Washington Irving's Ichabod Crane (Folk Tales of America)

The legend of the headless horseman roaming through Sleep Hollow is one that I first read in elementary school and I have encouraged my children to read. Ichabod Crane is a poor and awkward schoolteacher who boards at different farmhouses during the year. This way, he had a place to live without being an excessive burden on any one family. After arriving at Sleepy Hollow, he learned that while one day is much like the next, the people spice up their lives by telling tales of ghosts and other creatures of the night. Their favorite is the one about the soldier of the Revolutionary War whose head was taken off by a cannonball. To this day, he rides his horse through the woods, searching for his missing head. When Ichabod becomes enamored with Katrina, the beautiful daughter of a wealthy farmer, he has a rival, the dashing and handsome Brom Bones. Katrina's father has a party and Ichabod and Brom both attend. Brom keeps many of the people spellbound with his stories of seeing ghosts. Ichabod is unnerved by the tales and is frightened when he goes to leave. On the way back to his current residence, Ichabod encounters the headless horseman, who chases him and throws his "head" at Ichabod. The next day, Ichabod's hat is found next to a smashed pumpkin, but Ichabod is never again seen in Sleepy Hollow. Hereafter, Brom Bones was known to display a faint smile every time the name of Ichabod Crane was mentioned in conversation. This is a classic American folk tale, based on the legends of early America. It is a ghost story for children, and the ending is clearly one where the explanation is obvious. It should be read by all children so that they understand that legends are often made from easily explained facts.

It was a thrilling and extravagent book that was full of suspense and horror. It kept me reading it all the way to the end.