Nineteen stories of Black women, gathered by Virginia Hamilton from the folktale and fairy tale traditions and from lives actually lived. There are animal tales and supernatural ones, a few that are true, and Hamilton's notes at the end of each explaining where it came from. She was the first Black author to win the Newbery, and this is her at her best, telling these the way they were told rather than tidying them. Leo and Diane Dillon's paintings run through the book in deep saturated color, and they are the reason a child will pull it off the shelf in the first place.

• 128 pages
• 8.5" x 11"
• Ages 4+