My two tall tale books, The Terrible Hodag and the Terrible Hodag and the Animal Catchers, feature a creature with the “head of an ox, feet of a bear, back of a dinosaur, and the tail of an alligator.” (The first Hodag stories were invented about a hundred years ago in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. My books are variations on those tales.) On a recent visit to my brother’s third grade class in Novato, California, I asked the children to invent their own mixed-up animals. They created some remarkable creatures, complete with illustrations! One of my favorites had the head of a fly, feet of a chicken, back of an albatross and tail of a leopard. It's favorite food is bats! I hope that some of the students will now use their invented animals to write their own tall tales!
Books Magazine
My two tall tale books, The Terrible Hodag and the Terrible Hodag and the Animal Catchers, feature a creature with the “head of an ox, feet of a bear, back of a dinosaur, and the tail of an alligator.” (The first Hodag stories were invented about a hundred years ago in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. My books are variations on those tales.) On a recent visit to my brother’s third grade class in Novato, California, I asked the children to invent their own mixed-up animals. They created some remarkable creatures, complete with illustrations! One of my favorites had the head of a fly, feet of a chicken, back of an albatross and tail of a leopard. It's favorite food is bats! I hope that some of the students will now use their invented animals to write their own tall tales!
