The Hunter's Promise Book Review by Joseph Bruchac

 

Written By: Joseph Bruchac
Illustrated By: Bill Farnsworth
Published By: Wisdom Tales in 2015
ISBN: 978-1937786434

Plot Summary: This story is about a hunter who goes out on expeditions in order to find food and skins so that he can survive. The hunter is mystified at the fact that he brings food and skins home and when he wakes up the next day everything is hung up and dried. He finds out that he has a wife and a son and his wife tells him to remember his family. Because he is so good at hunting, he is noticed by the chief who wants him to marry his daughter. The hunter refuses but the chief's daughter has the ability to put a spell on the hunter and makes him marry her. The hunter goes out with the chief's daughter to hunt where he finds that his wife and two sons are waiting at the lodge. The hunter realizes that he has been put under a spell and after his wife and sons transform into moose, the hunter transforms as well to be with his family. 

Analysis: This book shows that things are not always what they seem. The hunter is a very simple man living a simple life but things go awry when he starts to be noticed by others. The story is left very open ended which allows the reader to come up with their own ending. The illustrator does a great job capturing the changing of the seasons through his use of color and the illustrations capture the scenery of the earth will dull tones and muted colors which is very common when looking at pictures of Native Americans. The story can be confusing but knowing that it is a folktale gives the reader the ability to use their imagination and put themselves into the moccasins of the hunter and what they might do in the same situation. 

Review: Kirkus Book Review

An Abenaki retelling of a traditional story of various indigenous nations of the Northeast that centers on loyalty and humans’ relation to nature.

Long ago, a young man travels north to hunt throughout the winter. One day, as he is following the tracks of a moose, he realizes he is lonely and wishes out loud for a partner. Returning to his lodge, he finds a fire burning and food waiting, but there is no one there. This goes on for days; on the seventh night he finds a woman waiting inside. The young man and woman develop a relationship based on respect and loyalty, and the hunter promises to always remember her. When he returns to his village in the spring, he finds himself pressured to take a wife. This tension eventually leads the hunter to live a double life, testing his devotion to and respect for the “great family of life.” Through his scenic paintings, Farnsworth evokes the light, seasons, and life in the forested mountains of the Northeast, supporting Bruchac’s words and achieving a striking visual depiction of the environment of Abenaki peoples. The narrative itself is elliptical, offering literal readers a story of loyalty but founding it on a subtle exploration of the spirit world and its relation to ours.

Bruchac and Farnsworth honor the Indians of the Northeast, the written versions of the tale, and the elders and Wabanaki tellers who keep this story alive. (author’s note) (Picture book/folk tale. 6-8)

Connections: 
Students can write and illustrate themselves into an ending that fits with their imagination and the story. 
More about the Abenaki Tribe
https://abenakitribe.org/
https://www.nh.gov/folklife/learning-center/traditions/native-american.htm

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