American Tall Tales

by Mary Pope Osborne, Michael McCurdy (Illustrator)

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780679800897
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	09/24/1991
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	107,254
Product dimensions:	8.25(w) x 11.13(h) x 0.64(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Mary Pope Osborne is the award-winning author of over sixty books for children. Her works include One World, Many Religions; New York’s Bravest; Tales from the Odyssey; Adaline Falling Star; and the Magic Tree House series, a New York Times number one bestselling children’s book series that has sold over 100 million copies worldwide. Ms. Osborne lives in northwestern Connecticut with her husband, Will.
 
Michael McCurdy is a distinguished illustrator whose wood engravings and drawings have enhanced many books for both adults and children. From 1968 to 1985, he owned Penmaen Press Books, where he produced beautiful small-press first editions by leading American and European writers and poets. He wrote and illustrated An Algonquin Year: The Year According to the Full Moon and edited and illustrated Escape from Slavery: The Boyhood of Frederick Douglass in His Own Words. He lives with his wife, Deborah, in Massachusetts.

Hometown:

Goshen, Connecticut

Date of Birth:

May 20, 1949

Place of Birth:

Fort Sill, Oklahoma

Education:

B.A., University of North Carolina

Website:

http://www.marypopeosborne.com

Editorial Reviews

"McCurdy's intricate wood engravings set these larger-than-life folk on majestic landscapes brimming with energy, rich with wildlife and local color. The author's thoughtful introduction and notes round out this superlative offering."—(starred) School Library Journal.

From the Publisher

A host of old standbys are being reissued this winter. "American folk heroes of the 19th century spring to life in these splendidly retold sagas," said PW upon the 1991 publication of Mary Pope Osborne's American Tall Tales, illus. by Michael McCurdy. The gifted raconteur retells the legends of familiar figures (Davy Crockett, Paul Bunyan, Johnny Appleseed, Pecos Bill), as well as lesser-known personalities. McCurdy's elaborate full-color wood engravings, in their robust stylization, dramatically render the grandeur of the yarns. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

American folk heroes of the 19th century spring to life in these splendidly retold sagas. Osborne's reputation as a gifted raconteur ( Favorite Greek Myths ; Beauty and the Beast ) is reaffirmed in this compendium, which retells the legends of familiar figures (Davy Crockett, Paul Bunyan, Johnny Appleseed, Pecos Bill), as well as lesser known personalities, such as Crockett's fictional wife Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind, a composite character shaped by tales of various real-life women. Also chronicled are heroes hailing from places other than the backwoods, including Stormalong, a giant sailor who as a baby was washed onto a Cape Cod beach by a tidal wave, and Mose, a New York City fireman immortalized in an 1848 Broadway play. As tantalizing as Osborne's storytelling are McCurdy's ( The Owl-Scatterer ) elaborate, full-color wood engravings, which in their robust stylization dramatically render the grandeur of these engrossing yarns. Ages 6-up. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Gr 3-6-- This strikingly handsome, oversized volume presents nine all-American figures whose overblown exploits take them from coast to coast and through all manner of occupations and preoccupations. Osborne has chosen familiar fictitious characters--Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan, Febold Feboldson--and actual people, such as Johnny Appleseed and Davy Crockett, and relates episodes that stress the individuals' human weaknesses as well as strengths. She has melded several legendary characters into a single heroine, Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind, who more than holds her own in such grand company. The rip-roaring action, broad humor, and colorful language of the convention are all here, but the violence is kept to a minimum and the laughs aren't at anyone's expense, except perhaps the subjects, who feel rather foolish on occasion. McCurdy's intricate wood engravings tinted with watercolor equal their tall task. He sets these larger-than-life folk on majestic landscapes brimming with energy, rich with wildlife and local color. The author's thoughtful introduction and notes round out this superlative offering. It's ``the whole steamboat!'' --Luann Toth, School Library Journal

School Library Journal

Tall tales are that captivating genre of literature in which geography, forces of nature, and strong characters converge. The likes of Stormalong, the three-fathoms-tall sailor; Mose, the tireless New York firefighter; and Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind, master tamer of rattlesnakes and men, simultaneously entertain and explain the shaping of the American psyche. In this fine recording, Osborne has selected American greats and, from each body of adventure, timeless episodes. With his talent for regional accents, Scott Snively takes the listener directly to that part of the United States and creates vivid characters. The listener is on the Great Plains as Swedish farmer Febold Feboldson lures settlers with his schemes to tame Mother Nature. In Maine the listener feels Paul Bunyan’s sadness each time civilization forces him to a new wilderness. Interludes of period harmonica music complete this delightful listening package. A.R. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine

APR/MAY 02 - AudioFile