Paul Bunyan by Steven Kellogg

Title: Paul Bunyan 

Genre: Traditional Literature (Folktale-Tall tale)

Author and Illustrator: Steven Kellogg   

Awards: None found for this book

Age group: 6 to 8 

 

 

Summary: 

Paul Bunyan is a tall tale about a very large boy that is born into a lumberjack family in Maine. His massive size and strength allowed him to be an outstanding lumberjack who could clear fields without breaking a sweat. As the open fields were quickly filled with settlers, he ventured across the country with his adopted ox, Babe, and a lumberjack crew to assist in his journey. 

As he crosses the country, he clears the Appalachian Mountains and then to the forested Midwest. In order to transport maple syrup for flapjacks for him and his crew, Paul digs the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes. He then proceeded to level the Great Plains and cleared the slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Next, he crosses the southwest and encounters wild animals of Texas and the experiences the extreme heat. The heat eventually affected Paul and his crew to the point where he could not carry his ax. As he dragged it across the Arizona desert, the Grand Canyon was formed by. Finally, Paul and the crew crossed California and they enjoyed their time on the water. 

Paul eventually retired from the lumberjack business and has continued to seek the untouched areas of the wilderness. 

Reason why I would use this book in my classroom: 

This is a book that I was in between of using and not using because the vocabulary in this book can be a little challenging. That even I was having a hard time understanding what some of the words meant. However, this can be beneficial for students, because I can build a vocabulary bank from this story and look up those words. The story was funny, and I am sure it will be a book this age group will enjoy. 

 

 

Appropriate grade level:

Grades 3-5 

 

How I might use this book in my classroom: 

Like mentioned above, I can build word banks from the story and let the students look up meanings of these words. 

This book can also be used to help students with their reading comprehension. You can ask them different questions such as, what were the main parts of the story, what were the sequencing events, and how they can describe Paul Bunyan. Different questions like these that can help you see if they are understanding what they are reading.