Paul Bunyan: Written and Illustrated by Steven Kellogg (Read Across America W/O)
Written: Mar 03 '04
Product Rating:
Pros: Fun and entertaining, well written. Wonderful tall tale for children of all ages!
Cons: Absolutely none!
The Bottom Line: While I wouldn't recommend paying the List price of $16.93, you should have no problem finding if for much less. I would recommend this book for children of all ages!
kelly60's Full Review: Steven Kellogg - Paul Bunyan: UN Cuento Fantastico
This review is part of the Read Across America write off hosted by Debbie26.
The book Paul Bunyan is a tall tale retold and illustrated by Steven Kellogg. This book tells the famous tale of Paul Bunyan and his pal Babe, the blue ox.
The story begins when Paul Bunyan was born in Maine, and takes us through many adventures of young Paul Bunyan's childhood days. For those who have never heard the tale of Paul Bunyan, the tale tells of his extraordinary size and strength, even as a baby.
He was raised by a family of loggers, and before he could talk he would wander through the neighborhood collecting trees. Of course this would upset the owners of a nearby orchard when young Paul Bunyan would wander into their orchard and pluck their fruit trees out of the ground. Yes, he was that big!
After numerous complaints, his parents were forced to anchor his cradle in a nearby harbor. This would have worked well had he not began rocking his cradle, making gigantic waves. His parents had to pay for the damage these waves caused, then decided it was better to move further out into the country where there were no neighbors to be bothered by their enormous son.
In his new home, Paul Bunyan was free to roam the forest and play with his animal friends. He would race with the deer, and wrestle with the grizzly bears.
One morning when Paul awoke, he woke up and discovered that the land was covered with a blanket of blue snow. Hearing a moan, he found a shivering calf buried in the blue snowdrift. He took the calf home and named him Babe. Like Paul, Babe grew at an amazing rate, until they were both gigantic. Together they worked at the family's logging business, and continued to grow. By the time he was in his teens, he was so big that he had to the top of a pine tree as a comb.
As a young man, he decided to cross the country with some of the best lumberjacks he could find. He hired some of the best lumberjacks around, and set out on his journey. The story tells of their adventures as they crossed the United States on their mighty expedition. It tells tall tales of Paul's involvement in creating the Grand Canyon, Great Lakes, and the Rocky Mountains. It tells of the great blizzard that lasted for several years, and how Babe was tricked into thinking that the snow was really a meadow by placing sunglasses on the ox. Thinking the snow was a green meadow, Babe ate until the trees were uncovered, causing the trees below to resurface. It also tells of many other adventures of the giant Paul Bunyan and Babe, his blue ox.
The story is beautifully written. It has only a paragraph or two on each page, and is filled with wonderful illustrations. The drawings throughout this book depict the many adventures of the pair of giants, and are very well done.
I think this book is an excellent one for young readers. My own children have gotten many years of satisfaction from reading the story of Paul Bunyan.
Paul Bunyan
Written and Illustrated by Steven Kellogg
Published by William Morrow & Company
New York 1984
Hardcover; 38 pages
Original Publisher's Price $16.93
More books by Steven Kellogg include:
Is Your Mama a Llama?
A Beasty Story
The Mysterious Tadpole
Johnny Appleseed
A Hunting We Will Go!
Aster Aardvark's Alphabet Adventures
Prehistoric Pinkerton
Best Friends
...and many more!
With bounding glee, Steven Kellogg brings to life the legend of Paul Bunyan. Together with his blue ox Babe and his crew, Paul Bunyan fights the wild ...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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