American Tall Tales

September 23, 1991
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.

November 1, 1997
Gr 3-6-In the grand storytelling tradition of exaggerating for the sake of a good yarn, Osborne pays homage to the geographic and occupational diversity of our nation's folk personages. Jaunty descriptions, informative notes, and handsome wood engravings give them new leases on life. (Dec. 1991)

March 15, 1992
Gr. 4-7. Paul Bunyan lit a forest fire to heat his flapjack griddle, and his ox weighed "more than the combined weight of all the fish that ever got away." Some say that Pecos Bill's rope was exactly as long as the equator; some argue it was two feet shorter. Wild, bragging, and absurd, Osborne's versions of nine tall tales are perfect for telling to all ages. Rooted in the nineteenth-century struggle with the huge, overpowering American wilderness, the tales snap with insult ("you mangy bobtailed fleabag") and witty confrontation, though there is an occasional melancholy note, as when the giant John Henry dies fighting the new steam-driven machines. In her general introduction and her notes for each tale, Osborne talks about the mixture of history and wild fantasy, and about how she's adapted her sources. Sometimes a ludicrous didactic tone creeps into her commentary, as when she apologizes for these nineteenth-century macho types who tamed the environment instead of preserving it ("Sadly, the lumber industry was not concerned then with the conservation of forestland, as it is today"). But the tales themselves keep the boasting humor and hyperbole of the originals. One of the most entertaining characters is Osborne's composite of many extraordinary females: Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind is a hero for us all ("Don't call me sweetie . . . I can outgrin, outsnort, outrun, outlift, outsneeze, outsleep, outlie any varmint from Maine to Louisiana"). The oversize book is clear and accessible in design, and it has a long, detailed bibliography. The handsome color woodcuts are full of the exaggerated action and comedy of the stories. ((Reviewed Mar. 15, 1992))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1992, American Library Association.)