Saving Granddaddy’s Stories

Ray Hicks grew up in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, but times were hard. Though Ray often went hungry, nearly every day he walked to Granddaddy Ben’s house to fill up on stories. Granddaddy didn’t read stories—he told stories. Stories about a boy named Jack. Same Jack as Jack in the Beanstalk, but mountain folks changed him to fit their way of living. This is a book about a boy’s quest to make sure his granddaddy’s stories would never be forgotten.

Shannon Hitchcock and Sophie Page follow the winding journey of Ray Hicks’s storytelling career and capture the spirit of the man who never turned away anyone who wanted to hear a story.