How Chipmunk Got His Stripes (Picture Puffin Books) - Softcover

Bruchac, Joseph; Bruchac, James

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0142500216 ISBN 13: 9780142500217

Publisher: Puffin Books, 2003

Synopsis

Bear brags that he can do anything-even stop the sun from rising. Brown Squirrel doesn't believe him, so the two wait all night to see if the sun will rise. Sure enough, the sky reddens and the sun appears. Brown Squirrel is so happy to be right that he teases Bear. What happens when a little brown squirrel teases a big black bear? Brown Squirrel gets stripes and is called chipmunk from that day forward . . . Joseph and James Bruchac join forces to create this buoyant picture book, based on a Native American folktale.

Illustrated by Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey.

About this title

About the Author

Joseph Bruchac is a highly acclaimed children’s book author, poet, novelist, and storyteller, as well as a scholar of Native American culture. His work has appeared in hundreds of publications, from Akwesasne Notes and American Poetry Review toNational Geographic and Parabola. He has authored many books for adults and children, including Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two, Skeleton Man, and The Heart of a Chief.

From School Library Journal

K-Gr 3-Bear struts through the forest, bragging as he goes: "I am Bear. I am the biggest of all the animals. Yes, I am!-I can do anything. Yes, I can!" Little Brown Squirrel elects to challenge him: "Can you tell the sun not to rise tomorrow morning?" Bear accepts the challenge. As the sun sets, he issues his command and the two settle down to see what morning will bring. As the night progresses, the braggart continues to boast, and Squirrel cannot resist teasing. When the sun predictably rises in the morning, Bear is disgruntled and angry, and his taunter foolishly continues to tease. When Bear threatens to eat the little creature, Squirrel makes a desperate dash for his burrow. He is able to escape, but not before Bear has raked his back with his sharp claws. Although the scratches heal, they leave Squirrel with long, pale stripes on his back. He is now Chipmunk, the Striped One. In their introductory authors' notes, the Bruchacs indicate that the story is an amalgam of tales they have heard from Cherokee, Abenaki, and Mohawk sources, and has further been fleshed out through their own telling over the years. The result is polished, cohesive, and energetic. While the story begs to be told, Aruego and Dewey's vibrantly hued trademark watercolors add significantly to the humor. A priority purchase for most collections.-Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Puffin Books
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0142500216
• ISBN 13: 9780142500217
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Aruego Jose, Dewey Ariane