Ravenstone Press: Johnny Kaw - The Pioneer Spirit of Kansas

Ravenstone Press *Stories of Kansas and the Great Plains*
*Johnny Kaw - The Pioneer Spirit of Kansas* Retold by Jerri Garretson, Illustrated by Diane A. Dollar Now included in Kansas Tall Tales

Who could lop the funnel off a tornado with one mighty whack?
     Who used Paul Bunyan's nose to dig the Mississippi and gave him his big blue ox?
            Who flattened out Kansas and piled up the Rocky Mountains?
                   Who was the Pioneer Spirit of Kansas? -- Johnny Kaw, that's who!

Read a review of Johnny Kaw

The 30-foot-tall Johnny Kaw statue in the Manhattan, Kansas City Park More about the statue	The cover of *Johnny Kaw - The Pioneer Spirit of Kansas* retold by Jerri Garretson
Below are two samples of the book's 24 black-and-white drawings.	Readers enjoyed coloring Johnny's exploits with color pencil or crayon.

Above: Johnny Kaw uses Paul Bunyan's big nose to dig the Mississippi River bed after Paul tramples down his prize wheat.

Above: Only Johnny could bring rain just by wringing out a cloud like a dishcloth!

Don't miss this Kansas tall tale.

Find out how Johnny created the pioneer trails and invented sunflowers and catfish.

Learn his method of tornado control.

Smile at the rivalry between Johnny's two pets.
(the jayhawk and the wildcat, see above).
How did they start the Dust Bowl?

Just how big were Johnny's prize potatoes and flapjacks?

How did Johnny get along with Paul Bunyan, Finn McCool, and Pecos Bill?

Where did that 30-foot tall statue come from anyway?

These are just a few of the themes of the whopping tale of Johnny Kaw, Kansas tall tale hero.

Loads of fun for children and adults.

Many curricular tie-ins from geography to weather, history to crops.

Quotes from the beginning and end of
Johnny Kaw - The Pioneer Spirit of Kansas

"Johnny Kaw was a mite big for his age from the get-go, but when his pioneer family lit out West and crossed into Kansas, something in that invigorating prairie air had a powerful effect on the boy. 'Twarn't more than a few miles past Westport when he was towering over that prairie schooner and getting mighty impatient with the slow old oxen. He figured on pulling his family west faster himself, so he unhitched the beasts and turned them loose. He dragged that wagon behind him so fast, and he took so many detours to see the sights, he dug the crooked Kaw River valley a broad scratch out to the west." (Yep, Johnny dug that river, too.)

"He was a big man in a big land, a hardworking pioneer, an' don't you forget it"

ISBN 0-9659712-0-1 Published September 1997 32 pages, paperbound Unfortunately, the original picture book version of Johnny Kaw is out of print. 8.5" x 11" $4.00 retail There are still some copies available from: B&W line drawings Riley County Historical Society Museum Store Full color cover in Manhattan, Kansas and Kansas Originals Market in Wilson and Topeka, Kansas. However, the entire book is included in the anthology Kansas Tall Tales. (Click this link and scroll to the bottom of the page for contact information.)
	The Kansas Tall Tales audio CD presents all three of Jerri Garretson's Kansas Tall Tales, with author notes, read for you by the author. For more information, click here. To order the CD, click here.
Johnny Kaw Links More about the book: Johnny Kaw - The Pioneer Spirit of Kansas More about the Johnny Kaw statue in Manhattan, Kansas More about the creators and background of Johnny Kaw Diane Dollar \| Jerri Garretson \| Teacher/Librarian Resources Tall Tale Bibliography \| Johnny Kaw Themes - Links \| Kansas Tall Tales Kansas links \| Manhattan, Kansas links

Last updated on February 20, 2008