The First Strawberries: A Cherokee Story by Joesph Bruchac

 Module 2: Review 3

Bibliography

Bruchac, J., & Vojtech, A. (1998). The First Strawberries: a Cherokee story. Imagination Library edition. Puffin.

ISBN: 0803713312

Plot Summary

Joseph Bruchac and Anna Vojtech worked together to retell the story of the origin of strawberries. In Cherokee culture, strawberries are the symbol of love and forgiveness. In this story, a man and a woman disagreed, and the man spoke unkindly to her. The woman becomes furious and walks away. The man lets her go because he is still angry. As she walks away, the sun notices her sadness, and the man tries to catch up to the woman. The sun spoke to the man and decided to lend a helping hand. The sun shines light on the ground, and it causes different types of berries to grow to try to slow the woman down. In the illustrations, we see raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries, but she does not notice any of them. The last berry to grow is a strawberry, and this catches the woman's attention. When she stops to taste one, it reminds her of the sweet life that she and her husband had together. She collects the strawberries to bring back to share. But the man had been following her all this time to apologize. 

Critical Analysis

This story is beautifully illustrated to show the Cherokee folktale of the first strawberry. The pages preserve the culture of Cherokee heritage, as the story is being told, the reader can see the tools, living arrangements, clothing, and more. This story has many morals that readers of any age can pick up on. Depending on the reader's age, it could be to be kind to your family or friend, this is what my 3-year-old. My 7-year-old said that she learned to think before speaking, especially when she is angry. My 9-year-old said that when we are angry, we need to slow down so we can still see the beauty around us. My mom, as I was reading it to my kids, said she took away that we can not jump to conclusions on what someone else is doing, and we need to communicate with one another. Each one of these was a great lesson to take away from this beautiful folktale.

Review Excerpts

Publishers Weekly: “Praises the spare text, an uncomplicated storyline, and gentle illustrations,” making it accessible to even the youngest readers.

Connections

• Students can learn about different Native American tribes in the US or focus on the Cherokee tribe. Having students research their living arrangements and tools would be great to compare to the illustrations to see if they match. 

• Talking about feelings and communicating with family and friends would be a great social and emotional lesson to pull from this story.