Her Stories: African American Folktales, Fairy Tales, and True Tales (Coretta Scott King Author Award Winner)
Virginia Hamilton, who previously won aNewbery Medaland a MacArthur Foundation grant, gives us 17 pugnacious and heroic female characters in a collection of tales that demonstrates the breadth of African-American cultural tradition. The characters inHer Stories, which won the 1996Coretta Scott King Award, are strong, competent, and sometimes bigger than life, like the "coal black and tree tall" Annie Christmas. Drawn from a variety of sources, the tales inHer Storieshave been crafted to blend together smoothly while remaining true to their original tone. Text and art are laid against a buff background in a stylish, oversize format, with a heavy binding built to stand up to the repeated use that's sure to come.