Pecos Bill retold and illustrated by Steven Kellogg, 1986.
I remember this book from when I was in elementary school! This was the book that my teacher or librarian (I forget which one now) used to introduce us to the concept of tall tales. Tall tales, like the story of Pecos Bill, are a major feature of American folklore, particularly Western American folklore.
When the story begins, young Bill is traveling west from New England with his family as part of a wagon train. As they cross the Pecos River, Bill tries to fish, but an enormous trout pulls him out of his family’s wagon. Bill is rescued by a coyote, and he spends some time living and growing up with the coyotes and other animals in Texas.
Eventually Bill meets up with a cowboy named Chuck, who explains to him that he’s a human and a Texan, not a coyote. Chuck gives him some extra clothes to wear (because he’s long outgrown his childhood clothes). Chuck tells Bill that many Texans are outlaws, but they would be better if they started herding cattle and became ranchers. Bill decides to try life as a Texas rancher.
Because of his wild upbringing, Pecos Bill is able to perform amazing feats of strength, like subduing a giant rattlesnake to the point where it becomes tame and allows Pecos Bill to use him as a lasso. He also gets the hide of a monster to make other lassos to give to the worst gang of outlaws around. The outlaws are so impressed with Bill’s ability to subdue wild creatures that they agree to make him the boss of their gang, and they all become cowboys.
Bill subdues a wild horse called Lightning and uses the language of wild animals to befriend him. He leads the other cowboys on a massive cattle drive, and he creates the impossible Perpetual Motion Ranch on Pinnacle Peak.
Then, Pecos Bill meets a pretty girl named Sue and decides to get married. However, Sue’s bustle is so tight that when she tries to sit on Bill’s horse, Sue bounces in the air so high that she reaches the moon. Every time she hit the ground, she bounces into the sky again, so Pecos Bill has to lasso a tornado to catch up with her.
When they finally land, they land on top of Bill’s family’s wagon in California. Apparently, they’re still wandering after all these years, trying to find a place to settle. Pecos Bill convinces his family to settle with him and his bride in Texas.
I’m not very big on tall tales, in spite of having grown in the American Southwest, where many of these types of stories evolved, but I have some sentimental attachment to this one because it was my first as a kid. The pictures in the book are wild and chaotic, just like the action in the story.
The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive (multiple copies).
Who Stole Kathy Young? by Margaret Goff Clark, 1980.
Jestress's Forgotten Books and Stories 