The Dark-Thirty

This Newbery Honor Book and Coretta Scott King Award Winner from beloved author Patricia McKissack offers a “stellar collection” of “ten original stories, all with a foundation in African-American history or culture” (School Library Journal).

In that special half-hour of twilight—the dark-thirty—there are stories to be told. Mesmerizing and breathtakingly original, these tales are inspired by African American history and range from the time of slavery to the civil rights era. With her extraordinary gift for suspense, Patricia C. McKissack has created a heart-stopping collection of lasting value, a book not quickly forgotten.

An ALA Notable Children’s Book
An NCSS-CBC Notable Children’s Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies
An IRA Teachers’ Choice"Skillfully developed and sustained to the very end. Pinkney's stark scratchboard illustrations evoke an eerie mood, which heightens the suspense of each tale.... A stellar collection."--School Library Journal, starred reviewPatricia C. McKissack (1944–2017) was an award-winning author who came from a family of skilled storytellers who taught her to listen and observe and who encouraged her lifelong love affair with words. The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural was a 1993 Newbery Honor Book, and Pat received the Coretta Scott King Author Award for it. She also frequently collaborated on books with her husband, Fredrick.

Pat wished she could have talked to her hero, Frederick Douglass, about his rise from slavery, his daring escape, and freedom—at last! If she had not been an author, she would have liked to have been an interior designer or an architect so she could have told stories through design.