Rabbit and the Bears

This review appeared in Roundup Magazine, Oct. 2004. A children's picture book that recounts Cherokee historian and storyteller Duvall's latest rabbit tale. Volume 4 of the University's "Grandmother Stories," Rabbit and the Bears tells the story of Rabbit accompanying his friend, Yona the Bear, to the Mulberry Place in the Smoky Mountains where Yona participates in the bears' ceremonial dances every autumn. Rabbit sees a bear with an arrow in his shoulder running from a hunter. Yona and Rabbit follow the wounded bear to the Magic Lake, Ata-Gahi, where the injured bear is healed. Rabbit wishes to know more about bear medicine, but Yona teaches him many other things...a wonderful story suited for the very young as well as elementary school children.

The Grandmother Stories are eloquent, beautifully illustrated tales that recapture the imagination of Native America. Deborah Duvall and Murv Jacob have done a brilliant job of revisiting the mythic world of Rabbit, Bear and Otter and introducing them to a contemporary audience. These characters are timeless, as are their stories, and readers of all ages will delight in their antics and unique insights. (...)

Takes the reader into a magical world where real problems are solved in the ancient way by teaching examples of timeless characters, such as Rabbit and Bear. Based on Cherokee legend and tradition, the prose and the artwork are subtle and refined enough for adults but also intriguing to children. I'm sending all four of the books now available to all of my grandchildren, knowing that not only will the kids enjoy them but their parents as well. It's a pleasure to be able to recommend something new in the world of children's books that is so fun and worthwhile.

My children ask for this book every night at bedtime. The drawings are unlike anything they have seen before and the story is wonderful. They love the part where the mother bear is singing to her cubs. But mostly they love hearing about the magic lake where the Bears live. This is a book to pass down through the family for generations.

In volume four of the Grandmother Stories, Ji-Stu the Rabbit travels with his friend Yona the Bear to Mulberry Place, the mountain homeland of the Bears. This beautiful storybook is filled to overflowing with Bear lore from the Cherokees. Within the story, Chief White Bear tells his own account of how the Bears, who once were human and struggled daily for survival, left their homes to live in the forest where all was plentiful. They chose a mountain top beside a magic lake, invisible to humans, whose waters can cure all sickness and injury. Of course Ji-Stu, being ever mischievous, finds himself in trouble while visiting there. Luckily for him, the magic lake is nearby. You can practically feel the water and hear the birds as Murv Jacob's matchless black and white drawings bring them to life. His depictions of the animals, plant life and the hunter prove his meticulous research into the legends and traditions of the Cherokees. As the book jacket states, this story truly teaches the magic of friendship.