1. Created by, C. Trembath

2. Tall Tales are a special kind of folk literature. “Tall Tales” is one of four categories of folktales that originated in North America. The other three categories are: Native American Folktales, African American Folktales and Variations of European Folktales (ex. Jack and the Beanstalk { Jack and the Bean Tree}

3. Tall Tales began being told early in United States history. When the first settlers came to this country and moved west, they found themselves faced with seemingly impossible tasks. Tall Tales began being told early in United States history. When the first settlers came to this country and moved west, they found themselves faced with seemingly impossible tasks.

4. Early settlers saw the wide forest, untamed rivers, natural resources and the raw beauty of the land. For them, there was a huge job of clearing the land, and building homes, cities, and railroads.

5. Early settlers began to invent stories about their surroundings and “larger- than-life” people, who like other storytellers, felt nothing was impossible.

6. The stories that arose came from the feeling of America’s bigness and were not only common in the lumbering camps and railroad towns of the West, but were told in every part of the country and described many types of work.

7. These “Tall Tales” talked about the hardships that the early settlers had to live through as they carved a nation out of the wilderness.. These “Tall Tales” talked about the hardships that the early settlers had to live through as they carved a nation out of the wilderness..

8. Many of the first Tall Tales were about backwoodsman who were skilled with a rifle and were always courageous and independent. These tall tales seemed realistic because the story would take place in a very real setting and had the “old timers’ storytelling flavor. Many of the first Tall Tales were about backwoodsman who were skilled with a rifle and were always courageous and independent. These tall tales seemed realistic because the story would take place in a very real setting and had the “old timers’ storytelling flavor.

9. Americans have always been interested in the biggest, tallest, longest, and widest of everything. The task of making this harsh land livable, produced a frontier humor that boasted of hardship. Americans have always been interested in the biggest, tallest, longest, and widest of everything. The task of making this harsh land livable, produced a frontier humor that boasted of hardship.

10. Some of these legendary heroes were real people. They were talked about because they did extraordinary work at their jobs. As other workers spoke of the incredible efforts of these heroes, their stories grew, and grew and grew until the real live people were no longer human, but fictitious super-beings.

11. Perhaps the best example of a tall tale that grew from a real man’s life is Davy Crocket. Davy Crocket was a backwoodsman who lived in the mountains of Tennessee. He cleared the land, built homesteads, ran for Congress, and died while fighting at the Alamo in 1836.

12. However as the story goes... “An extraordinary event once occurred in the land of Tennessee. A comet shot out of the sky like a ball of fire. But when the comet hit the top of a mountain, a baby boy tumbled off and landed upright on his feet. His name was Davy Crockett”. And the story grows and goes on from there. He even once hugged a grizzly bear to death! However as the story goes... “An extraordinary event once occurred in the land of Tennessee. A comet shot out of the sky like a ball of fire. But when the comet hit the top of a mountain, a baby boy tumbled off and landed upright on his feet. His name was Davy Crockett”. And the story grows and goes on from there. He even once hugged a grizzly bear to death!

13. Characters in Tall Tales have frontier idealism and are usually: Thrifty Clever Courageous Physically Strong Self-Sufficient Resourceful Persevering And Hard Working Characters in Tall Tales have frontier idealism and are usually: Thrifty Clever Courageous Physically Strong Self-Sufficient Resourceful Persevering And Hard Working

14. Here are a few American Tall Tale heroes/heroines: Paul Bunyan Pecos Bill Annie Oakley Stormalong John Henry Casey Jones Johnny Appleseed Here are a few American Tall Tale heroes/heroines: Paul Bunyan Pecos Bill Annie Oakley Stormalong John Henry Casey Jones Johnny Appleseed

15. Paul Bunyan was one of the first heroes in tall tales. He carved out great bays, cleared much of the forest of North and South Dakota, and scooped out the Great Lakes so that his great ox, Babe, could have drinking water. The thousands of lakes in Minnesota are said to be caused from Babe’s footprints.

16. A Detroit journalist wrote the first written records about Paul Bunyan in 1910. A Michigan lumber company printed the first brochures featuring Paul Bunyan. In 1924 and 1927 the first books about Paul Bunyan were published.

17. Pecos Bill was an imaginary character from the West and “invented” most of the things connected with the cattle business. He also rode mountain lions...

18. Dialect has been a BIG part of Tall Tales. Dialect is the way language is spoken in certain parts of the country. As in—”I do declare”, or “Ya’ll come sit by the campfire”.

19. As in, “I was so tired I could have slept a week”. “It rained so hard that the sky fell down”. “I am so hungry, I could eat a horse”. This is called HYPERBOLE. It is an exaggeration so extreme that is usually understood to be a figure of speech and not to be taken as truth.

