How Chipmunk Got His Stripes ~ Joseph Bruchac & James Bruchac (2001, Scholastic Inc.)

Summary: The story is about brown squirrel and bear. Bear thinks he is the best and that he can do anything. Brown squirrel ask him if he can keep the sun from coming up in the morning. Bear says that he can and proceeds to yell at the sun as it sets. The two sit up all night waiting for the sun to rise or not. Other animals join them and one of them notice that the sun is coming up. Brown squirrel then claims he is right but keep teasing Bear for being wrong. Bear was about to eat squirrel but squirrel said he wanted to apologize but instead tried to run away. He was about to make it into his home but Bear scratched him down is back. Brown squirrel hibernated for the winter and in the spring where he had been scratched by Bear the fur grew paler and Brown Squirrel was now Chipmunk, the striped one. 


My Review: I think this is a wonderful retelling of a Native American folktale. It does a great job of teaching the reader or listeners not to be to boastful when they are right and someone else is wrong. It could teach a similar lesson about winning and not picking on the people that lose. 


About the Author: Joseph Bruchac is a Native American author that draws from his heritage for inspiration for his work. Not only is he a writer, he founded the Greenfield Review Literary Center and The Greenfield Review Press. Through The Greenfield Review Press, he has done some editing and is a professional story teller of traditional tales. Also, in 1999 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas.


Genre: Multicultural, Folktale
Theme / Skill: Learning how to be a good winner and loser. 
Age Level: 5-10


Pre-reading Activity: Ask the students what they think the story will be about. Do a book-walk and ask the students what they think may happen during the story. 


Post-reading Activity: Have the students write (or draw) about a time that the were wrong about something and how it made them feel. Have students share their journals and list ways that people could have made them feel better.