QPB Treasury of North American Folktales

by Catherine Peck, Charles Johnson (Introduction)

This book is a celebration of the voices that make up America. Ranging from Native American love stories to Davy Crockett's account of killing a bear with a knife, from Brer Rabbit's mischief to Johnny Appleseed's good deeds, from hilarious yarns about killer mosquitoes to eerie encounters with the devil.

Genres: Nonfiction, Mythology, Short Stories, Folklore

380 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Abbi Adams]

American Folklore is weird, but this is a good collection of it.

[Jenny]

It took me almost 2 years because I would just read a story or two now and then. Some of the stories I knew but most I had never heard before. Great resource for some tales to tell the kids.

[Eve Markley]

I found this to be a fun and enlightening read. Relaxing. I recall a number of these tall tales and folk tales from my childhood in the 1960s. It was much more common to hear these tales then, before the boom of child-oriented media.

I miss hearing these tales - Paul Bunyon, John Henry, etc. I miss the tongue-in-cheek humor of these wild exaggerations from a time when “pulling one’s leg” was an art and was not considered inappropriate in any way.

I must say though, that, while I didn’t notice anything that might be racially offensive, I am of an age where those sorts of problems might slip past me.

I recommend this book whole-heartedly. Especially for grandparents who do not want their grandchildren to have never heard some of these tales.