THE BEAR WENT OVER THE MOUNTAIN: all Tales of American Animals

by R.B.- Ed. Downs ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

If there is a treasury of native American humor, it appears from this comprehensive collection that one great imaginary animal with human overtones is at the bottom of it all. From the oldest of our folk traditions to the sophisticated fare of the New Yorker and the Atlantic, the animal wins the humorist's day--in myth, fable and ""apocryphal biology"" and the most famous authors have aired their human grievances and fantasies from the mouths of beasts. Yankees, hillbillies, Texas and literati are all represented here: H. Allen Smith; Thurber; E. B. White; Davy Crockett; Joel Chandler Harris; Mark Twain; and hundreds of superliterate fauna. There are horse stories, cow stories, man-at-the-bar-with-a-soused-mouse-in-his-pocket stories; Brer Rabbit, Pecos Bill, coyotes, sea serpents, and bluejays; ""Pigs is Pigs"" and mules ""weigh more, akordin tu their heft, than enny other kreetur, except a crow bar"". A basic collection, with a wide range, there's something here for the whole family (but not all are proper bedtime stories). Choose your beast--this is an entertaining book for gift or reference.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Macmillan

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1963

Categories: NONFICTION