Old Dry Frye: A Deliciously Funny Tall Tale [Library Binding]

Paul Brett Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1999 | Age Level: 7 and up

Everybody knows Old Dry Frye. He's so crazy about fried chicken that he's got a reputation as large as his appetite. When he swallows a chicken bone, Frye's friends panic and ignite a series of uproarious adventures.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With abundant colloquialisms ("Law mercy!") and the cadences of a seasoned storyteller, Johnson (The Cow Who Wouldn't Come Down) resurrects a delectably macabre selection from Richard Chase's Grandfather Tales. "Now, all preachers like chicken, but Old Dry Frye was the chicken-eatingest sermonizer that ever laid fire to a pulpit," drawls the third-person narrator. Frye's gluttony proves his undoing. At a generous family's house, the preacher chokes on a chicken bone and keels over, a platter of food resting on his ample stomach. The hijinks begin when Frye's would-be hosts hide his body in a henhouse. There, a widow mistakes Frye for a thief, conks him on the head with an iron skillet and fears that she has killed the already-dead preacher. Thus begins a slew of similar events as various townsfolk brazenly attempt to conceal the preacher's death. In the author's acrylic paintings, which resemble pastel rubbings on textured paper, Frye falls into mountain streams and rolls out of burlap sacks. The conclusion finds the cadaver bouncing along on a wild horse, transforming him into a satiric Sleepy Hollow legend. The tall-tale mood emanates from Johnson's scenes of Appalachia and the exaggerated expressions of its inhabitants. This will be a read-aloud standby. Ages 5-8. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4 A gentler version of an Appalachian folktale told in Richard Chase's Grandfather Tales (Houghton, 1973). Old Dry Frye, the preacher, loves fried chicken. While eating some at a neighbor's house, he chokes on a bone and dies "right there on the spot." Afraid they'll be accused of murder, the frightened couple hide his body in a nearby henhouse, where the "widder woman" thinks he's a chicken thief and hits him over the head. Believing that she's killed the preacher, she decides to hide the body. During the course of the story, Old Dry Frye is thrown into a tree, placed in a sack in the river, hung in a smokehouse, and, finally, put on a mean-spirited horse. Observant readers will notice that the bucking of the horse actually dislodges the chicken bone, thus reviving the preacher. Full-page acrylic paintings detail the hilarious chain of events, while the repeated refrain, "Everybody knew Old Dry Frye," and the down-home language create a rollicking read-aloud. Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Library Binding: 40 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Trade (September 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590376586
• ISBN-13: 978-0590376587
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 9.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,963,684 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Review from Kristin Biggs, April 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Old Dry Frye: A Deliciously Funny Tall Tale (Library Binding)

Old Dry Frye is a hilarious tall tale that everyone mustread. This book is all about Old Dry Frye and his love for friedchicken, and how he will alwys show up at your house is he smellsfried chicken but suddenly something happens that changes everything. This book is a must read!

2.0 out of 5 stars Inappropriate for the recommended age, August 12, 2011

By 

James Reynolds (MN, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Old Dry Frye: A Deliciously Funny Tall Tale (Library Binding)

I'm sure some will see me as a prude, but I just don't think this is appropriate for 4 year olds. To be clear, the plot here is that the preacher dies in their house, and in a panic (they're afraid people will think they killed him), a couple looks for different places to hide the body. Really? 4 year olds? I'm sorry, but I don't want my kids playing "hide the body" after hearing this book.

The writing is fun, the characters are interesting, the illustrations are good, but in my opinion it's a really inappropriate plot for the age range described. I guess my thought is that there are thousands of children's stories, there's no reason I need to read my kids one about hiding a dead preacher's body.