"Humor, freshness, colorful American background, and the use of one character as a central figure in the cycle mark these eighteen folktales, told here in the dialect of the mountain country of North Carolina." Booklist, ALA
Description
A collection of folk tales from the southern Appalachians that center on a single character, the irrepressible Jack.
Meet the clever, lazy, and lucky hero of American folklore. How does Jack always manage to come out on top?
- Giants and Witches: Follow Jack as he confronts Old Fire Dragaman, outsmarts a gang of giants in their own newground, and faces a witchy cat in a haunted mill.
- American Fairy Tales: Read beloved Appalachian versions of classic stories, including the tale of Jack and his magical bean tree that grows right up to the sky.
- A Clever Hero: Discover how a boy who'd rather nap than work uses his quick wits to escape robbers, win the King's daughter, and earn a fortune.
- Authentic Folklore: Handed down for generations in the mountains of North Carolina and Virginia, these stories capture the rhythm and humor of a living oral tradition.
Genres
Pages240
Released2015
LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperCollins
ISBN9780547529974
SellerHarperCollins
About the author(s)
Richard Chase collected The Jack Tales in the mountain country of North Carolina, where they have been handed down for generations. Everyone knows the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. This book contains eighteen stories about Jack, many of them still completely new to the average reader. And what adventures Jack has! Noted American folklorist Richard Chase (1904–1988) has been called the man “most responsible for the renaissance of Appalachian storytelling.” A collector of tales that had been handed down from generation to generation in the Appalachian regions of the United States, Chase was born in Alabama and lived in the mountains of North Carolina.
