J. Jupiter Jackson, a potato farmer, discovers he is a genius at jigsaw puzzles, and so one winter he leaves the farm and his animals to seek fame and fortune.
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Big Men, Big Country : A Collection Of American Tall Tales
A collection of American tall tales featuring such legendary characters as Davy Crockett, Paul Bunyan, and Pecos Bill.
The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow
A superstitious schoolmaster, in love with a wealthy farmer’s daughter, has a terrifying encounter with a headless horseman.
Tucker Pfeffercorn
A retelling of the classic Rumpelstiltskin tale with a Southern setting.
Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett
Sally Ann, wife of Davy Crockett, fears nothing–and proves it when braggart Mike Fink tries to scare her. On the day she is born this amazing baby proudly announces she can out-talk, out-grin, out-scream, out-swim, and out-run any baby in Kentucky. Within a few years Sally is off to the frontier, where she stuns a hungry grizzly bear, makes a lasso out of six rattlesnakes, and is more than a match for the mighty Mike Fink. And when Sally Ann rescues Davy Crockett from a pair of ferocious eagles, even her hornet’s-nest bonnet and skunk perfume don’t stop him from proposing marriage. You won’t find Sally Ann in any history book, but that hasn’t kept her from becoming an authentic American frontier legend and the unforgettable heroine of Steven Kellogg’s most delightfully rip-roaring tall tale.
John Henry
Retells the life of the legendary African American hero who raced against a steam drill to cut through a mountain.
Breath
Elaborates on the tale of “The Pied Piper,” told from the point of view of a boy who is too ill to keep up when a piper spirits away the healthy children of a plague-ridden town after being cheated out of full payment for ridding Hamelein of rats.
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.
Wee Winnie Witch’s Skinny
James Lee and Uncle Big Anthony become victims of Wee Winnie Witch, who takes them on a ride up into the sky, but Mama Granny saves them.
Rip Van Winkle’s Return
Rip Van Winkle is an idler who would rather starve for a penny than work for a pound, and his wife is constantly nagging him. In search of peace, Rip heads off to the woods one day with his faithful dog, Wolf. High up in the Catskill Mountains, Rip meets an unusual group of little men. He drinks their strong beverage and falls into a deep sleep. When he awakens, he finds that twenty years have passed – the world has changed and so has he. With vibrant paintings by Leonard Everett Fisher, Eric A. Kimmel’s adaptation of Washington Irving’s classic “Rip Van Winkle” introduces a Rip who reforms as a result of his experience.