A Treasury of North American Folktales

by Catherine E. Peck, Charles Johnson (Introduction)

"When one thinks of American folk tales, certain images spring to mind: Paul Bunyan, Johnny Appleseed, Brer Rabbit. But beyond these stock characters lie countless other stories and legends that have subtly shaped America's collective identity. In A Treasury of North American Folk Tales, editor Catherine Peck has assembled a remarkable collection of stories ranging from the Canadian north to the Mexican desert, and all points in between, and are as colorful as the regions that spawned them." ―Demian McLean This book's contents range from Native American love stories to Davy Crockett's account of killing a bear with a knife, from Brer Rabbit's mischief to Johnny Appleseed's good deeds, from hilarious yarns about mosquitoes to eerie encounters with the devil.

Genres: Folk Tales, Mythology, Fiction

404 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Lora Shouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Treasury of North American Folk Tales is a delightful book. It consists of a bunch of short stories that have their origin in the folk traditions of many of the various peoples living in North America. The stories are mostly very short, and many of them are really funny, although some are sad as well.

There are serious tales, such as a Native American creation myth and several ghost stories. There are stories of the type that would have been popular among the sort of people who would frequent liar’s clubs. There are stories adapted from the folk tales of the various immigrant groups who now people the various parts of North America.

And some stories have their origins right here, some of them in fairly recent times. There are stories of popular heroes, like Davey Crockett (a real man, although some of the exploits of his life, many of them published during his lifetime with his knowledge, make him seem like the precursor to today’s comic book heroes), or John Henry. I have an upcoming review on a book involving John Henry in which I will expound at length on some of the stories about him.

Anyway, there are also inspirational stories, and stories of famous tricksters, such as Brer Rabbit and Coyote. And there are my favorite group of stories, the tall tales, such as the ones about Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill.

A few of the stories come from written sources and have definite authors, but many first appeared as secondhand retellings of tales supposedly heard from another storyteller.

[Jaide · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good collection, sometimes hit-or-miss, containing folktales and historical anecdotes from Canada, Mexico, and various places across the United States (mostly the Southeast).

Favorites included:
-I Wish I Could Tell a Lie (a funny seafaring poem from Rhode Island)
-A Boy and His Donkey (a Southwest story of how to tell who means harm and who is kind)
-The $50,000 Racehorse (a story-joke from Tennessee)

I sometimes wish American folklore had more larger-than-life mythical figures (like John Henry) and less silly ones (like Pecos Bill).

[Ramona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book of the Month choice, in 2002, found at a thrift store in 2019. I have always enjoyed Folk Tales, from all countries and this was a jewel of a find for me. Quite a few of these American tales I am familiar with, through children's picture books and other Folk Tale compilations. The content includes tales that will be retold for generation after generation: "How the world was made; Tall tales, brags and other lies; Legendary heroes and heroines; Larger than life; Life Lessons; Tricks and tricksters; The Fool; Love Stories; and Of Ghosts". Most are two to four pages, making this the perfect bedtime storybook. As the preface states, "this is a rich harvest of the continent's folk heritage" "overflowing with the bounty of American tradition". Another plus for me was that this was compiled by a native North Carolinian folklorist, Catherine Peck, Introduction by African-American Novelist, Charles Johnson, and delightful illustrations by Rosemary Fox, who I believe resides in Upstate NY, where I am from.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very nice collection of stories, grouped thematically. For instance, fool stories will be with other fool stories, or tall tales with other tall tales. That is great, if you want to compare similar stories from different regions or in different styles.
Even better, there is an excellent bibliography, something missing from some folktale collections. The editor, Catherine Peck, chose her own versions of a few stories, but collected others from performing storytellers, writers or folklorists, from the 1830s to the 1990s. Thus, one of the Davy Crockett stories appears to be from one of the early Crockett almanacs, while others were clearly patched together a century after his death.
Oddly, this is the hardcover edition of something first issued in paperback, the reverse of the usual order of things.

[Julianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book if you're interested in short stories from American Folk Culture like Paul Bunyan or Johnny Appleseed. It truly is North American, as in it includes legends from Canada and the Native Americans. I enjoyed it's small excerpts of history along with its sourced folktales. It's not a book that's been rewritten with modern words, but actually collected from primary sources.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a fun book. It has tall tales and hunting stories and old indian stories. I am about 2/3 done.