Paul Bunyan

In a small village in Maine, a gigantic baby is born with the soul of a lumberjack. He good-heartedly terrorizes the neighbors so his family moves to the midwest, where he can jack lumber to his heart’s content. He finds a calf in a snowstorm, blue from cold, and names her Babe. Paul and Babe grow up together into legend, shaping North America as we know it, both by chopping down forests and just generally being giant.

I have a very different relationship to US mythology now than I did when I last read this as a little kid. I never believed they were true, nor that they were a sign of American supremacy, but as an adult I can see them more clearly for the propaganda they are. The visuals of entire forests being leveled is quite show more shocking, and there’s no mention at all of the Native people already living in the places Paul Bunyan travels to, nor the rampant slavery going on in the lower half of the United States. The real myth is white ownership of the entire continent.

The book is very fun to read. Kellogg’s illustrations are delightful and goofy and so imaginative, and there’s nothing in the book that is more harmful than the myth itself. But I hesitate to introduce the concept of Paul Bunyan in general to yet another generation. show less

Steven Kellogg recounts the tales of Paul Bunyan more or less as we've all heard or read them before, but his illustrations are clever, full of detail, and add a lot to the story. For instance, the crew of bacon-shod griddle greasers is two hockey teams -- the Boston Brooms (hahaha) and the Minnesota Mops, complete with the pre-breakfast lumberjacks in the bleachers cheering on their teams, each team using the implement of their name, and a sweating umpire. The fun continues all the way to the rear endpaper, which shows a map of North America illustrated with Paul's exploits. This is by far my favourite rendition of the Paul Bunyan story.

My Italian grandchildren thought the story was freaky. Cultural differences!

Paul Bunyan. Sheesh, where do I even START?

Well, let's start in the past. Paul Bunyan was a traditional story in folklore, right? Um... maybe not.

Actually, way way waaaaay back in the past, people in jobs such as lumberjacking DID tell these sorts of tall tales. But they weren't coalesced around Paul Bunyan yet. Instead, they told these tales about themselves or about "you know, those anonymous lumberjacks we don't know" or "a friend of a friend". And those of you complaining that this book of Bunyan is "too sweet", well, be careful what you wish for - one notable story I recall has a group of lumberjacks trapped up a tree in winter all peeing together to make a pole to slide down! (Ew!)

Early in the 20th century, around 1910, a show more journalist had the bright idea to write down a few of these tall tales and pretend they were all about the same person, a Paul Bunyan. And he invented a few things too - there's no evidence, for example, of Babe prior to his invention.

And then 75 years later Steven Kellogg took the seeds from "folklore" and wrote a whole new story using some "traditional" elements (not that traditional - remember, anything that's specifically Bunyan was made up by writers, not by lumberjacks around a campfire!) and some things out of whole cloth.

And that's this book. It's not traditional or authentic - if you want that, go to google and you'll rapidly find yourself with more logging stories (and riverboat stories and mining stories and tall tales of all shapes and sizes) than you know what to do with. It *is* a funny book about the new and old adventures of Paul Bunyan, suitable for kids and classrooms and a great introduction to the wider world of these tales.

And after all - isn't making stuff up what folktales have always been about? show less

I thought that this book was funny, and I enjoyed the illustrations. I liked how author Steven Kellogg exaggerated the characters to play up the fact that this story was based on a folk tale. I liked his bond with Babe the Ox, and how the illustrations captured the connection between him and the animals.

I enjoyed Steven Kellogg’s retelling of “Paul Bunyan” for two reasons. First of all, I liked that the illustrations (done by the author as well) were the main focus; the text was often woven within the pictures. This really helps fuel the imagination and brought these outrageous tales of Paul Bunyan to life. I especially loved the pages that showed Paul Bunyan in the woods, because the pictures cover every inch of the pages. It’s as though the pictures are as large as Paul Bunyan himself! I also loved how the characters were portrayed. I felt the real friendship between Paul and Babe, because Paul comforted babe often, and they always stuck together. Paul’s spirit was incredible, and I think lends itself to the main message, show more that being different is a wonderful thing, and that everyone has a job to do in the world. Despite being so different, Paul Bunyan created beautiful things for everyone else to enjoy! show less

Steven Kellogg's "Paul Bunyan" is a fun and wonderful retelling of the tall tale about how Paul Bunyan and his faithful companion, Babe the blue ox, shaped the geography of the United States - from carving out the Grand Canyon, digging out The Great Lakes, and shaving the slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Kellogg beautifully illustrates Paul Bunyan and Babe's adventures with warmth and liveliness using soft lines and textures with a great amount of detail on every page. Paul Bunyan and Babe are depicted as lovable characters which may seem to detract from the exaggeration of a "tall tale," and character portrayals as super beings, but making Paul and Babe approachable rather than "super human, or "super animal," creates a sense of show more engagement for the reader and makes it easier to relate to the story. The plot is easy to follow and very easy to read for ages 6-9 as there are only a few sentences per page, and with the wonderful drawings depicting US geographical formations, the book could be implemented as a memorable tool for a geography lesson. Conveys an effective message about the ability to accomplish great things with an adventurous spirit. show less

Traditional Literature - Tall Tale

Paul Bunyan is about a lumberjack who has the strength that is out of this world. Paul grows up to fight off creatures and to be an amazing lumberjack who helps so many people that he becomes legend.

I thought that this book taught a good lesson about being selfless and putting others needs before your own. This would be a good book to have in an elementary classroom for boys who could relate more to Paul than other selfless book characters.