Black Folktales
by Julius Lester
List Price:
Our Price: $5.98
You Save: $6.02 (50%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $3.00 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Julius LesterEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1994-01-10
ISBN: 0802132421
Number of pages: 110
Publisher: Grove Press
Book Reviews of Black Folktales
Book Review: Short, but excellent collection
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a good overview of Black Folklore for the novice of the genre, a teaching tool, or for people who just enjoy good stories.
Julius Lester, one of the few living public specialists of tales of this type, begins with a few African stories to show the root of this field. From there, he goes to stories of pre-and post slavery America.
He includes some time honored classics of Black Folklore. "High John The Conqueror," of a slave who outwits his master, was a favorite of my Dad that I have also seen elsewhere as "Big Sixteen" and "Old John" is a welcome addition to this set. In fact I used to regale my friends with this story when I was 12. Read it and you'll see why. Also, the "Bad man" legend of "Stagolee" spieces things up a bit (a forerunner of the type of tales found in gagster rap, minus the vulgarity) and the slave classic "People Who Could Fly," which was first known to be collected along the Charleston (SC) sea islands in the 1920s.
Unfortuantely, most of these tales are not told anymore except by professional storytellers. Additionally, many books that tended to contain such stories in the early 1900s when such tales were still often told were so laden with dialect (Joel Chandler Harris, Ambrose Gonzales, et. al.) that they are often incomprehenbsible to the modern reader. Many kudos to Mr. Lester for keeping this wonderful art form alive.
PS, Mr. Lester inquired of the source of the last story in the book. I recall reading it in Zora Neale Hurston's "Mules & Men" (1935). Hope this helps.
Children's Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Children's Books
Looking for Bobowicz: A Hoboken Chicken Storyby Daniel Pinkwater
HarperCollins; Published: 2004-06-01; Library Binding; Book
Best price: $4.98
Price in other shops:
The Magician's Nephew, Color Gift Edition (Narnia)by C. S. Lewis
HarperCollins Narnia; Published: 2003-10-28; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.75
Price in other shops:
My Book About Me (Beginner Books)by Dr Seuss
Harpercollins; Published: 1983-03-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $16.75
Call of the Wild (Hrw Classics Library)by Jack London
Holt Rinehart and Winston; Published: 1997-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $0.43
Price in other shops:
Apple Valley Yearby Ann Turner
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing; Published: 1993-09-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $135.04
The Tales of Olga da Polgaby Michael Bond
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing; Published: 1989-04-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $83.57
The Complete Chronicles of Narniaby C. S. (Clive Staples) Lewis
HarperCollins Children's Books; Published: 2006-11; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops:
How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soonby Jane Yolen
Harpercollins Childs; Published: 2004-01-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.64
Oh, The Places You'll Go!by Dr Seuss
HARPER COLL CHILDREN; Published: 2003; Paperback; Book
Loraxby Dr Seuss
HARPER COLL CHILDREN; Published: 2004; Paperback; Book
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens and Peter and Wendy (Oxford World's Classics)by J. M. Barrie
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2009-01-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.57
Price in other shops:
Mrs. Dalloway (Annotated)by Virginia Woolf
Mariner Books; Published: 2005-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.98
Price in other shops:
The Outsidersby SE Hinton
Puffin Books; Puffin; Published: 2006-04-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.37
Price in other shops:
Esperanza Risingby Pam Munoz Ryan
Scholastic; Scholastic; Published: 2002-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.45
Price in other shops:
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cryby Mildred D. Taylor
Penguin Group USA; Puffin; Published: 2004-04-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.31
Price in other shops:
The Man in the Moon-fixer's Maskby JonArno Lawson
Wordsong; Published: 2006-10-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.44
Price in other shops:
Africanisms in American Culture, Second Edition (Blacks in the Diaspora)Indiana University Press; Published: 2005-08-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $17.49
Price in other shops:
Fairy Tales (Everyman's Library Children's Classics)by Hans Christian Andersen
Everyman's Library; Published: 1992-11-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.07
Price in other shops:
Baseball Saved Usby Ken Mochizuki
Spring Arbor/Ingram; Lee & Low Books; Published: 1995-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.43
Price in other shops:
A Treasury of Afro-American Folklore: The Oral Literature, Traditions, Recollections, Legends, Tales, Songs, Religious Beliefs, Customs, Sayings and Humor of Peoples of African American Descent in the AmericasDa Capo Press; Published: 2002-12-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.03
Price in other shops: