This book tells the story of a Native American folklore that can be found in the the stories of the American northeast. This story could be told in subjects including science, history and even ELAR. This story tells the story promises and the importance of the role of nature. This book is a very touching novel that I enjoyed, and I think that students would find it interesting learning about other cultures and their folklore. ( )

A skilled moose hunter finds himself lonely during one of his winters away from his village in this Abenaki folktale, and is joined by a mysterious woman who becomes his wife. When he returns to his village with the coming of spring, she makes him promise to remember her. He keeps his promise the first year, and returns to his winter camp to find he has a son. But the next spring the chief's daughter back in his home village, determined to have him as a husband, casts a spell on him so he will forget his winter wife. What will happen when she accompanies him on his next voyage north...?

According to Joseph Bruchac's foreword, this traditional tale can be found in the folklore of many of the native peoples of the American northeast, whether Iroquoian or Algonquin. There is another picture-book retelling of it that I am familiar with - Anne Eliot Crompton's The Winter Wife: An Abenaki Folktale - although I have not yet read it. I found The Hunter's Promise an engaging book, appreciating both the narrative from Bruchac (always one of my favorite authors) and the oil painting illustrations from Bill Farnsworth. Recommended to young folklore lovers, and to anyone interested in Abenaki culture and tradition. ( )

This is a beautifully illustrated book that brings a retelling of a gripping folk story from the Abenaki Indians to children giving them a glimpse into what Indian life was like hundreds of years ago. The story incorporates real life and fantasy along with a touch of spiritualism.

I found it interesting with an easy flowing text. The beautiful illustrations artistically depict the seasons as a fine painting. The jealousy of the chief's daughter and trickery to have the hunter marry her is life changing. The chief's daughter used of a bird-spirit to wipe the memory of the hunter. Later the deception was revealed and the hunter proved loyal to his first promise.

I think this is an excellent introduction for children into the beliefs, cultures, and lives of Indians and into folktales of indigenous people; and it is an authentic retelling by Joseph Bruchac whose heritage is Abenaki. It is also a wonderful introduction for children to explore the fine art of Bill Farnsworth.

I received a complimentary copy to facilitate a review of my own opinions. I was not compensated. Review also appears at: https://chatwithvera.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-hunters-promise-abenaki-tale-givea... ( )

Gorgeous images by Bill Farnsworth invite the reader deep into Joseph Bruchac’s short, well-told story of man, nature and love. A riverbank’s haunting shadows of trees and maybe man; a winter forest’s cold allure; the loneliness of an empty lodge—young readers and listeners will quickly guess this hunter needs a friend. Then, at turns of the page, they’ll learn just what a friend and companion would have done in those long-gone days—animal hides scraped and ready for tanning, meat hung on racks. This is a story of the world as it was, and a magical tale for all time; a story of man in love with and communing with nature.

Love, of course, demands loyalty, and this story pictures how loyalties might be tested and restored. Hunter’s Promise has the mystery and depth of a tale told long ago, together with the alluring mystique of a picture book for today. It’s a beautiful book to share with young children, with a message of family commitment, spiritual belonging, and genuine respect for nature -- a gorgeous and highly recommended picture book.

Disclosure: I was given a free copy and I love it! ( )