"The First Strawberries" is a beautiful, short story based on a Cherokee folk tale. The two first people, a man and a woman, live and thrive in a beautiful earth. One day, the man comes back from hunting to find that there is no meal, but the woman has instead spent her time collecting flowers. There is a conflict, because she picked flowers for him to show her love, but he wanted a meal, and so she leaves and runs off. The man regrets the quarrel, and chases his love to make amends. The strawberry is the fruit that the woman shares with her husband and signifies love, forgiveness, and friendship.

I love how this book took a long-told traditional story from the Cherokee People and beautifully illustrated (with realism) the tale with accurate pictures. The author, Joseph Bruchah, elevates Native voices and tells many stories from Northeastern Native Americans. However, I did find that the author is part of the Abenaki People (as well as Slovic and English), and not Cherokee, so the story is not told by a member of the Cherokee nation. Regardless, the story is a beautifully illustrated, well-done retelling of a Native American folktale. ( )

This is a Cherokee Legend about how strawberries first came to be. In this story the man and the woman argue. WIth the help of the Sun, they learn lessons of kindess and respect. This book has beautiful illustrations that will draw young children in. The text is simple for even the youngest readers to enjoy this legend.

This story is incredibly beautiful and has a great example on respect and patience. In this book the husband and wife have an argument and he says some harsh thing to her- she then decides to leave and head west because she was not going to be disrespected. Throughout her travels she is missing her husband and he is extremely resentful of the things he said to her as well. He gets an idea to lure in his wife again and he has strawberries and all different berries- she take a moment to pick them and her husband finally catches up to her. ( )

A very long time ago when the world was new, the Creator made a man and a woman. For a while, they lived happily together. But one day, they had their first fight and the woman ran away. With the help of the sun, the couple will find forgiveness and understanding.

Based on a Cherokee legend, this book explains the first strawberries.
Creation of the sun to stop the woman in her escape, the delicious fruit is the only thing that makes her stop running. Raspberries, blueberries and blackberries are also left by the Sun on her path, but none of them work as she is blinded by anger. The delicious fruit is since then used as a reminder to be kind and respectful to each other.

The first strawberry is a great story beautifully retold by Joseph Bruchac. The illustrations by Anna Vojtech are delicate and colorful and follow the text perfectly.

From an award-winning Native American storyteller comes this captivating re-telling of a Cherokee legend, which explains how strawberries came to be -- Long ago, the first man and woman quarreled. The woman left in anger, but the Sun sent tempting berries to Earth to slow the wife's retreat. Luminous paintings perfectly complement this simple, lyrical text.