May Justus (1898 – 1989) was born in Del Rio, Tennessee to a family in which reading and storytelling were highly regarded. After graduating from the University of Tennessee/Knoxville, she taught school full-time until a heart condition caused her to restrict her activities. Inspired by her students early on, May wrote some 60 books—many of which were children’s stories set in Appalachia. A strong supporter of racial equality, she worked with young people throughout her life and maintained a children’s library in the attic of her home for twenty years. In her sixties, May recorded a selection of folk songs and mountain ballads she sang and loved as a child.