(aka Glooscap, Satan and other monikers), and Raven are of Native American origin, while the legend of La Llorona is Hispanic-American. The tales of the Big Liars are taken from heroes of American folklore: The Tall Man with the Axe (Paul Bunyan), The Tall Man with the Big Maul (Joe Magarac), The Tall Man with the Harpoon (Old Stormalong), The Tall Man with the Pole (Mike Fink), The Man with the Knife in His Boot (possibly Stagger Lee), The Man with the Rattlesnake Necktie (Pecos Bill), The Tall Man with the Hammer (John Henry), Annie Christmas (Female Mississippi keelboat pilot), and Judge Roy Bean, owner of the Jersey Lily Saloon. The "big one-eyed bully" referenced by Coyote near the end of the book may be a reference to Odin. Chiron Brown (Ringfinger) the scout who recruits Ethan as a hero, is named after the Centaur Chiron (His nickname probably comes from the Hall of Famer Mordecai Brown though); the role of Chiron in the Prometheus myth (Prometheus being one of the masks of Coyote) adds depth and resonance to the character Ringfinger Brown. Chiron's role in finding Ethan is also appropriate as Chiron the centaur was known for training great men and heroes. Old Mr. Wood may be a reference to Odin, who is also known as Woden, which is close to the name Wood. Additionally, in the epilogue, or the section titled "Home" the baseball that appears in the New Jersey Park signed "Van Lingle Mungo" is an allusion to the baseball player of the same name. Non-mythological references One of Jennifer T. Rideout's great-aunts is named Aunt Shambleau. "Shambleau" is a word invented by science fiction writer C.L. Moore, the title of one of her Northwest Smith stories, about sexual addiction; the titular shambleau is a medusa-figure. Aunt Shambleau enforces behavior among her great-nieces and nephews by threatening to take off her dark glasses (although, when in fact she does so, her eyes are no different from those of other humans). References Further reading "The lost adventure of childhood", a 2002 Salon.com interview with Chabon about the novel 2002 American novels Novels by Michael Chabon Young adult fantasy novels American young adult novels American fantasy novels 2002 fantasy novels Baseball novels