``A Collection of Tall Tales from the Best Storyteller in Carroll County'' is the subtitle whose length and boast suits this book perfectly. On the coldest night of the year Papa Alonzo's stories freeze in midair and are preserved, to be thawed out and enjoyed through the year. Davol (Black, White, Just Right!, 1993, etc.) includes stories about a goat that turns blue from eating too many blueberries and blue ribbons, a summer so hot that fish jump out of the river already fried, and a child who gets trapped inside a giant pumpkin. Tall tales are always something of an acquired taste; readers who love nonsense and absurdity will find these entertaining. Davol exaggerates aspects of farm life and from everyday events spins stories like cotton candy: quickly consumed, perhaps quickly forgotten, but sublime on the way down. (Fiction/folklore. 8-12)
