A retelling of the classic Rumpelstiltskin tale with a Southern setting.
Tucker Pfeffercorn
Folklore and Fairy Tales
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.
Pecos Bill
Incidents from the life of Pecos Bill, from his childhood among the coyotes to his unusual wedding day.
When Birds Could Talk And Bats Could Sing
Based on African-American folktales told in the South during the plantation era, a collection of stories originally gathered by journalist Martha Young pays tribute to the human spirit in the face of terrible hardship.
The Pig Scrolls
A translation of an ancient Greek manuscript written by Gryllus, a talking pig who was once a man, which describes the many adventures that he and his companions–a junior prophetess named Sybil and a bumbling goatherd–experience while traveling to Delph
Old Dry Frye
A humorous retelling of an Appalachian folktale about a preacher who chokes on a chicken bone.
Cross Your Fingers, Spit In Your Hat
Explains superstitions about such topics as love and marriage, money, ailments, travel, the weather, and death.
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.