A collection of twenty stories about legendary American women, drawing from folktales, popular stories, and ballads.
Cut From The Same Cloth
Primary (ages 6-9)
Material appropriate for primary age groups
Paula Bunyan
Recounts the exploits of Paul Bunyan’s “little” sister, Paula, who lived in the North Woods, sang three-part harmony with the wolves, and used an angry bear for a foot warmer.
Thunder Rose
Unusual from the day she is born, Thunder Rose performs all sorts of amazing feats, including building metal structures, taming a stampeding herd of steers, capturing a gang of rustlers, and turning aside a tornado.
Bruh Rabbit And The Tar Baby Girl
In this retelling, using Gullah speech, of a familiar story the wily Brer Rabbit outwits Brer Fox who has set out to trap him.
Gullible Gus
Cowboy Gus is cured of a bad case of gullibility by listening to three tall tales.Poor Cowboy Gus! He believes everything the other cowboys tell him, so he gets teased all the time. To cure his terrible case of gullibility, Gus visits Fibrock, a town full of liars. There he encounters Hokum Malarkey, who tells him three outrageous stories—while relieving him of all his money. But Gus doesn’t mind. If he can honestly say the words “I don’t believe it,” he’ll be cured forever. With extravagant humor and lively language, Maxine Schur presents three tall tales within a frame story, each one just right for the chapter-book audience. Andrew Glass’s hilarious illustrations perfectly depict the hapless hero and the other larger-than-life characters that populate these wild and woolly adventures.
The Red Heels
An itinerant shoemaker in colonial New England makes a pair of shoes for a beautiful young woman, although he fears the red heels are a sign that she is a witch.
Sukey and the Mermaid
Unhappy with her life at home, Sukey receives kindness and wealth from Mama Jo the mermaid.
The Legend Of Pecos Bill
Retells in verse the tale of the extraordinary cowboy who was raised by coyotes, married Sluefoot Sue, and rode the wild rapscallion mustang stallion named Widowmaker.
Clever Beatrice: An Upper Peninsula Conte
A small, but clever young girl outwits a rich giant and wins all his gold.
Tailypo: A Newfangled Tall Tale
On a farm in the Texas Hill Country, a young boy confronts a strange critter that tries to steal his family’s last meal. A variation on the folktale about a monster that leaves its tail behind in the cabin of an African American boy.