Washoe County Library System

Experience a uniquely American form of storytelling. From tall tale to real deal, each story introduces students to an irresistible American folk hero. Cheer as African-American folk hero John Henry races a modern steam engine to prove man's superiority over machine. Follow the giant lumberjack Paul Bunyan as he clears the land for American settlers. Then set sail with Windwagon Smith as he travels the prairie in a schooner outfitted with a mast...

From sea to shining sea, the United States is a country full of tall tales! Take the story of Mike Fink and Annie Christmas, legendary keel boat captains who battle with strength and skill on the waters of the mighty Mississippi River. Meet Febold Feboldson, an ingenious farmer credited with bringing rain to the hot, dusty Great Plains, and Joe Magarac, the quintessential steel man from Pittsburgh, Pa., who can make railroad tracks with his bare hands....

Super-cowboy Pecos Bill leaps onto the back of a monstrous cyclone and rides it like a bucking bronco, creating, in the process, the Colorado River, the Grand Canyon, and Death Valley.