Paul Bunyan, A Tall Tale

Story Title: Paul Bunyan, A Tall Tale
Author and Illustrator: Steven Kellogg
Genre: Legend
Main Characters: Paul bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox
Other Characters: Paul's Parents, Townspeople, Gumberoos, Lumberjacks

Summary: This story has been retold by the author because it was one of his favorite legends when a young boy. Paul is draw with a smile in almost every illustration. Paul was the biggest and strongest baby ever born. While still a toddler, he picked up mature trees and carried them around the town. As a boy he wrestle with the grizzlies and raced with the deer. When he grew up he dug the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes to get barges with Vermont maple syrup to the logging camps. He even gouged out the Grand Canyon by mistake when he dragged his ax while hiking across the country. Even now, the author claimed, he is probably wandering the wilderness of Alaska.

Comments: The story of Paul Bunyan put a smile on my face because of the way the author related it and the comical illustrations of Paul as a baby and older. I think the children will enjoy the story but you may have to explain again to them the difference between fiction and non-fiction. The story may get too long in spots for the youngest children, but the older ones will probably enjoy it. This is an acceptable story for the classroom and appropriate for children 4 to 8 years old.