You can discuss and explore tall tales at any time of the year with your students. This post shares Tall Tale Picture Books that you can use for this purpose. All of the picture books on this list lend themselves to this topic really well. Take a peek below to learn more about these Tall Tale Picture Books!
5 Tall Tale Picture Books
Below is a list of some of our favorite Tall Tale Picture Books to share with elementary students. Check them out!
1. Johnny Appleseed by Steven Kellogg
Steven Kellogg’s book Johnny Appleseed, is a tall tale about the life of John Chapman. John grew up near an apple orchard and developed a love for the fruit and the outdoors. Once he was old enough to leave home, Johnny began exploring the wilderness of the west. Along the way, he planted many apple orchards along routes he thought pioneers would travel. He looked forward to sharing his trees with the new settlers.
Throughout his life, Johnny was known for many things. He would never hurt an animal and didn’t carry a gun. Johnny went out of his way to help the new settlers and people loved sitting and listening to him tell stories about his wilderness adventures. Even after Johnny passed, he lived on through the stories people would tell.
Check out these Johnny Appleseed teaching resources and activities to help you plan and deliver highly engaging read aloud lessons!
2. John Henry by Julius Henry
When John Henry was born, everyone knew he was going to be special. In fact, animals came from all over to see the new baby. When his parents brought him out onto the porch to show everyone, John Henry jumped out of his mother’s arms and started growing. He grew so tall that he burst through the roof. From that moment on, John Henry started using his strength to help others.
He was able to help his father add onto their house and even cut down an acre of trees to turn into firewood. One time, John Henry challenged someone named Ferret-Faced Freddy, who was known for being mean, to a race. It was decided that if John Henry won, Freddy would have to be nice to others forever. It worked.
Throughout his life, John used his super strength to help others. When he left home, his father gave him two sledgehammers. On his travels, John Henry used the sledgehammers to bust through a giant boulder that was in the way of a road being built. He then came across a railroad being built. The railroad had to go through a mountain, but thankfully they had a machine to help. John Henry challenged the railroad boss to see who could make it it to the middle faster. John Henry was able to hammer so fast and strong that he won the challenge. Unfortunately, the hard work caused his heart to stop.
Through John Henry’s death, people learned that dying was inevitable, however what mattered was how you lived your life. John Henry lived his life using his strength to help others.
Check out these John Henry teaching resources and activities to help you plan and deliver highly engaging read aloud lessons!
3. Pecos Bill by Steven Kellogg
Pecos Bill was known for being the greatest cowboy of all time. When he was just a baby, Bill’s family set off in their covered wagon to find a home out west where it was less crowded. However, when Bill was fishing off the back of the wagon one day, he fell off. Thankfully, he was pulled ashore by a coyote who took Bill in and then raised him.
One day, a man named Chuck came across Bill napping outside. He told Bill all about ranching and Bill thought he would give it a try. On his journey to convince a gang of outlaws to join him, Bill ran into a giant rattlesnake. He fought the rattlesnake and turned him into a lasso. Word spread about how Bill was able to fight such large, wild beasts, and the gang was impressed. They agreed to herd cattle with Bill. During his time as a cowboy, Bill invented lassoing and rodeos. The greatest adventure of his life though, was meeting Sue. She agreed to marry Bill on two conditions: he must get her a dress with the biggest bustle, and let her ride his horse to the wedding.
When Bill returned with a dress for Sue, the bustle was so big she bounced into outer space. Bill had to use a tornado to catch her and it blew them all the way to California. Bill was surprised to see his family had still not found a place to call home and was certain they wouldn’t find anywhere better than his home in Texas.
Check out these Pecos Bill teaching resources and activities to help you plan and deliver highly engaging read aloud lessons!
4. Paul Bunyan by Steven Kellogg
Paul Bunyan was born in the state of Maine and was known for being the biggest, strongest, and smartest baby. From an early age, Paul was interested in his family’s logging business. In fact, he would walk around the neighborhood collecting trees, but his neighbors were not happy about that. To prevent further problems, Paul’s parents put his cradle in the harbor. However, Paul was rocking so much it caused even more problems. That’s when the family decided to move to the backwoods.
Paul loved his life in the backwoods. He enjoyed being outside and playing with the animals. Paul never lost his passion for logging and left home when he was seventeen to start a traveling logging company. Paul always had a creative way of solving problems he came across while logging. He built houses on wheels, a gigantic flapjack griddle large enough to feed his whole crew, and colored sunglasses for his ox who was depressed during a blizzard.
During his journey logging throughout the west, Paul became known as a great lumberman. He was even known for creating the Great Lakes and the Grand Canyon. Paul Bunyan was not only a great lumbermaan, but he was compassionate, creative, and strong.
Check out these Paul Bunyan teaching resources and activities to help you plan and deliver highly engaging read aloud lessons!
5. Mike Fink by Steven Kellogg
Steven Kellogg’s tall tale, Mike Fink, has themes of perseverance, goal setting, and individuality. From the moment Mike Fink was born, it was clear he was a bit different. He did not like being indoors; instead, he always wanted to be outside. In fact, he ran away when he was only two days old! His mother moved their family out to the frontier so Mike would be able to spend more time outside. From an early age, Mike dreamed of being a keelboatman.
The first time Mike met a keelboatman, he was challenged to a wrestling match to see if he was strong enough. The crew member, Jack Carpenter, sent Mike flying into the mountains. Knowing he was not strong enough yet, Mike spent his time building strength by wrestling grizzly bears. Finally, Mike was ready for a rematch with Jack, and this time he won.
Soon after starting work on the boat, the crew was so impressed with Mike they made him captain. Mike loved the adventurous life of the keelboatman until the steamboats started taking over. One day, Mike and his crew engaged in a battle against Captain Blathersby’s steamboat. Mike came out triumphant after the steamboat exploded. Captain Blathersby was one of the few survivors. Despite their rivalry, Mike sent his crew to rescue Blathersby only to challenge him to a round of wrestling!
The legend of Mike Fink lived on as he was known as King of the Keelboatmen. Check out these Mike Fink teaching resources and activities to help you plan and deliver highly engaging read aloud lessons!
Grab the Free Reading Resources!
In closing, we hope you found this list of Tall Tale Picture Books helpful! They are part of our Starts With a Story collection. If you want to get more book ideas to read aloud to your elementary students, then grab this reading freebie. It includes read aloud books lists, reading logs, and reading challenges for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classroom teachers. It will have you covered for the entire school year, as well as the summer months! Grab this free elementary reading packet now!
