Book review for THE FIRST STRAWBERRIES retold by Joseph Bruchac (Genre 2)

**Please note: The following review has been created as part of coursework for Texas Woman's University.

1. Bibliography
Bruchac, Joseph. 1993. The First Strawberries. Ill. by Anna Vojtech. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers. ISBN 083713312

2. Plot Summary
Joseph Bruchac retells an ancient Cherokee story of how strawberries were created.  The story begins with a brief explanation of how the Creator made man and woman at the same time so that they wouldn't be lonely.  One day the man gets angry at the woman because she does not have dinner prepared when he gets home; instead, she is picking flowers.  The woman, angry too, leaves the man.  As the man follows the woman and tries to catch up with her, the Sun takes pity on the man and offers to help.  As the woman is walking, the Sun shines its light down onto Earth and creates raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries, but the woman does not notice them.  Finally, the Sun creates strawberries, and the woman stops to eat them.  While she is eating the fruit, her husband catches up with her and apologizes.  Today strawberries remind Cherokee people to be kind to each other.

3. Critical Analysis 
The characters of this beautiful Native American tale are not complicated which allows for the message of the story to be the focal point.  The woman is very strong, which is evident when she makes the decision to leave her husband when he gets angry with her.  The Sun plays a pivotal role in the plot and is prominently displayed in the illustrations, giving the reader a sense of its connection to the human characters.  The setting is vague and is only depicted through the illustrations.  Time passes quickly in the beginning, and once again the illustrations show this passage of time.  For instance, when the man is trying to catch up with his wife, the illustrations show the woman far ahead of the man, and there are no words on the page which help to highlight that she was walking quickly and far away.  When the woman leaves, the man sets off on a quest to catch her and ask for forgiveness.  Through the help of the Sun, a supernatural figure in this story, the man's journey is brought to a close.  Not only has the world now been given sweet berries, but the man has learned a valuable lesson of kindness and respect.  These lessons are found in the Cherokee culture and are emphasized in this creation story.  There is a strong sense of rhythm to this story with the repetition of the Sun creating the different types of berries.  He does this three times, and finally on the fourth time, the woman stops to eat the berries.   The culture of the Cherokee people is evident in the story itself with the man and woman's respect of nature and interaction with the environment (i.e. the Sun and the berries).  Likewise, the illustrations depict traditional animal hide clothing.  The illustrations themselves help to tell the story, and the soft colors of the watercolor and colored pencil drawings are relaxing and peaceful. 

4. Review Excerpts
*From Publishers Weekly: "An uncomplicated story line and gentle illustrations keep this quiet but resonant tale accessible to even the youngest child."
*From Kirkus Reviews: "Complete harmony of text and pictures: altogether lovely."

5. Connections

There are many options for using this traditional Cherokee tale.  You might consider pairing it with other creation stories, such as the ones below, to compare and contrast the ways different cultures explain the creation of things.  

Bruchac, Joseph. Between Earth & Sky: Legends of Native American Sacred Places.  ISBN 0152020624 

Oughton, Jerrie.  How the Stars Fell Into the Sky: A Navajo Legend. ISBN
0395779383

Gerson, Mary-Joan. Why the Sky is Far Away. ISBN 0316308749

Cleveland, Rob. How Tiger Got His Stripes: A Folktale from Vietnam. ISBN 0874837995

You might also wish to use The First Strawberries as an introduction or supplement to a larger study on Native Americans and Cherokee Indians.  The following picture books are about Cherokee and Native Americans:

Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk. The Cherokees. ISBN 0823412148
Roop, Peter and Roop, Connie. If You Lived with the Cherokees. ISBN 059095606X
Ashrose, Cara. The Very First Americans. ISBN 0448401681