American Tall Tales

This is a wonderful compilation of tall tales that would be perfect to keep in a classroom for story time. The first thing I liked about this book was the characters. There are tales about several familiar names, such as Paul Bunyon and Johnny Appleseed. The characters strengths and weaknesses are highlighted. Johnny Appleseed was responsible for helping spread apples across the US, but he was also really bad at romance. I also liked the illustrations in the book. The pictures are all hand-drawn and give a historical feel, which is fitting for these stories from the past. The main idea of this book is to retell traditional tall tales that have been passed down through generations. It also introduces children to the well-known characters show more of the traditional literature world. show less

I loved tall tales as a child and I love them as an adult. This book was fun to read because it brought back all my memories of Paul Bunyan and Davy Crocket. I got to meet some new favorites as well, Sallyy Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind and Mose Febold Feboldson. I enjoy the fact that even though the United States is relatively a new country we have our own Folk Lore. These stories are just plain fun and imagination. The wood engravings used for illustration are fanciful and and full of energy. They really bring that old fashioned feel to the stories.

Mary Pope Osborne has compiled a collection of American folktales, which she tells in a distinclty American voice that brings the stories vividly to life and evokes the eras in which they evolved. Each story is prefaced by a brief history of its development. This is a great introduction for kids to the characters they will encounter in the broader world.

The wood engravings really add an old timey feel to this book, which is so appropriate. I do like the way she focused on the humanity of the characters and am glad she was able to add one of her own. Sally Ann Thunder was a delightful character, and there was not a huge focus on her beauty; the focus was on her strength. "Johnny Appleseed" and "John Henry" were my favorites. "Johnny Appleseed" because it was a good mix of John Chapman, the real man, and Johnny Appleseed, the folk hero. "John Henry" I loved because I had forgotten his story from when I was little and re-reading it I realized what a fine man he was and it made me so sad when he died.
I can see myself reading this in class and coming up with many follow up activities. With show more Johnny Appleseed we could use it for science and start growing an apple tree to plant somewhere. We could use Stormalong to learn about the sea. Quite frankly John Henry could be read in a high school history class or government class to have them debate about technology driving away blue collar jobs, and the benefits and detriments that causes. Its a great book. show less

This book contained nine different folk tales. Each folk tale had a different occupation like pioneer settlers, backwoodsmen and women, farmers, volunteer firefighters, sailors, cowboys, laborers, and loggers that contributed to the development of America. Since they're were such a wide variety of characters occupations it truly allows you to pick and choose. Your not forced to only read about one era or time period. It's a great book to have in a classroom because it contains 9 stories in just one book. The organization of the book was easy to follow and it flowed very well. Another thing I absolutely loved that Osborne did was how she provided bibliographies for each story with primary sources and helpful articles. She truly made show more reading this book as easy as she could and for you to get the most out of it. I also love the illustrations and how the pictures really show the exaggerated parts of the tall tales. Like the tall tale that talked about a giant baby three fathoms tall or eighteen feet. The baby is literally bigger than the entire town and it looks realistic on the page. I really enjoyed this book and I would not have picked it up off a shelf on my own, but I'm now glad a friend introduced it to me. show less

I enjoyed this book, the main message of the entire book was that no matter who you are you can achieve amazing things. One of my favorite things about the book was that it included tall tales that are not commonly known such as Sally who is Davy Crockett's wife. I believe that this was an important part of the book because it makes it different than most collections of tall tales. One part of the book that I believe could have been improved upon was the amount of stories, I feel as if the author almost put too much into one book that at times it became overwhelming so I was not able to read the book in one sitting.

Osborne, M. (1991). American Tall Tales. Wood Engravings by Michael McCurdy; New York: Random House

Pecos Bill

Pecos Bill is a classic short story about “the best cowboy who ever lived.”Pecos Bill was so tough that, as a baby, he teethed on horseshoes instead of teething rings and played with grizzly bears instead of teddy bears. When his family accidentally left him in the desert, he was found and subsequently raised by a wild pack of coyotes! This is an excellent and imaginative story in the widely-loved American Tall tale tradition. The tale is thoroughly “American” as it takes place in the west with cowboys, guns, ranches, broncos and even 50 foot rattle snakes! Pecos Bill is a “larger-than-life” character that kids will show more find extremely humorous and amusing. I highly recommend this book for kids, especially if they are already learning about the “wild west” in school.

Paul Bunyan

The old lumberjack folk hero Paul Bunyan has been well known to many Americans since the late 1800s. The stories about him are remarkably entertaining. Like Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan was an extraordinary person even as a baby. When he was only 2 weeks old he weighed over a hundred pounds. Each morning he ate five dozen eggs, ten sacks of potatoes and ten stacks of pancakes. He even had a thick black beard as a baby. He is known mainly because of his exceptional size and strength, and also for his companion, Babe the Blue Ox. With the help of his companions, Paul Bunyan logged all the trees in the state of Minnesota, and then moved on to Washington, Oregon, and Alaska. The Paul Bunyan character is a classic and thoroughly “American” personality that will always have a welcomed place in the hearts of children.

John Henry

Like Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill, John Henry was an American character with the strength and powers of a superhero. Historians disagree on whether or not the John Henry tale was inspired by a real black man named John Henry. When he was just a baby, his arms were “as thick as stovepipes. He had great broad shoulders and strong muscles.” And most amazingly, he was born with a hammer in his hand!
The tale of John Henry is highly imaginative and has its roots in real American history, back to the time shortly after the Civil War, when the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad Company laid hundreds of miles of railroad track in West Virginia. John Henry was known to be the best steel driver in the country. He had hammered steel from the time he was ten. Ever since, he was able to hammer for hours without missing a beat. It was said that his hammer moved like lightning. All children should be familiar with the story of John Henry and all the classic American tall tales. Although fanciful, the stories have the potential to enrich child’s understanding of, and interest in, American history, at the same, time encouraging children to read and use their imaginations. show less