We Could Fly

A Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award Winner
"This magical picture book will have readers entranced. Sublime."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

In a companion to Build a House, Rhiannon Giddens--winner of multiple Grammy Awards and a Pulitzer Prize and cofounder of the Carolina Chocolate Drops--gives wing to a moving tale of grace and transcendence, with acclaimed artist Briana Mukodiri Uchendu.

At a sparrow's urging, a young girl feels a mysterious trembling in her arms, a lightness in her feet, a longing to be free. Her mother tells her that her Granny Liza experienced the same, as did many of their people before her. Perhaps it's time, Mama says, to slip the bonds of earth and join the journey started long ago. To hold each other tight and rise. Drawing on lyrics from the song "We Could Fly" by Rhiannon Giddens and Dirk Powell, which in turn draw on a heritage of African folklore, this incantatory dialogue between a mother and daughter paired with startlingly beautiful illustrations celebrates love, resilience, and the spiritual power of the "old-time ways"--tradition and shared cultural memory--to sustain and uplift.

Author: Rhiannon Giddens
Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
Published: 11/07/2023
Pages: 40
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.25lbs
Size: 12.00h x 9.90w x 0.50d
ISBN: 9781536222548

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 3.2
Point Value: 0.5
Interest Level: Lower Grade
Quiz #/Name: 522325 / We Could Fly

Award: Coretta Scott King Award - Winner

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 08/01/2023
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 11/01/2023
School Library Journal 12/01/2023 pg. 78
Horn Book Magazine 01/01/2024 pg. 74

About the Author
Rhiannon Giddens is a musician, singer, songwriter, author, MacArthur Fellow, Pulitzer Prize winner, founding member of the traditional African American string band the Carolina Chocolate Drops, and the artistic director at Silkroad. She has won two Grammy Awards and has been nominated for an additional six for her work as both a soloist and a collaborator. Her lifelong mission is to uplift people, particularly Black Americans, whose contributions to American musical history previously have been ignored or erased, and to work toward a more accurate understanding of the country's musical origins. The author of Build a House, illustrated by Monica Mikai, and We Could Fly, illustrated by Briana Mukodiri Uchendu, Rhiannon Giddens lives in Limerick, Ireland.

Briana Mukodiri Uchendu is an illustrator, visual development artist, and first-generation Nigerian-American. Her new and forthcoming books include The Talk by Newbery Honor winner Alicia D. Williams, Soul Step by New York Times best-selling author Jewell Parker Rhodes and Kelly McWilliams, and Night Market by Seina Wedlick. Briana Mukodiri Uchendu lives in Houston, Texas.