Reading Themes - > TALL TALES

About Tall Tales:
Tall Talk, or exaggerated storytelling, began in the 1800s as a way for Americans to come to terms with the vast inhospitable lands they’d come to inherit. The heroes and heroines of these tales were like the land itself – gigantic, extravagant, restless and flamboyant. The exaggerated feats of courage of the tall-tale characters were born from various combinations of historical fact, the storytelling of ordinary people, and the imagination of professional writers.
--American Tall Tales by Mary Pope Osborne

Folklore & Picture Book “Tall Tales”

Balcziak, Bill. JOHN HENRY. [Folklore/Fairytales B]
Presents the life story of John Henry, the African American railroad legend known as the "Steel Driving Man."

Balcziak, Bill. JOHNNY APPLESEED. [Folklore/Fairytales B]
Presents the life story of Johnny Appleseed.

Balcziak, Bill. PAUL BUNYAN. [Folklore/Fairytales B]
Presents the life story of the enormous lumberjack, Paul Bunyan, who along with his blue ox Babe, is said to have made the 10,000 lakes of Minnesota with his footsteps.

Balcziak, Bill. PECOS BILL. [Folklore/Fairytales B]
Presents the story of the baby Pecos Bill being raised by coyotes and his eventual marriage to Slue-Foot Sue, another legend from the American Southwest.

Brimner, Larry Dane.  CAPTAIN STORMALONG.  [Folklore/Fairytales B]
Describes some of the adventures of the legendary Captain Stormalong, who weighed some four tons at the age of twelve and was known for riding a whale.

Fox, F.G.  JEAN LAFFITE AND THE BIG OL’ WHALE.  [Folklore/Fairytales F]
When a huge white whale gets stuck between the banks of the Mississippi River causing the water to stop flowing, Jean Laffite finds a way to get the river moving again.

Greene, Carol. JOHN CHAPMAN: THE MAN WHO WAS JOHNNY APPLESEED. [J Biography Appleseed]
Relates how John Chapman’s distribution of apple seeds and trees across America made him a legend.

Gregg, Andy. PAUL BUNYAN AND THE WINTER OF BLUE SNOW. [Folklore/Fairytales G]
Tells how Paul Bunyan saves his loggers from a terrible winter and in the process creates the Mississippi River and turns his ox, Babe, blue.

Hodges, Margaret. TRUE TALE OF JOHNNY APPLESEED. [J Biography Appleseed]
Relates the story of the man who traveled west planting apple seeds to make the country a better place to live.

Holland, Gini. JONNY APPLESEED. [J Biography Appleseed]
Relates the life and accomplishments of John Chapman, known as “Johnny Appleseed”.

Isaacs, Anne. SWAMP ANGEL.  [Picture Book IS]
Along with other amazing feats, Angelica Longrider, also known as Swamp Angel, wrestles a huge bear, known as Thundering Tarnation, to save the winter supplies of the settlers in Tennessee.

Kellogg, Steven.
MIKE FINK: A TALL TALE [Folklore/Fairytales K]
PAUL BUNYAN: A TALL TALE [Folklore/Fairytales K]
PECOS BILL: A TALL TALE [Folklore/Fairytales K]
SALLY ANN THUNDER ANN WHIRLWIND CROCKETT: A TALL TALE [Folklore/Fairytales K]

Lester, Julius. JOHN HENRY. [Folklore/Fairytales L]
Retells the life of the legendary African American hero who raced against a steam drill to cut through a mountain.

Lindbergh, Reeve. JOHNNY APPLESEED. [J 808.81 L]
Rhymed text and illustrations relate the life of John Chapman, whose distribution of apple seeds and trees across the Midwest made him a legend and left a legacy still enjoyed today.

Lisker, Tom. TALL TALES: AMERICAN MYTHS. [Folklore/Fairytales L]
Includes the stories of Johnny Appleseed, Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill, and Davey Crockett and discusses how "tall tales" started and were passed along.

Lyons, Mary E.  ROY MAKES A CAR.  [Folklore/Fairytales L]
Roy Tyle, the best mechanic in the state of Florida, can clean spark plugs just by looking at them, and he takes a two-dollar bet that he can make an accident-proof car.  Based on a story collected by Zora Neale Hurston.

Mason, Jane. PAUL BUNYAN AND OTHER TALL TALES. [Folklore/Fairytales M]

Osborne, Mary. AMERICAN TALL TALES. [Folklore/Fairytales O]
A collection of tall tales about such American folk heroes as Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind, Pecos Bill, John Henry, and Paul Bunyan.

Nolen, Jerdine. BIG JABE. [Folklore/Fairytales N]
Momma Mary tells stories about a special young man who does wondrous things, especially for the slaves on the Plenty Plantation.

Perry, Phyllis. TEN TALL TALES: ORIGINS, ACTIVITIES & MORE.  [Parent-Teacher 372.13 P]
Includes history, resources, websites and multi-disciplinary activities for ten American tall tales including: Johnny Appleseed -- Mike Fink and his daughter Sal -- Davy Crockett -- Paul Bunyan -- Pecos Bill -- Alfred Bulltop Stormalong -- Febold Feboldson -- John Henry -- Joe Magarac.

San Souci, Robert. CUT FROM THE SAME CLOTH: AMERICAN WOMEN OF MYTH, LEGEND AND TALL TALE. [Folklore/Fairytales S]
A collection of twenty stories about legendary American women, drawing from folktales, popular stories, and ballads.

San Souci, Robert. LARGER THAN LIFE: ADVENTURES OF AMERICAN LEGENDARY HEROES. [Folklore/Fairytales S]
A collection of four short tales about such legendary American heroes as John Henry, Old Stormalong, Sluefoot Sue, and Paul Bunyan.

Schanzer, Rosalyn.  DAVY CROCKETT SAVES THE WORLD.  [Folklore/Fairytales S]
Davy Crockett stops the evil Halley’s Comet from destroying the world, and wins the heart of Sally Sugartree in the process.

Walker, Paul. BIG MEN, BIG COUNTRY: A COLLECTION OF AMERICAN TALL TALES. [Folklore/Fairytales W]
A collection of American tall tales featuring such legendary characters as Davy Crockett, Paul Bunyan, and Pecos Bill.

Willey, Margaret. CLEVER BEATRICE: AN UPPER PENINSULA CONTE. [Folklore/Fairytales W]
A small, but clever young girl outwits a rich giant and wins all his gold.

Willey, Margaret.  CLEVER BEATRICE AND THE BEST LITTLE PONY.  [Folklore/Fairytales W]
Clever Beatrice seeks out Monsieur Le Pain, the village bread maker, to come up with a plan to protect her pony from the tiny bearded lutin that magically rides him every night.

Wright, Catherine. STEAMBOAT ANNIE AND THE THOUSAND POUND CATFISH. [Picture Book WR]
An ornery giant catfish that does not like singing causes trouble for the residents of a little town called Pleasant, until Steamboat Annie teaches him a lesson.