Explains superstitions about such topics as love and marriage, money, ailments, travel, the weather, and death.
Cross Your Fingers, Spit In Your Hat
Folklore and Fairy Tales
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.
The Narrow Escapes of Davy Crockett
Recounts the wild adventures of Davy Crockett, including his tangles with a wrestling bear, eagles that wish to pull out his hair, and an alligator he rides up Niagara Falls.
John Henry
Retells the life of the legendary African American hero who raced against a steam drill to cut through a mountain.
The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow
A superstitious schoolmaster, in love with a wealthy farmer’s daughter, has a terrifying encounter with a headless horseman.
Sparks Fly High
Colonel Lightfoot is never modest, especially when it comes to his dancing or his fine Virginia land. One piece of that land is turning to mud, and the devil himself is rumored to live in that murky mess, for on dark nights sparks fly high. How to put an end to the devil’s mischief? Why, a dance contest with the fiery fiend himself. The colonel bristles with confidence, but the devil is equally sure of himself, until, recognizing his own false pride in the devil’s boasts, the colonel discovers the perfect way to outsmart him. Witty, expressive illustrations aglow with color bring to life a Colonial American tale that sizzles and snaps with humor and folk wisdom.
Fables Aesop Never Wrote
Fifteen original fables, including “Sour Crepes,” “Fox in Chicken Feathers,” and “The Dressy Wolf.”
Why Lapin’s Ears Are Long
Three tales of Compere Lapin who practices his tricks among the Creoles and the Cajuns of the Louisiana bayou.
The Tale of Willie Monroe
An adaptation, set in the American South, of an old Japanese folktale in which a powerful wrestler who hopes to win the Emperor’s Wrestling Match encounters three exceptionally strong women who train him for success.
Alice Nizzy Nazzy: The Witch Of Santa Fe
When Manuela’s sheep are stolen, she has to go to Alice Nizzy Nazzy’s talking road-runner-footed adobe house and try to get the witch to give the flock back, in a Southwestern version of the Baba Yaga story.