The First Strawberries, A Cherokee Story by Joseph Bruchac (Genre: Traditional Lit)

A.    BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bruchac, Joseph. 1993. THE FIRST STRAWBERRIES A CHEROKEE STORY. Ill. by Anna Vojtech. New York, NY: Dial Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0803713312

B.    PLOT SUMMARY
Renowned Native American storyteller Joseph Bruchac retells a magical Cherokee pour quoi tale which focuses on the question of how strawberries came into the world. The Creator makes a man and a woman who marry and enjoy domestic bliss for a long time. One day, the man returns home from hunting and is angry that his wife has not yet made him dinner. Instead he sees her picking flowers and addresses her angrily. The wife is hurt by the man’s harsh tone and words and leaves in anger. The man’s anger quickly abates and he tries to follow his wife to apologize, but she is too fast for him. The sun witnesses these events and taking pity on the man, tries to bring the couple back together. The sun sends down different types of berries in the hope of getting the wife to stop and enjoy the berries so the husband may catch up and apologize. The sun’s initial efforts are met with failure, but when strawberries appear in the grass, the woman stops to enjoy them. This sets up a beautiful scene for reconciliation, and to this day, the Cherokee see strawberries as a symbol of love, friendship, and respect.

C.    CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Bruchac’s sparse writing style lends itself well to this simple yet meaningful pour quoi tale. It is also aligned with the typical characteristics of folktales which tend to be simple and direct. The conflict between the husband and the wife is described with minimal words, but the impact is clear to the reader, i.e. the wife leaves her husband. The rest of the story plays out quite quickly with the repentant husband trying to catch up to his wife. The sun is portrayed as a sort of mediator who tries to reunite the estranged couple.  The watercolor paintings by Anna Vojtech effectively capture the story’s essence and theme of reconciliation through the soft hues of the beautiful natural landscape. The sun’s portrayal as a benevolent character is well-illustrated by the kind features assigned to him. The illustrations dominate the pages, delighting the reader with the color paintings as the reader’s attention is drawn to the main characters and the nature surrounding them. Given the close affinity between Native Americans and nature, I felt the author and illustrator credibly captured this close relationship with the use of sparse language and the colors used in the illustrations, lending a quiet and almost ethereal beauty to the surrounding landscape. The theme of reconciliation is also beautifully conveyed by the illustration showing both husband and wife smiling over a handful of strawberries.

D.    AWARDS/ REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Publishers Weekly: "Spare text, an uncomplicated story line and gentle illustrations keep this quiet but resonant tale accessible to even the youngest child.”

E.    CONNECTIONS
*Children can be encouraged to read other pour qoui tales centered on the Native American culture, and discuss the similarities and differences between the various tales:
Bruchac, Joseph & Bruchac, James.2003. HOW CHIPMUNK GOT HIS STRIPES. Ill. by Jose Aruego & Ariane Dewey. ISBN 0142500216
*Compare and contrast pour quoi tales from across cultures, in terms of titles, country or culture of origin, names of main characters, secondary characters, supernatural helpers, etc.
*Reader’s Theater of The First Strawberries
*Older children can be encouraged to do research on the Cherokee culture and present their findings in the form of a project, e.g. PowerPoint presentations, essays, collages, dioramas, etc.