Jerdine Nolen

This fictional story about slave children aspiring toward freedom is told in the form of a folktale told by an unseen narrator. The parents of the children had been sold away, but told them about dreams of flying away, as free and easy as any bird. The stories took root, as the narrator tells us, in their hearts and minds.

One day, their cruel overseer knocked down a large bird that was circling overhead. The children snuck out at night to rescue the bird, hide it, and nurse it back to health.

When the children, John and Millicent, learned that John was about to be sold to another plantation, they decided it was time for both the bird and them to fly away, and in the darkness of night, the children ran off, following the path of the bird towards the west.

In an Author’s Note, Nolen explains:

“Folklore is filled with myths, legends, and stories of the magic of flight. In storytelling and literature the metaphor of flight and flying is often used to set the imagination free. Many enslaved Africans used this metaphor in order to escape the misery they had to endure.”

Talented illustrator James E. Ransome employs acrylics in rich colors to capture the mood of the story in mesmerizing paintings.

Recommended for ages 5 and up.… (meer)