Book Sharing Monday :: Tall Tales

Celeste has been working on a tall tales lapbook project for her Brave Writer writing course. We spent the last few weeks reading several tall tales stories, Paul Bunyan, Johnny Appleseed, and Pecos Bill mostly. I am sharing two of our favourites and also including a short list of other tall tales books we enjoyed. 

Celeste's choice for Book Sharing Monday is Paul Bunyan: My Story by David L. Harrison. She chose to do her lapbook on Paul Bunyan and this was her favourite book. 

She chose the part about the bumblebees and mosquitoes, "skeeters" in the book, as her favourite part:

My favourite we read aloud was Seed by Seed: the Legend and Legacy of John "Appleseed" Chapman by Esme Raji Codell. This picture book is beautifully illustrated by Lynne Rae Perkins. 

This particular version of the tall tale doesn't just tell us the story, it also shows us the lessons Johnny Appleseed can still give us today. Here they are: 

• use what you have
• share what you have
• respect nature
• try to make peace where there is war
• you can reach your destination by taking small steps. 

A particular quote I liked:

"John Chapman lived most of his life outdoors. He was a vegetarian and also had a vast knowledge of herbs and their uses. Besides planting apples, John Chapman liked to plant fennel, a bulb that smells strongly of licorice and that he believed had medicinal powers. In some parts of the country, this fast-spreading plant is still called "Johnny weed". "

Here is a list of other tall tales books we enjoyed reading aloud:

Paul Bunyan by Steven Kellogg

American Tall Tales by Mary Pope Osborne

Pecos Bill by Steven Kellogg.

See you next Monday for more Book Sharing! Don't forget to add a comment if you are sharing books on your blog. Happy reading!