Tales of outlaws and desperadoes are one of the few types of folklore that are peculiarly American. The myths and legends surrounding such people as Belle Starr, Frank and Jesse James, and Wild Bill Hickock grip the national imagination just as tightly today as they did a century ago. In fact, authors Richard and Judy Dockrey Young explain, outlaw tales serve as the "urban legends" of the period from 1850 to 1930. Tales both thrilling and humorous about hangings and burials, shootouts and practical jokes, the Hole in the Wall and the ubiquitous Boothill Cemetery, punctuate profiles of outlaws...

The range and mastery evidenced in the stories selected by Richard and Judy Dockrey Young veteran storytellers and teachers in their own right is due in large part to the fact that they include so many favorite stories of acclaimed African and African-American storytellers. Designed to entice even the most reluctant reader, these stories are not only fun to read, but are bound to be repeated and shared. The seven sections Young Heroes and Heroines, Animal Fables, Trickster Stories, Parables About People, Bigger Than Life, In the Park and in the Dark, and Brother Rabbit Today are introduced by...