The People Could Fly

The People Could Fly
by Virginia Hamilton
Illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon

Alfred A Knopf, 2004






Genre:  Folk Tales, African-American literature

Awards:  ALA Notable Children’s Book, Booklist Editor’s Choice, Coretta Scott King Award, The Horn Book Fanfare Honor Book, NCTE Teacher’s Choice, New York Times Best Illustrated Book, Notable Children’s Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies, Parent’s Choice Award Recording, Read-Aloud Handbook Selection, School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

Review:  Based on an African American folktale, this picture book depicts the story of African men and women who were given the gift of wings and flying. However, when they were taken from their native land and sold as slaves, the wings disappeared although the talent did not. Finally, when the abuse at the hands of the slave masters became too much to handle, the elder among the slaves reminded everyone of the magic words and how to fly far away.

Opinion:  This was both a sad yet inspiring story. Any human in slavery is such a heart-wrenching concept, yet this group used legend and magic to inspire hope within themselves - which in turn inspired me. I also thought the illustrations added another layer of poignancy to the well written folk tale.

Ideas:  I would give this book to a child looking to gain more insight on slavery, and the survival of African Americans. Another great idea would be to put this book up on a display of great books for Black History Month.