Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett is a 1985 picture book by Steven Kellogg, based on a lesser-known American tall tale heroine.
The day she was born, Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind announced she could outdo any baby in Kentucky, and her exploits just heated up from there. From scaring the skin off a grizzly bear to rescuing the famous Davy Crockett, Sally proves herself as the center of an American legend.
This book includes examples of the following tropes:
- Action Mom: Being a mother doesn't get in the way of Sally's ferocity at all. While watching the homestead and her firstborn on her own, she thrashes a huge number of troublesome gators.
- Bears Are Bad News: A huge bear growls in Sally's face when she accidentally takes shelter in its den. She screams back, causing the startled bear to tumble backwards and "shave" itself with the stalagmites. In embarrassment, it hides and then runs off to grow a new coat, leaving Sally with its old fur.
- "Just So" Story: When Sally saw two eagles harassing Davy Crockett, she screamed at them so loudly that she blasted the color off their heads, inventing bald eagles.
- Love at First Sight: Sally and Davy Crockett fell in love with each other within the first few minutes of their acquaintance, and Davy proposed marriage immediately thereafter.
- Massive Numbered Siblings:
- Sally was the youngest of several siblings, all of whom were boys.
- When she and Davy Crockett have their first child, she says they should have twenty more.
- Nemean Skinning: Sally screams back at a bear when it growls upon finding her in its den. Startled, the bear rolls away and accidentally "skins" its fur off on the stalagmites, leaving Sally with a nice bearskin coat.
- Never Smile at a Crocodile: Sally Ann has trouble with gators stealing her pigs while her husband Davy is away serving as a Congressman. Eventually, when they start playing King of the Mountain atop her house, she marches out and gives all of them a good thrashing to teach them to leave her and her family alone.
- Repetitive Name: The heroine's name only repeats itself once, but it's still unusual.
- Water Wake-up: Sally first meets Davy Crockett when he's stuck and two eagles are harassing him by pulling out his hair for nesting material. Ultimately, she screams the eagles into submission...but finds out she knocked Davy out as well. After a few moments' freshening up, she throws him into the creek to awaken him.
