American Tall Tales

By Mary Pope Osborne and Michael McCurdy

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
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Aug 28, 2013
• ISBN: 9780307982599

Reviews for American Tall Tales

[slee74 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book did a great job of giving the reader a chance to read all different tall tales that have been told throughout so many generations. The language in these tales was great. It was clear and descriptive.  The author chose to retell the well loved fairytales with language that captivates the reader and keeps them into the stories. Another thing that was well done in this book was the plot. It is many traditional literature stories in one book but the plot of each story is unchanged. That means that they still follow the plot that all traditional literature follows which is very brief with no flashbacks or odd story lines. It has one conflict that gets resolved and most of them teach a lesson at the end. The main purpose of this story is to entertain.

[pennsylady · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

audio Tall Tales" featuring 9 American folk heroes of the 19th century. Family listening... performed by Scott Snively. Age Range: 8 - 12 years Grade Level: 3 - 6 Knopf Books for Young Readers ..include Davy Crockett, Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind, Johnny Appleseed, Stormalong, Mose, Febold Feboldson, Pecos Bill, John Henry, and Paul Bunyan.

[kwisem1-1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I found these Tall Tales to be quiet boring. There was no interesting facts that would pull a reader in to make them want to read this book. I felt like the plots were very plain. The illustrations are colorful, but not exciting to look at, like other books I have read. I honestly do not know what the main idea of any of the Tall Tales were because I did not understand a single one.

[jill.haner · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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 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.

[kimjd_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A wonderful resource for teaching tall tales. Mary Pope Osborne gets the folksy voices just right, and her introductions to each of the tall tale characters give invaluable information on the history of how that particular tall tale developed. Bold illustrations capture the adventure and energy of these exaggerated tales.

[sigmundfraud · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

using for my small class of eight year olds.

[elenaestrada_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

American Tall Tales by Mary Pope Osborn is a collection of American tall tales which include, among others, Davy Crockett, Johnny Appleseed, Pecos Bill, and Paul Bunyan. It incorporates part of American history as it documents larger than life characters whose primary purpose was to establish a new country by settling the rouged frontier lands. Since there is really no tall tales of American women, the author takes the liberty and combines several female characters into a single heroine and she calls her Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind. I think this fabrication is a bit of a misrepresentation of the American Tall tales since she invented the tall tale as she wrote the book. Although it is a fabrication, I can understand why the author felt compelled to combine some documentation of different female frontier women and make at least one heroine up. According to the author, stories of strong frontierswomen do exist, but they never received the notoriety that the male characters received. In fact, the author points out that Davy Crockett spoke of these strong women and described them as “outrageous” and “comical”. It maybe that women who ventured too far from the social mares of that time where not accepted as part of that society. Ages: 5-10

[cnolasco_40 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Osborne, M.P. (1991). American Tall Tales (McCurdy, M. Illus.). New York: Knopf.American Tall Tales is a collection of tales retold by Mary Pope Osborne. Some of the tales included are: Paul Bunyan, Davy Crockett, Johnny Appleseed, and Pecos Bill. Before each of the tales is a page of notes on the story, which helps give a little historical perspective on where and how these tales came to be. The tales range from eight to ten pages in length and all have colored wood engravings portraying parts of the story. I enjoyed the wood engravings because I feel that they fit the stories well. The tales are old and have been passed down and the wood engravings have that same feeling to them. Included in the back is a bibliography listing the sources Osborne used to retell the stories. Overall, nothing new here, but a nice collection to the basic American tall tales

[farfromkansas · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Mary Pope Osborne’s version of “John Henry” (included in American Tall Tales) includes an introduction that lays the historical foundation of the story. She begins by describing the process of railroad construction and the origin of “steel drivers,” and then leads into the origins of the John Henry stories, dating their creation to the 1870’s. In the actual story of “John Henry” she has written, Osborne embraces the “fantasy” of tall tales, including the claims that John Henry was born with a hammer in his hand and that he did the work of five men at the same time. Clearly, Osborne enjoys the “larger-than-life” tone of tall tales and keeps this tone alive in her version of the story.Michael McCurdy’s wood engraving illustrations are remarkable unique: like the tall tales described in the book, wood engravings come from an Americana tradition that evolved quickly into other graphic forms. Because of this, McCurdy’s illustrations seem almost quaint at times; however, he does “modernize” these pictures by adding stylized elements (particularly poses and settings) that lend a “cartoonish” quality that will make the artwork more accessible to young children.Citation:Osborne, Mary Pope, and Michael McCurdy. "John Henry." American Tall Tales. New York: Knopf, 1991. 87-95. Print.

[alliek710 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Use during a tall tales unit. To teach about folk tales and the classic characters and their stories.