Folktales and Legends of the Middle West

America’s first superheroes lived in the Midwest and readers will meet them all in this fascinating collection. Joe Magarac, the Pittsburgh steelworker who was born inside an ore mountain and squeezed out rails between his fingers. Hiawatha, the man-god who conquered the King of Fish and founded the Iroquois Nation. Coyote, the trickster of the Great Plains. Paul Bunyan, the North Woods lumberjack whose giant footsteps became Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes. Readers will also learn about the sea shanties of the Great Lakes sailors and the spirituals of the slaves following the North Star across the Ohio River. A book that will appeal to adults and children alike, it’s both a history of the Midwest, as told through its folklore and music, and an introduction to the region’s larger-than-life legends.