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Virginia Hamilton: Five Novels

Zeely | The House of Dies Drear | The Planet of Junior Brown | M.C. Higgins, The Great | Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush More

Edited by Julie K. Rubini

“Virginia Hamilton was a master storyteller. Her characters always leap off the page, and her ear for Black voices was pitch perfect. M.C. Higgins, The Great is my personal favorite, but today’s young readers will find each of these novels a treasure, both right-on-time and timeless. Is that not the definition of a classic?”
—Nikki Grimes, author of Ordinary Hazards and Bronx Masquerade

Overview
Table of Contents

Overview

Video Virginia Hamilton and the Transformation of American Children’s Literature
August 10, 2022

Interviews The pathbreaking Virginia Hamilton and her “liberation literature”
February 28, 2022

Playing out themes of memory, folklore, and tradition in enthralling, often wildly inventive stories, Virginia Hamilton transformed American children’s literature. In her award-winning novels of the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s, she brought Black characters center stage, creating a multifaceted portrait of African American life that she called “liberation literature.” This volume collects five of her best-known and most beloved works.

In Zeely (1967), Geeder Perry and her brother, Toeboy, go to their uncle’s farm for the summer and encounter a six-and-a-half-foot-tall Watutsi queen and a mysterious night traveler. In the Edgar Award–winning The House of Dies Drear (1968), Thomas Small and his family move to a forbidding former way station on the Underground Railroad—a house whose secrets Thomas must discover before it’s too late. Junior Brown, a three-hundred-pound musical prodigy, plays a silent piano in The Planet of Junior Brown (1971), while homeless friend Buddy Clark draws on all his New York City wits to protect Junior’s disintegrating mind.

In the National Book Award–winning M.C. Higgins, The Great (1974), Mayo Cornelius Higgins sits atop a forty-foot pole on the side of Sarah’s Mountain and dreams of escape. Poised above his family’s home is a massive spoil heap from strip-mining that could come crashing down at any moment. Can he rescue his family and save his own future? Must he choose? And in Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush (1982), fifteen-year-old Tree’s life revolves around her ailing brother, Dab, until she sees cool, handsome Brother Rush, an enigmatic figure who may hold the key to unlocking her family’s troubled past.

This Library of America edition contains twenty beautifully restored illustrations, ten in full color for the first time; a selection of writings in which Hamilton discusses her work; and a newly researched chronology of Hamilton’s life and career.

Virginia Hamilton (1934–2002) was the author of forty-one works of fiction and nonfiction. She was the first Black writer awarded the Newbery Medal and the first children’s writer to be named a MacArthur Fellow (the “Genius” grant). She also received the National Book Award and the Hans Christian Andersen Medal.

Editor Julie K. Rubini loves to share with younger readers the inspiring life stories of individuals who have made a difference in the world. Her works include Virginia Hamilton: America’s Storyteller, which received a Kirkus starred review and was listed on Bank Street College of Education’s Best Children’s Books, Outstanding Merit. Julie and her husband, Brad, established Claire’s Day, a children’s book festival in honor of their daughter.

This Library of America series edition is printed on acid-free paper and features Smyth-sewn binding, a full cloth cover, and a ribbon marker.

This volume is available for adoption in the Guardian of American Letters Fund.
Table of Contents

Zeely
The House of Dies Drear
The Planet of Junior Brown
M.C. Higgins, The Great
Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush
Related Writings
Portrait of the Author as a Working Writer
Literature, Creativity, and Imagination
Nonwhite Literature as American Literature: A Proposal for Culture Democracy
Newbery Award Acceptance Speech: M.C. Higgins, The Great
Coretta Scott King Award Acceptance Speech: Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush
Letter to Marilyn Apseloff, December 12, 1983

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