ACCESS DIGITIZED EDITION
Guide/Reviews Database
PICTURE BOOKS
Giddens, Rhiannon

We Could Fly

40 pp. | Candlewick | November, 2023 | Trade ISBN 9781536222548 $18.99 | Ebook ISBN 9781536234619 $18.99
(2) K-3 Illustrated by Briana Mukodiri Uchendu. A young Black girl notices a sparrow looking at her while she is enjoying time in the park with her mother. The mother tells her daughter, "I see that little birdie there / She knows the time has come / there's something in the air." She reveals that the girl's grandmother could fly, and that she "saw the old-time ways" in the little girl. Thinking of her grandmother's wondrous ability, the girl takes her mother's hand: "they could fly / they could fly / They could slip the bonds / of earth and fly so high." Giddens's lyrical text is based on her song of the same name; in her author's note, she says the song itself was inspired by Virginia Hamilton and the Dillons' The People Could Fly[cf1[]. The story reminds children of their connection to the past and their ability to transcend their present, and Uchendu's digital illustrations add to the hopeful and loving feel of the text. The cover shows the mother gazing adoringly at her daughter, who is looking at the sky. Pink and yellow silhouettes of their ancestors surround the pair. The interior illustrations are joyous and luminous in places. When the mother and daughter take flight, white swirls that look like wings protect them. Pair with Woodson's The Year We Learned to Fly (rev. 1/22); this is an evocative interpretation of a popular African American folktale.
Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

RELATED 

PICTURE BOOKS

Born Ready
by Patterson, Jodie
PICTURE BOOKS

The House of Grass and Sky
by Ray, Mary Lyn
PICTURE BOOKS

The Dog's Gardener
by Storms, Patricia
PICTURE BOOKS

And I Paint It
by Kephart, Beth
PICTURE BOOKS

Poem in My Pocket
by Tougas, Chris
More

Get connected. Join our global community of more than 200,000 librarians and educators.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?