Sandspun
Annette Bruce and J. Stephen Brooks

Hardback $16.95
ISBN: 1-56164-242-8
Size: 6 x 9
176 Pages



Folktales teach, inform, and heal. Most of all, they entertain. Here’s a collection of tales rich with homespun humor, charm, and wisdom—all told with flair by some of Florida’s best and most sought-after storytellers. Their stories will make you feel part of the great “family” that is Florida. If it’s spooky ghost stories you crave, let “The Silent Customer,” “Kissimmee Bound,” and “The Ghost Dog of the Biltmore” chill your spine. Heed the Cracker wisdom handed down in “Seek the Higher Ground,” cow-hunter poetry with a message. Chuckle over the misadventures of Flossie, Bubba, and Flo in “Three Little Cracker Pigs,” a tongue-in-cheek version of the classic children’s tale. Test your wits against the little troll in “Angelina and Cigam.” Will he have you running in circles, growing smaller with each snap of his fingers? Take “Cousin’ Cassie’s Cookin’” with a grain of salt. It’s not true, of course. Then again, if Cassie asks you to dinner, say you have other plans.

Many Indian legends attempt to explain why the world exists as it is. In this tradition, several tales target specific flukes of nature—the rabbit’s short tail, the flamingo’s long neck, the woodpecker’s lack of song—and offer entertaining reasons for their existence. Discover these legends too: “The Devil’s Millhopper,” “The Legend of Lake Okeechobee,” “Monkey, the Trickster,” “Why Florida Key Deer Are So Small.”

A few history lessons never hurt anyone, and these are entertaining as well. Jonathan Dickinson, Mary McLeod Bethune, and Jake Summerlin have a thing or two to teach you about overcoming adversity and being resourceful.

Here’s a collection of tales rich with homespun humor, charm, and wisdom—all told with flair by some of Florida’s best and most sought-after storytellers. Settle back into your easy chair and let these tales entertain you.

Annette J. Bruce is founder of the Cracker Storytelling Festival and cofounder of the Florida Storytelling Guild and the Florida Storytelling Camp. She is the author of Tellable Cracker Tales Volumes 1 and 2, also published by Pineapple Press. She was recently honored by the Florida Storytelling Association with the first Annette J. Bruce Lifetime Achievement Award for lifetime work in and for storytelling. With grace and humor, Annette shares her natural love of storytelling with every listener. She professes that “stories help us face the past with acceptance, the present with assurance, and the future with anticipation. There you have it—triple-A insurance for life’s journey!”

J. Stephen Brooks was born in Alabama and raised and educated in Florida. He has been telling tales all his life and has performed as a storyteller across the country. With both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in English from the University of Central Florida, he is also a writer, speaker, and emcee. Known for his original humorous tales, Stephen says, “If you ain’t laughin’, you ain’t listenin’.”

Hardback $16.95 ISBN: 1-56164-242-8 Size: 6 x 9 176 Pages

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