AMJ Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 When I was a teen one of the funnest parts of English class was when we covered tall tales. The tales we covered were more from the middle and western United States (Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill, John Henry, Annie Oakley), but I know there are lots more out there, and from other locales and countries as well. Please tell me about the tall tales you know, and from whence they hail. Where did you first hear each, and from whom? What place and/or culture did the tale come from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaderbee Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 When I was a teen one of the funnest parts of English class was when we covered tall tales. The tales we covered were more from the middle and western United States (Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill, John Henry, Annie Oakley), but I know there are lots more out there, and from other locales and countries as well. Please tell me about the tall tales you know, and from whence they hail. Where did you first hear each, and from whom? What place and/or culture did the tale come from? If you look up Pecos Bill or Paul Bunyan on Amazon there are a bunch of great picture books of other tall tale legends like Mike Fink, Slue Foot Sue, etc. Mary Osborne has a anthology book as well. I wouldn't have thought of Annie Oakley as a tall tale character. She, Davey Crockett, Daniel Boone, Buffalo Bill, Johnny Appleseed, and the Swamp Fox would fall into legend, right? Anyhow, I loved tall tales and mythology as a kid. We've been working on myths in our house but I plan to introduce my kids to more tall tales this summer to jive with our American History. I'm looking forward to reading what other characters the Hive lists. Oh and I grew up in SoCal and learned about Tall Tales in Elementary School. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMJ Posted August 6, 2014 Author Share Posted August 6, 2014 If you look up Pecos Bill or Paul Bunyan on Amazon there are a bunch of great picture books of other tall tale legends like Mike Fink, Slue Foot Sue, etc. Mary Osborne has a anthology book as well. I wouldn't have thought of Annie Oakley as a tall tale character. She, Davey Crockett, Daniel Boone, Buffalo Bill, Johnny Appleseed, and the Swamp Fox would fall into legend, right? Anyhow, I loved tall tales and mythology as a kid. We've been working on myths in our house but I plan to introduce my kids to more tall tales this summer to jive with our American History. I'm looking forward to reading what other characters the Hive lists. Oh and I grew up in SoCal and learned about Tall Tales in Elementary School. There were some rather tall tales about ole Annie floating around when I was a kid, and Daniel Boone, too. I grew up with Paul Bunyan and Johnny Appleseed. Thanks for the references! I'll be looking them up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourisenough Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 Clever Beatrice is a favorite in our house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space station Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 We have a Paul Bunyan museum in our town, complete with chainsaw carving competition in the summer! Field trip fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 The Lost Dutchman is a fun one. We enjoyed the collection called Tall Tales by Mary Pope Osborne. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMJ Posted August 6, 2014 Author Share Posted August 6, 2014 Clever Beatrice is a favorite in our house. Never heard of her! Where does Clever Beatrice (the tales) come from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMJ Posted August 6, 2014 Author Share Posted August 6, 2014 We have a Paul Bunyan museum in our town, complete with chainsaw carving competition in the summer! Field trip fun! I am now "down south", and no where near anyone or anyplace that even has heard of Paul Bunyan, apparently. I miss Minnesota, where he and Babe were everywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMJ Posted August 6, 2014 Author Share Posted August 6, 2014 The Lost Dutchman is a fun one. We enjoyed the collection called Tall Tales by Mary Pope Osborne. I forgot about the Lost Dutchman! I'll have to go find that one again. Thanks for the Osborne reference! I'll look for a copy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMJ Posted August 6, 2014 Author Share Posted August 6, 2014 http://americanfolklore.net/ This website looks promising for stuff in the Americas (primarily U.S.). How about other parts of the world? Anyone have tall tales from other countries and continents, too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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