It is not widely known that Paul Bunyan had a wife and two children--much less that they created Kentucky's Mammoth Caves, California's Big Sur, the Rocky Mountains, and several other ``natural'' wonders--including, some say, the huge face photographed by Viking I on the surface of Mars. How fortunate readers are to have the Bunyans' exploits chronicled at last--and with such verbal and visual gusto. Tall-tale fans will find new heroes in gigantic Teeny, with her purple puma, Slink, and Jean, a born sculptor (Bryce Canyon) and the first Bunyan to leave the planet; they'll laugh to see Old Faithful steamcleaning a gargantuan stack of dirty dishes, or the happy parents in retirement, dressed in shorts and slacks, playing croquet with the tools of their trade. Wood's text is short and direct, Shannon sprinkles his landscapes with tiny details that make his doll-like figures all the more towering, and together they make the best match since Anne Isaacs and Paul Zelinsky teamed up for Swamp Angel (1995). (Picture book/folklore. 5-8)

K-Gr 4‘A rip-roaring look at the oversized Bunyan family, whose massive sizes and misadventures were the cause of many of America's natural wonders. A colossal success. (Dec. 1996) (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

One of the rootin'-est, tootin'-est, riproarin'-est heroes of American tall tales is given a whole new lease on life as Wood imagines an entire family of Bunyans. When Paul, the legendary lumberjack, meets Carrie McIntie, a giantess "banging a behemoth pickax against a wall," it's love at first sight. They produce two children, a "jumbo boy" named Little Jean and a "gigantic girl" named Teeny. Wood (The Napping House) exuberantly blends outrageous exaggeration with fantastical geography lessons: Pa Bunyan scoops out Niagara Falls to enable Teeny to shower an infestation of pesky bears from her maple syrup-ridden hair; Ma Bunyan creates Old Faithful by poking holes in Wyoming with her pickax to release hot water for the laundry and dishes; and so on. Shannon (The Amazing Christmas Extravaganza) joins Wood in this rollicking ride with archly humorous illustrations. Who can resist a retired Ma and Pa Bunyan, for example, dressed in leisure wear and playing croquet in the desert? Author and artist clearly had fun here, and readers undoubtedly will, too. Ages 4-9. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Ages 5^-8. Everyone knows Paul Bunyan; now meet the whole Bunyan family. Paul marries Carrie in Mammoth Cave, a crystal chamber Carrie has carved. Then they have two children, their jumbo son, Little Jean, and their gigantic daughter, Teeny. There's no real narrative here, and that's a problem. Rather than tales, the text is a series of tall incidents, some of which work better than others. In one, Teeny gets syrup on her head, which attracts bears. To wash them out, Paul scoops a huge hole in the Niagara River, making the Niagara Falls. In a more confusing spread, Little Jean carves out a canyon; Paul gets tongue-tied and says, "That's a mighty brice nanyon, coy" instead of "That's a mighty nice canyon, boy" . The mix-up sticks, and that's how Bryce Canyon got its name. Better than the text is the BIG artwork. These characters, looking a little like Kewpie dolls on steroids, are living large, filling up the oversize pages. This is where most of the humor is, and kids will get a laugh out of the pictures. --Ilene Cooper

This larger-than-life story picks up where the well-known tall tales about Paul Bunyan leave off. Paul is now married and a father, and with the help of his enormous wife, their 'jumbo boy,' and their 'gigantic girl,' Paul carves out a number of natural monuments, including Niagara Falls, Old Faithful, and Big Sur. Rich paintings, some bordered by wood frames, add humor to the tale, although some discrepancies exist in the illustrations. From HORN BOOK 1996, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.