Listening for the Crack of Dawn: A Master Storyteller Recalls the Appalachia of His Youth

Winner of the Anne Izard Storytellers' Choice AwardThe hills and hamlets of western North Carolina in the 1950's provide the setting for this nostalgic tour de force by Donald Davis, who has appeared in live performance at the World's Fair, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Storytelling Festival, and on National Public Radio. He relates his youth in a cycle of growing-up stories, beginning before he enters school and culminating with the loss of friends to the Vietnam War. The characters are memorable: Miss Daisy—one of the six Boring sisters, teachers every one; Daff-Knee Garlic, owner of the Sulpher Springs Big-Screen Drive-In Theater; and Aunt Laura, who knows to listen for the crack of dawn. Developed in oral performance, Davis's stories resonate in the experiences of his listeners and readers. These stories will teach readers the importance of caring, fairness and respect.