Summary: This book is about the Legend of the Cranberry which is a Paleo-Indian tale. It's about how certain animals learned to fight each other. There is something to do with a cranberry, obviously.
Opinion: This book was insanely confusing! It was also long and boring. I don't think it's good for kids because I am an intelligent adult and I could barely follow what was happening. ( )

I'd never heard of this legend, but it's a very interesting idea. The perspective of the indigenous people dealing with mammoths was really cool to me. It's crazy to imagine living amongst such wild gigantic beasts. We still have Elephants today but in my world I don't have to worry about a stampede during dinner. ( )

Me and my sister who is also a teacher and who I made read this book agree that this is not a great book for children who are too young. Cranberries are called blood berries because of all these yah-qua-whee (mammoth like animals) that the great spirit killed beacuse they were rebelling against people and other animals. A little to gory and too "great spirit" for me to be comfortable reading it to anyone who is young enough to not understand where the story comes from.

The Legend of the Cranberry is a Delaware Indian legend concerning early animals and people. In this legend, mastadons or mammoths were created by The Great Spirit to be used by The People as helpers to carry their goods, to clear forests, and for their food, clothing and tents.

When the creatures rebelled, a great war erupted and many people and animals were trampled into the ground, creating a bog. The next summer, The People saw pink flowers there, followed in the fall by bitter red berries.

The blood-red berries were a gift from the Great Spirit to remind the People of the battle. From that time on the berries were eaten at feasts as a symbol of peace and of the Great Spirit's abiding love for the people.

From the author's note: The source of my retelling is “A Delaware Indian Legend, and the Story of Their Troubles, by Richard C. Adams, published in 1899. The name “Delaware” was used by the early English settlers to identify the native people who lived along the Delaware River. Adams was the great-grandson of William Conner, a white man, and his Delaware Indian wife, Mekinges. His advocacy for the Delawares is related in “The Delaware Indians: A History”, by C. A. Weslager, Rutgers University Press, 1972.

This is a beautifully illustrated children's picture book, sensitive to early peoples and immigrants both. (3.7 stars) ( )