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As a mother of young boys, I'm always happy to find picture books that feature female protagonists excelling at not-so-girly tasks. But I get annoyed when a promising story turns out to be a front for a preachy P.C. lesson.
Which brings me to Paula Bunyan by Phyllis Root, which stars the mythical lumberjack Paul's little sister. The story features the fun exaggerations you might expect from such a tall tale: Paula "runs" the local ferry by carrying the boat across the river, and her parents pack her a snack including "two hundred and fifty-three loaves of bread ... [and] twenty gallons of cider." My heart warmed when Paula, whose large size makes her voice louder, causing problems when she sings, heads out on a journey to find a "wide, wild spaces with room enough for her and her singing." Alas, Paula gets sad when she comes across men cutting down trees. She scares them off, with the help of some mosquitoes the size of chickens, and replants the trees. What she would do if she were to come across her brother swinging his axe? Surely we need to cut down some trees so we can have books, right?
There's nothing wrong with a book that delivers a message. But even the young kids to whom this book is targeted prefer their lessons delivered with more subtlety.
- Fear Factor:
(Even a 4-year-old won’t be alarmed by the bear that Paula turns into a pet.)
- Heart:
(It’s earnest and sincere but tripped up by the overly ham-handed message.)
- Attitude:
(None.)
- Psst: Illustrator Kevin O’Malley also illustrates the popular Miss Malarkey series.
- If you like this: For books with girls for protagonists, try Violet the Pilot by Steve Breen and Peg and the Whale, written by Kenneth Oppel and illustrated by Terry Widener. For tall tales, consider Railroad John and the Red Rock Run by Tony Crunk and Late for School by Michael Reiss., bBoth of which are illustrated wonderfully by Michael Austin.
Rachael Larimore Slate managing editor and mother of three. Addicted to coffee and Facebook. Follow her on Twitter: @RachaelBL
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