The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales

I'm a traveler because I love to find the beauty and cultural beauty of people around the world. I was in a bookstore at Lake Tahoe and saw this cover. When I arrived home I decided to investigate further and had to order it. I'm so happy I did. What a delightful, upbeat book of folktales. It's not even my heritage, just a wonderful way to perceive possibilities in this world.

I first heard of this book when I was in 5th grade (about 10-11 yrs. old)...I'm 28 now. My African-American teacher would read us stories from it. I remember enjoying the stories so much that I bought this book for my son about 2 yrs. ago. My son is almost 3 now & while he can't read yet, I know he will enjoy the stories as much as I have. This book comes with a CD & is narrated by the author & James Earl Jones...the narration was well done. I listened to the CD & I felt as if I had gone back in time. The narrators are so vivid & they really get your attention. The CD is definitely a plus & the book was well written. I really like that the stories have morals & life lessons that we can learn from. I recommend buying this version of the book because it comes with the CD. I also recommend this book for children 9 & up. This book would be a great addition to anyone's book collection. I hope my review is helpful.

This is an excellent picture book (with paragraphs to read of course) for children and even adults of black folklore and the history of Africans and African Americans on slave plantations and the magic they carried with them. I never heard such a story before until I first read Kwame Imbalia’s book.I would love to read and learn more about the folklore and tales of Africans and African Americans and our history.

I had this book when I was a child. I may be dating myself but when I originally came into possession of this book it came with an audio cassette that featured James Earl Jones narrating some of the stories. The tape broke and I could never find a decent replacement until recently!!! Not only am I glad to have this book again, but I am beyond ecstatic that it came with an audio cd with said narrations. Great book, and great stories. God Rest Virginia Hamilton

My 5 year old son loves these stories and they are a current favorite. Some of the stories are perplexing (due to language/dialect), but many of them are quite good. We haven’t completely gotten through the book yet, but these stories are not depressing and one had us laughing out loud. Some stories do mention slavery and I have been teaching my son about that history, so he was already somewhat familiar.

Beautifully written. We homeschool and are doing a comprehensive course study about segregation and slavery. This book and the history surrounding it has been a wonderful edition. After reading The Story of Ruby Bridges and Pink and Say, the whimsical stories telling hard truths has been a welcome change of pace. Many people have probably heard the tales of Brere Rabbit, Fox, Bear and the like. Anyone interested in a wonderful telling in audiobook form should look for Danny Glover reading Brer Rabbit and the Wonderful Tar Baby.

I likethis book and sent it to my grand-children

In 1985 I was working in shipping& receiving at Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena, CA. The store manager (a good friend of mine) asked me if I wanted an advanced reading copy of "The People Could Fly." That is where my experience with the book began. I then went on to meet Ms. Hamilton and the Dillons, who all signed my copy of the book. My wife and I raised our two daughters on the tales contained in this book.It's hard to believe that nearly twenty-seven years have passed since then. I recently recommended this book to a friend, looking for good stories to read to her young son. And my mother was also in search of a book for her two great-grandsons. In my opinion this book should be a staple in every home, but especially those with black children in them. It is a great collection of illustrations and tales.

Interesting topic

本書は、アフリカ殻から奴隷船に乗って、無理にアメリカ本土に連れてこられた黒人奴隷たちの民話です。最初の動物昔話は、ヨーロッパに似たものがあったり、日本の「鶴と亀」に良く似た話があったり、発見や驚きに満ちていました。本格昔話は、グリム童話の「赤ずきん」に良く相似した話があります。「月の塔の美少女」は、悪い大魔王から、お姫様を障害物を乗り越えて、助け出して結婚するヨーロッパ共通の話があります。他に、奴隷が知恵で主人から自由になる話や、独特のもがたりがあります。巻末の解説を読むと、私はアメリカは歴史のない国だと思っていましたが、かつて奴隷だった人たちが代代語り伝えてきた民話が残っているのだなあと学びました。良書に出会えました。

Love it. Happy memories. Classic book. So glad to have again as i was searching for this book. So happy.

ふと「世界各国の民話・昔話を読みたいな～」と思い立ち、アマゾンで検索。出逢ったのがこの『福音館文庫　昔話』シリーズ。ちらりと読める本文画像に心をわしづかまれ、ほぼ全巻購入（個人的に、古本はイヤなので……）イタリア・インド・アフリカときて、四冊目の『アメリカ黒人民話集』。う～ん、重い。アフリカ本土のあっけらかんとした雰囲気（でも残酷なやつはけっこう残酷！）と違うものを、やはり感じる。特に最後の章の奴隷制に関する数話！　表題作の「人間だって空を飛べる」はちょっぴり涙ぐんでしまった（元々涙腺緩いほうではあるけれど）この流れで来たので、次に読むのは『南アフリカの八つのお話』かな～。

This is a fantastically enchanting story with illustrations that are truly works of art. A totally uplifting remembering of the magic-realisms of African people!