Fairy Tales & Folklore - Regional, Fiction - General & Miscellaneous
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Overview
Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind was the toughest living creature in all the old frontier. On the day she was born she could out-talk, out-grin, out-scream, out-swim, and out-run any baby in Kentucky, and soon she was more than a match for bears, rattlers, alligators -- even the mighty Mike Fink. But when Sally Ann rescued Davy Crockett, even her hornet's-nest bonnet and skunk perfume didn't stop him from proposing marriage.Sally Ann, wife of Davy Crockett, fears nothing--and proves it when braggart Mike Fink tries to scare her.
Synopsis
Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind was the toughest living creature in all the old frontier. On the day she was born she could out-talk, out-grin, out-scream, out-swim, and out-run any baby in Kentucky, and soon she was more than a match for bears, rattlers, alligators -- even the mighty Mike Fink. But when Sally Ann rescued Davy Crockett, even her hornet's-nest bonnet and skunk perfume didn't stop him from proposing marriage.
The Horn Book
"A rollicking retelling. The exuberant artwork depicts Sally Ann's adventures with joyful humor and great energy."
Editorials
The Horn Book
"A rollicking retelling. The exuberant artwork depicts Sally Ann's adventures with joyful humor and great energy."Bulletin of the Center for Children' s Books
...Kellogg's characteristically energetic paintings meet their match in this story's kinetic hyperbole; the fact that his Sally Ann and Davy look like rambunctious big kids will only add to their story-hour appeal.Publishers Weekly -
Not as polished as the best of his tall tales, Kellogg's (Pecos Bill; Paul Bunyan) latest introduces a heroine generously endowed with strength, speed and spunk. At birth, Sally Ann greets her parents and nine brothers with a loud "Howdy!" and announces: "I can out-talk, out-grin, out-scream, out-swim, and out-run any baby in Kentucky!" And she certainly does, much to the astonishment of all. On her eighth birthday, the ever-smiling child leaves home to find new challenges on the frontier; eventually, she marries Davy Crockett. The story's pace slackens considerably as Sally Ann settles into unaccustomed tranquility on a farm, until she finally renews her claim to fame by besting a gang of alligators and creating The Great Alligator Tornado, which disperses the disruptive creatures from Minnesota to New Orleans. Though flawed by some jarring transitions and an overly abrupt ending, this is a merry tale, fittingly accompanied by Kellogg's buoyant colored ink, watercolor and acrylic art. Here he comically captures the boundless energy of his larger-than-life heroine. All ages. (Sept.)Children's Literature -
This delightful book teaches us that Davy's wife was a legend herself, an equal match for Davy, his friends, and even bears. Shortly after her birth, Sally Ann was talking and outrunning her nine brothers. One particularly cold winter, while seeking refuge in a cave from the fierce cold, Sally Ann snuggled up to a hibernating bear who unfortunately woke up. Rather than become his snack, she flashes him her blinding smile which caught him off-guard; she rolled him through the cave and his hide was skinned from his body by the stalagmites and stalactites. Great read-aloud or foundation for story telling-adults and children will delight in Kellogg's words and illustrations.School Library Journal
Gr 1-3Kellogg retells a mighty fine tall tale of refreshing heroic feats, adding humorous details through his hallmark illustrations. While still a toddler, Sally Ann rollicks her way through numerous adventures, like outrunning rabbits and outswimming otters. At age four, she flips the strongest arm wrestlers. She screams the feathers right off the heads of a pair of eagles while rescuing Davy Crockett, who has his head caught in a tree. "`Well, star spangle my banner!'" cried Sally Ann. "`I've just invented bald eagles!'" As soon as Davy regains consciousness, he proposes, head over heels in love. However, marriage does not put an end to her amazing exploits, as she foils marauding alligators and the villainous Mike Fink to protect her child, Hardstone. In the manner of tall tales, this telling emphasizes different episodes with more humor than Caron Lee Cohen's version (Greenwillow, 1985). And, of course, Kellogg's colored-ink, watercolor and acrylic illustrations create a worthy addition to this larger-than-life genre.Virginia Opocensky, formerly at Lincoln City Libraries, NEHazel Rochman
Kellogg's uproarious picture book about a frontier hero is in the same tall-tale tradition as Anne Isaacs and Paul Zelinsky's 1995 Caldecott Honor Book "Swamp Angel". Here Kellogg draws on the legendary exploits of Davy Crockett's wife. From the moment she's born, she's amazing. She proves she can "out-talk, out-grin, out-scream, out-swim, and out-run any baby in Kentucky." On her eighth birthday she's off to the frontier, where, among other feats, she skins a grizzly bear alive. She grows tall and strong, marries Davy Crockett, and protects her family from a gang of hooligan alligators. The tale may have too many episodes strung together, and the ending is a bit abrupt, but the storytelling is wonderfully laid-back, combining the grotesque and the domestic with droll exaggeration. The pictures swing from wild comic chaos to an occasional sweeping view of the universe. As in another 1995 Caldecott Honor Book, Julius Lester and Jerry Pinkney's "John Henry", there's a sense of the hero as a force of nature.Book Details
Published
September 1, 1995
Publisher
HarperCollins Publishers
Pages
48
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9780688140427