleges provide pre-reading and classroom activities, discussion questions connected to the curriculum, further reading, and resources.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)