num_pages: 115
description: The perfect addition to every family’s home library and just right for sharing aloud, American Tall Tales introduces readers to America’s first folk heroes in nine wildly exaggerated and downright funny stories. Here are Paul Bunyan, that king-sized lumberjack who could fell “ten white pines with a single swing”; John Henry, with his mighty hammer; Mose, old New York’s biggest, bravest fireman; Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind, who could “outgrin, outsnort, outrun, outlift, outsneeze, outsleep, outlie any varmint”; and other uniquely American characters, together in one superb collection. In the tradition of the original nineteenth-century storytellers, Mary Pope Osborne compiles, edits, and adds her own two cents’ worth—and also supplies fascinating historical headnotes. Michael McCurdy’s robust colored wood engravings recall an earlier time, perfectly capturing all the vitality of the men and women who carved a new country out of the North American wilderness.
language: English
title: American Tall Tales
titlecomplete: American Tall Tales
genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Picture Books, Folk Tales, Classics, Childrens, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Folklore
ratings_count: 768
awards: awardedAt: 725875200000
name: Vermont Golden Dome Book Award
publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers