This is a collection of African American short stories. McKissack based the stories on those she heard as a child while sitting on her grandparents’ porch.
Age
Catalog sorted by age group
Noah’s Ark
Retells the biblical story of the great flood and how Noah and his family faithfully responded to God’s call to save life on earth.
Cinderella (As If You Didn’t Already Know The Story)
In this updated version of the Cinderella story, Cinderella writes letters to her dead mother apologizing for not being more assertive, which she remedies soon after marrying the prince. Readers will delight in following Cinderella through all the usual happenings, presented in a most unusual way. And they’ll finally see what becomes of her after she marries the prince. So maybe you should hear the story one last time. Because it’s actually way different than you might have thought. Kids who have outgrown picture books and are ready for something longer – but still love illustrated texts – will gravitate toward this Cinderella. Black-and-white silhouettes of everything from the ugly stepsisters to Cinderella’s slipper (actual size) are intermingled with Cinderella’s letters to her recently deceased mother in this totally original package, written and illustrated by an exciting newcomer to children’s books.
The Sea Chest
A young girl listens as her great-aunt, a lighthouse keeper’s daughter, tells of her childhood living on a Maine island, and of the infant that washed ashore after a storm.
The Goldminer’s Daughter: A Melodramatic Fairy Tale
Gracie Pearl has until sundown to find some gold to pay the rent to Mr. Bigglebottom, or he will take back the family gold mine and force her to marry him.
Fearless Jack
In this Appalachian folktale, Jack wins fame and fortune after killing ten jellow jackets with one whack.
Old Dry Frye
A humorous retelling of an Appalachian folktale about a preacher who chokes on a chicken bone.
Alice Nizzy Nazzy: The Witch Of Santa Fe
When Manuela’s sheep are stolen, she has to go to Alice Nizzy Nazzy’s talking road-runner-footed adobe house and try to get the witch to give the flock back, in a Southwestern version of the Baba Yaga story.
The Singing Geese
Sam Bombel shoots a goose and brings it home for his wife to cook for dinner, but when it is set on the table, the other geese come to reclaim it.
The Bunyans
Paul Bunyan, his wife, and their children do some ordinary things which result in the formation of Niagara Falls, Bryce Canyon, and other natural monuments.