20. Here are a few of the wonderful books to be found about these American Tall Tale heroes and heroines.

21. Davy Crockett ---- By Rosalyn Schanzer Davy Crockett grew up in the backwoods of Tennessee to become a Congressman in Washington. Davy Crockett was also famous for the crucial role he played in the Battle of the Alamo. His fame spread until in this tall tale, he was summoned by the president of the United States to stop Halley’s Comet from destroying the world. Davy Crockett was a real person.

22. Little Sure Shot --- By Stephanie Spinner One hundred years ago, girls were not supposed to learn how to shoot. But that didn’t stop Annie Oakley. She could shoot an apple off her dog’s head. She could even shoot bending over backward. Annie Oakley became the greatest sharpshooter in the West! Annie Oakley was a real person.

23. Johnny Appleseed ---- By Will Moses Johnny Appleseed was a legend even in his own time. Tall stories abounded about the kindhearted woodsman who talked to wolves, wore outlandish hats, and left a trail of apple trees wherever he went. His real name was John Chapman. John Chapman was a real person.

24. Paul Bunyan ---- By Steven Kellogg Paul Bunyan, the largest, smartest and strongest baby ever born in the state of Maine and he grew up to be the strongest, smartest, and tallest hero of American Tall Tales.

25. Pecos Bill --- By Steven Kellogg Raised by coyotes, Pecos Bill grew up to be the greatest cowboy in Texas or anywhere else. Besides inventing lassoing, cattle roping, and rodeos. He could tame rattlesnakes, wrestle dangerous critters, and even make the terrible Hell's Gulch Gang turn respectable! But his greatest feat was winning the hearts of Lightning (his horse) and of Slew-Foot Sue - the wildest woman in the West!

26. John Henry --- By Julius Lester John Henry was so strong that even when he was born, he could lift his cradle into the air like a feather. Soon John Henry was swinging his two huge sledge hammers and breaking boulders for roads and tunnels. Meeting up with a crew building a railroad line, he knew that he could dig through a mountain faster than their steam drill, so he decided to race it—and there in lies the tale.

27. Rip Van Winkle --- By Washington Irving After running away from a hard day’s work, Rip Van Winkle went up to the Catskill Mountains only to discover in a forgotten valley a strange band of mischievous folks who gave him a drink so powerful that he slept for twenty years.

28. Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett ---By Steven Kellogg From the moment she was born, she could “out talk”, out-grin, out- swim, and out-run any baby in Kentucky. When she grew up, Sally Ann married Davy Crockett. She was the prettiest, sassiest, and toughest gal in the West. Davy Crocket was proud of this wife and boasted that she could wrestle an alligator until it got down on its knees and begged for mercy and later—sure enough she did.

29. Swamp Angel --- By Anne Issacs When Angelica Longrider was born, she was taller than her mother. When she was a full two years old, she built her first log cabin. By the time she was fully grown, Swamp Angel, as she was known, could lasso a tornado and drink an entire lake dry. She single-handedly saved the settlers from a fearsome bear known as Thundering Tarnation, by wrestling him from the top of the Great Smoky Mountains to the bottom of a deep lake.

30. Mike Fink ---- By Steven Kellogg Mike Fink was king of the keel-boatmen--who were the strongest, rowdiest bunch of fellows ever to work on the Mississippi River. Mike was a whole lot more than a keel-boater--yes, sir! He was a crack shot and the best grizzly and gator wrestler on the river.

31. Stormalong --- By Larry Brimner Before George Washington became our first president, Alfred Bulltop Stormalong was born. As he grew up in what is now Maine, he began to love the sea. He “made himself” grow taller and taller until he was tall enough to spot whales. Stormalong, as an adult stood, 4 fathoms high and could throw a harpoon 25 fathoms. So how much is a fathom?

32. Febold Feboldson ---- By Paul R. Beath Febold Febolson was a Swedish man who lived on the prairie. Febold didn't want people to leave because he was afraid he would die of loneliness. So he had a good idea. He ordered 1,000 goldfish from Peru. He put them in the only lake on the prairie. And when a couple of wagons rode by and he jumped out of some bushes and shouted “gold”. So the settlers stayed with Febold until another strange occurrence brought out his extraordinary cleverness and strength. He was a tall tale hero of the Great Plains States.

33. Here are few ideas for your own Tall Tale Whoppers! Weather Wild creatures Camping trips Fast runners Scary incidents Teachers I’ve had Amusement parks Scary incidents

34. So tall that Never before A million Faster than Meanest Longest Heaviest Hugest Worst

35. Bibliography Teaching Genre: Tall Tales—Teacher’s Guide. New York: Scholastic Inc. 1993. Turrell, Linda. The Complete Library Skills: Grade 5. Minnesota, MN: T.S. Dennison & Co., Inc. 1994. Turrell, Linda. The Complete Library Skills: Grade 4. Minnesota, MN: T.S. Dennison & Co., Inc. 1994. Various handouts from MAME & MACUL