FOLK STORIES AND TALL TALES

FOLK STORIES AND TALL TALES by Claire Cock-Starkey and Zanna Goldhawk

It is hard for me to pass up a book dedicated to folk stories and tall tales. This addiction clearly stems from my childhood. I went through a time, mid to upper elementary, when I loved reading these types of stories. I was fascinated with Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, Babe. ( It's probably because my Swedish roots include lumberjacks. My great-grandfather was a lumberjack in the UP of Michigan where many Swedish immigrants settled.)I loved the idea of John Henry and his competition with the steam powered drill and Pecos Bill making a lasso out of a rattlesnake to catch a tornado. I was a child who had a vivid imagination. The bigger the story, the better.

Kane Miller has a book that caught my eye while at a convention not too long ago. It was the cover artwork that did it. Folksy with a bit of Grandma Moses flare, I was captivated by the illustrations as I flipped through the pages.

Folk Stories and Tall Tales is a collection of tales from different North American people groups, but a large percentage of the stories in this edition come from Native American stories. The book is divided into 6 chapters with titles such as Origins, Animal Stories, Nature Stories, etc. Each chapter includes five stories (each are 2 pages long) that are beautifully illustrated.

HEADS UP- The Native American tales often deal with their religious beliefs.

One Native American tale revolves around the Spirits of winter and summer. A young girl marries Winter who makes tribal life miserable for everyone. She meets Summer and enjoys spending time with him. Her husband Winter shows up, fights Summer and loses, so she and Summer are free to be together.