Tall Tales Collection

I have found my very favorite collection of tall tales -- which are actually well written! -- in the trusty hands of Olive Beaupre Miller. Copyright 1939. She has 25 stories, enough to fill a main lesson block, and they are as follows:

Heroes, Outlaws & Funny Fellows of American Popular Tales

Captain Kidd and His Buried Treasure
A Story of New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and New England

Lord Timothy Dexter, First Lord of "Amercay"
A Story of Newburyport, Massachusetts

Old Stormalong
A Yarn of the Yankee Sailors on the Maine to Massachusetts Coast

When Witches Rode Broomsticks
A Legend of New England

Dutch Adventures in Old New York
Yarns and Legends of the Dutch Retold after Washington Irving

Christmas in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
A Story Told by Czech and German Settlers from Moravia

Old Johnny Appleseed
A Tale of Ohio and Indiana

Mike Fink and the Outlaws of Cave-in-Rock
A Story Told by Boatmen of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers

A Twelfth Night Prank in Cahokia
A Folk Tale of the French in Illinois and Missouri

The Pirate La Fitte and His Ghost
A Popular Tale of Louisiana and Texas

The Bell Witch
A Folk Tale of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Mississippi

John Henry's Contest with the Big Steam Drill
A Story of West Virginia Told from Ballads of the Railroad Builders

The Crazy Doings of a Funny Fellow Among the Pennsylvania Germans
Told from Articles Written in Pennsylvania German by T.H. Harter

Heroes of the Coal Mines
Told from Tales and Songs of the Anthracite Miners of Pennsylvania

John Buck, the Big Norwegian Sailor
A Story of the Green Bay Islands off Wisconsin and Michigan

Big Paul Bunyan and His Blue Ox, Babe
A Tall Tale of the Forests of Maine, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota as told by Loggers in the Lumber Camps

The Cardiff Giant
A Favorite Story Told by Old Timers in Iowa

The Sad Story of Febold Feboldson and His Enormous Load of Sand
A Popular Tale of Nebraska

The Traveling Courthouse
A Yarn of the Kansas County Seat Wars

Kemp Morgan, the Hero of the Oil Fields
A Tale Told by the Oil Drillers of Oklahoma and Texas

Pecos Bill, the Cowboy
A Tall Tale of Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado as Told by American Cowboys

Don Jose's Sheep
A Folk Tale from the Spanish of the Mexicans in New Mexico

Finn MacCool, the Greatest of Civil Engineers
A Tale of the Grand Canyon of Arizona as Told by Irish Work Gangs and Civil Engineers

Joaquin, the Robber
A Story of the California Gold Rush

Paul Bunyan Goes West
A Tall Tale of North Dakota, Oregon, and Washington

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Leah is needle felting Babe, the Big Blue Ox -- her first project with a pipe cleaner frame -- using directions from Magic Wool: Creative Pictures and Tableaux with Natural Sheep's Wool

Natalie is working on the third portion of Beowulf and is making a model of Hrunting using the "Play Clay" recipe on p.18 of Mudworks: Creative Clay, Dough, and Modeling Experiences

I was so happy to find this modeling recipe! The girls have loved this one of Mary Ann Kohl's book (I think we have them all) and so consequently we are all out of salt. This modeling recipe does not use salt. It does, however, use a lot of cornstarch. I am OK with that since all I ever use my cornstarch for is making baking powder.