Adrien Stoutenburg (b.1916) has written about forty books for children, including mysteries, biographies, and folk tales. She has also written poetry and adult fiction. "Paul Bunyan" and "Pecos Bill" were taken from her book American Tall Tales. Born in Dafur, Minnesota, she studied at the Minneapolis School of Arts. In addition to writing, Stoutenburg has worked as a librarian and political reporter. She enjoys playing the piano and the guitar. If you like this story, you might want to read some of the other tall tales in her book American Tall Tales.