Award winning author Patricia McKissack comes from a family of skilled storytellers, who taught her to listen and observe and who encouraged her life-long love affair with words. The Dark Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural was a 1993 Newbery Honor Book. Pat also received the Coretta Scott King Award in 1993 for The Dark Thirty.Pat wishes she could have talked to her hero, Frederick Douglass, about his rise from slavery, his daring escape, and freedom -- at last! If she was not an author, Pat would like to be an interior designer or an architect so she could tell stories through design.
Pat frequently collaborates on books with her husband, Fredrick. They have three sons and live in St. Louis, Missouri.

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