HOOP SNAKES, HIDE BEHINDS, AND SIDE-HILL WINDERS

There's not too much exaggeration in these retold tales, collected from a backwoods region where the coffee's so strong that the spoon doesn't just stand upright, it dissolves, and winters are so cold that residents have to punch the air a few times if they want to take a deep breath—not much out of line in the account of how champion logger Bill Greenfield hauled a giant pancake griddle with the help of his blue ox Babe (not quite so small or weak as young Paul Bunyan's). Some of these stories about the likes of the hoop snake, swamp auger, and other high-country creatures are already familiar; still, this is a good additional collection, enlivened with occasional tongue-in-cheek drawings. (Folklore. 10-13)