Pros: lovely illustrations, good lesson for children
Cons: none
The Bottom Line: The Bottom Line wishes that the lesson about fighting would sink home with children who have a day off from school today and are fighting non-stop.
pippadaisy's Full Review: Joseph Bruchac - The First Strawberries: A Cheroke...
My oldest daughter's class is studying the Native American tribes of New York, but as part of their unit on Native American culture, they each have to choose a Native American legend to retell to their class. Beanie chose the story The First Strawberries: A Cherokee Story, retold by Joseph Bruchac and illustrated by Anna Vojtech (even though the Cherokee are not native to the New York area).
::: The Legend :::
The Cherokee legend of how strawberries were created begins much like the Judeo-Christian story of Adam and Eve; the Creator made a man and a woman at the same time so that neither would be lonely. The couple was very happy in their life together until one day the man returned from hunting to find that the woman hadn't started dinner; she was out picking flowers instead. He spoke to her in anger, even though she'd wanted to share the beauty of the flowers with him. In return, she walked away from him, heading into the sun.
The man was quickly apologetic, but the woman was already too far ahead of him. The sun, sensing his remorse, agreed to help him, and first created raspberries, but the woman passed them. Then, the sun created blueberries and blackberries in turn, but she passed them as well. Finally, the sun created a carpet of strawberries under her feet, and the woman stopped to taste them. Enthralled with with the sweet taste, she set about picking some for her husband, and while she was picking them, he was able to catch up to her and apologize for his anger. ::: The Lesson :::
Vojtech's watercolor illustrations are a lovely accompaniment to the story without being distracting, and the depiction of the berries is especially lovely, showing the beauty that even a hurt woman could not pass by.
Bruchac's retelling of the legend is a reminder that words spoken in anger cannot be easily taken back, and that assuming one thing of a person's intent when they really meant something else can have dangerous consequences. It also shares the Cherokee's own beliefs about strawberries: that they are a reminder "that friendship and respect are as sweet as the taste of ripe, red berries."
It's an excellent legend for her to learn for school, but also a great lesson about how to treat others. She's read it aloud to her siblings a few times as part of learning the legend to retell herself, and her younger siblings have enjoyed it as well.
From an award-winning Native American storyteller comes the captivating retelling of a Cherokee legend which explains how strawberries came to be. Ful...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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