Laura Jimenez's Reviews > The People Could Fly: The Picture Book

The folktale “The people could fly” was an interesting yet exiting story of having hope even in the hardest situations, because there is always someone that can help you out of a difficult situation. I would totally recommend this emotive folktale of hope beyond struggles. As I read through this story I realized it was a folktale as I found that it has the four elements of a folktale. First it does not have a specific author because it says “They say that the children of the ones who could not fly told their children. And now, me, I’m telling you (Page 67, lines 122 &123). We can also see that it’s based on the traditions and beliefs of African American slaves in the United States as it states that “African Americans were taken forcibly to the Americas as enslaved people” (Page 63, Background). Next we can clearly see how it includes a super natural power, it says that “They flew like blackbirds over the fields” (Page 63, line 3). Finally we can identify the theme of “Having hope in the most difficult situations” (Page 67, Collaborative Discussion).