I chose to research American Tall Tales for my culture area presentation in Multicultural Folktales II at SMCC. For the first two weeks of study, I spent every spare hour reading every tall tale I could find. I chose six books of tall tales and then found four stories I wanted to tell. The first two were John Henry and his work song and Paul Bunyan and his Babe the blue ox.
I then went looking for some tall tales about women. I finally found a wonderful book Cut From the Same Cloth by Robert D. San Souci, formerly with Walt Disney Studios. The title refers to the story of Sal Fink who works with her father on a Keelboat. Both are ever ready to face life in the wilderness.
The other story I chose is about Bess Call and her brother Joe, who was known as the best wrestler in America. The humor in this story will have children and adults laughing.
I have had a wonderful time reading the stories of America.
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