Trailblazers:

Telling Tall Tales in Tennessee

(Looney Tunes Wacky Adventure 8)

by
Jesse Leon McCann

illustrated by

Duendes del Sur

Scholastic, February 2004, 58 pp.
ISBN: 0-439-56591-X

Genre: Early Chapter
Subgenres: Cartoon Characters / Time Travel
Reviewed: 9/5/2010

Reviewed by: Conan Tigard

Book Cover

Tennessee - 1806

"Davy Crockett?" Porky repeated, grinning. "Why, you're one of my heroes!"

"Hey," Daffy interrupted sourly. "I hate to break up your love fest, but have you forgotten we have a killer bear right below us?"

"Aw, bears don't concern me none," drawled Davy. "I've gotten out of many a scrape with bears." Then he slowly started to fill his rifle with gunpowder.

Daffy shouted, "Then do something! We're sitting ducks up here--well, I am, anyway."

"Reckon I am doing something," Davy said, continuing to pour the powder.

Sweat running down his face, Daffy glanced below. The bear was getting closer by the second. "How about doing something faster?" he urged.

Porky was still fascinated by the fact that Davy Crockett was right there next to him. "You know, I've read dozens of books about you, Davy," he said.

"Look, write him a fan letter later!" Daffy complained. Then getting down on his knees, he began to beg. "Please, Davy, shoot that bear! Please, please, please!"

"Can't, I reckon," Davy said. He finished pouring and put away his sack of gunpowder.

"Why not?" cried Daffy.

"Ain't got any bullets," Davy said calmly. "Can't shoot a rifle without bullets."

The bear was only inches below them now. "Then why did you spend all that time filling the barrel with gunpowder?" Daffy asked. The bear reared back and raised one paw.

"I filled my rifle with powder so I can do this," Davy said, holding up the rifle and pulling the trigger. The flint lit the powder with a flash.

POW!

Frightened by the sudden sound, the mama bear scurried back down the tree, took her youngsters, and fled. Daffy and Porky were saved!

Synopsis

On the WB Studio Lot, Daffy retrieves his mail from the post office and finds a map that he bought from an auction over the internet. The map is from 1806 and shows a place where Daffy believes that treasure is buried. The map once belonged to Davy Crockett, the famous frontiersman, and Daffy wants his treasure.

Daffy convince Porky to let him borrow his car and they head off to Tennessee with a big item, that Daffy has wrapped up, on top of Porky's car. When they arrive in Tiptonville, Tennessee, the location of the X on the map, Daffy takes down the ACME Space Replacer and sends both Porky and he back to the year 1806.

In 1806, Porky and Daffy suddenly appear on a raft with a fellow while zooming down a river chocked full of roaring rapids. The fellow, whose name is Mike Fink, is scared out of his mind, and Daffy ends up helping navigate the raft through the rapids, thereby creating the legend of Mike Fink, the greatest river-raft pilot there ever was.

Arriving in Memphis, Daffy checks the Re-replacer and finds out that they have 3 days to make it to Davy Crockett's cabin in Tiptonville. As they leave Memphis hiking along a trail to their destination, they stumble across some bear cubs. When the mama bear finds Porky and Daffy with her cubs, she chases them up a tree, where the two travelers run across Davy Crockett.

Porky and Daffy begin travelling with Davy to Tiptonville, but get split up when night begins to fall. Daffy and Porky find a campfire with Chickasaw Native Americans and spend the night listening to their stories.

The next morning, Porky and Daffy start out toward Tiptonville and find a bag filled with apples just lying on the ground. Being hungry, they eat all the apples until the owner of the bag returns. His name is Johnny Bag-of-Apples and he is upset that all of his apples have been eaten. They convince Johnny to plant the seeds that they have spit out and thus beings the legend of Johnny Appleseed.

As they continue trekking toward Tiptonville, they hope that they can get there in time before the ACME Space Replacer is activated. If not, they will be stuck in the year 1806 forever. What would these two movie stars do then?

Trailblazers: Telling Tall Tales in Tennessee is a book in the Looney Tunes Wacky Adventures series put out by Warner Bros. This book was written by Jesse Leon McCann and illustrated by Duendes del Sur. This series is intended for early chapter readers ages 7 to 9.

Review

Trailblazers: Telling Tall Tales in Tennessee is a book filled with legends of tall tales. A lot of early chapter readers may not know about these legends very much these days, but they were all stories that I heard while growing back in the 1960's and 1970's.

Daffy Duck, being his usual greedy self, is looking for a get-rich-quick scheme. He wants to steal Davy Crockett's treasure and he uses Porky Pig to help him, although Porky's only goal is to meet Davy Crockett, who is one of his heroes. Now, if Daffy were thinking straight, maybe he would decide that stealing from the greatest frontiersman that ever lived isn't the best idea that he has ever come up with.

During their travels, Porky and Daffy run across legends like Mike Fink, Johnny Appleseed, Pecos Bill, and Davy Crockett.

Jesse Leon McCann does a wonderful job in bringing this tall tale to life. I loved reading about how Porky and Daffy helped create some of the legends from those bygone days. As for the artwork by Duendes del Sur, is is top-notch, as usual. My only wish is that the images were in color, not black and white.

Overall, Trailblazers: Telling Tall Tales in Tennessee is a great addition to an already impressive series. Early Chapter Readers should gobble this book right up, especially boys who love a good western story filled with heroes of the Old West.

I rated this book an 8 out of 10.