The People Could Fly

For my Coretta Scott King award winner I read "The People Could Fly" by Virginia Hamilton. The book is Illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. The book is a collection of black folktales. The first thing I noticed about the book is the way that it is written. The folktales in the book don't really use what's considered "proper grammar" and instead are written as if they are told by a narrator speaking with a southern African American dialect. I thought this was very interesting and unique and in a way refreshing. It was nice to read something that was different than what I was used to and I think the fact that the author is African American makes it more genuine as well. Although the writing was in a different style it was never incomprehensible or even hard to understand really and I liked how that really reinforced my belief that proper English isn't always necessary in literature. The stories in the book are also very interesting as they aren't really the folktales that I'm used to. I also really enjoyed how at the end of each story there was a paragraph explaining the story and its relevance in black culture. I think this gives a reader like myself who isn't necessarily familiar with black culture or history a better understanding of how the tale came to be and why its relevant. Overall I think this collection is very well put together and is full of really great stories. I really enjoyed how each story had a lesson that it was trying to teach. My favorite story from the book is called "Manuel Had A Riddle" and tells about a boy who out smarts the king and queen to win their riches and teaches a lesson about honesty and integrity. I also really enjoyed "He Lion, Bruh Bear, and Bruh Rabbit" The story is about a prideful lion who learns a lesson about modesty the hard way. It has a good message about being humble and I thought it was great. This is definitely one of the better books that I have read and I would definitely recommend it.