Paul Bunyan (Rabbit Ears: A Classic Tale)

3.9/5 ( ratings)

The outrageous adventures of the quintessential American hero represent the very best in the proud tradition of American storytelling. Heroes on the scale of Paul Bunyan don't happen along every day. He wasn't just big. He was mighty big, and smart and honest and modest-all at the same time. Paul Bunyan knew darned well that he was the best lumberjack ever to stomp through the great North American forests, but it wasn't something to brag about: it was just a fact. Why else would Teddy Roosevelt have asked him and his little crew of ten thousand men to clear off the Dakotas by the spring thaw? And when the work was all done, only a hero like Paul Bunyan would have the gumption to say: "I chopped a billion-trillion trees. Now I'm fixin' to plant a billion-trillion."
All the larger-than-life characters in Paul Bunyan's supporting cast are here in Brian Gleeson's jubilant adaptation: Babe the blue ox, eating her ton of grain a day; Johnny Inkslinger, the overworked paymaster; and Hotbiscuit Sally, with her acre-and-a-half griddle. Rick Meyerowitz gives flesh and bone to all the players in his illustrations, and on the accompanying cassette, Jonathan Winters gives them souls and voices. Guitarist Leo Kottke scored the soundtrack, and his music infuses just the right stride and swagger to the tale. In 1991 the audio was honored with a Grammy nomination in the category of best recording for children.