Berry Magic

"This charming pourquoi tale tells of an Eskimo girl and her magic. Sloat's pictures are vibrant and engaging, befitting the land of the northern lights. . . . Delightful, playful and beautifully written."―School Library Journal

Long ago, the only berries on the tundra were hard, tasteless, little crowberries. As Anana watches the older ladies in her village complain bitterly while picking berries for the Fall Festival, she decides to use her magic to help.

"Atsa-ii-yaa (Berry), Atsa-ii-yaa (Berry), Atsaukina! (Be a berry!)," Anana sings under the full moon, turning the four dolls she sewed with a different color pelatuuk (or head scarf) into little girls that run and tumble over the tundra creating patches of fat, juicy berries: blueberries, cranberries, salmonberries, and raspberries.

The next morning Anana and the ladies fill basket after basket with berries for the Fall Festival. Thanks to Anana, there are plenty of tasty berries for the agutak (Eskimo tee cream) at the festival and forevermore.

As she did with The Eye of the Needle (praised by the New York Times Book Review, a San Francisco Chronicle Choice, and a Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Picture Book Award winner), Yup'ik Eskimo elder Betty Huffmon shared this folktale with author/illustrator Teri Sloat, who brings it to life with her delightful illustrations.

Author: Teri Sloat, Betty Huffmon
Publisher: Alaska Northwest Books
Published: 04/01/2004
Pages: 32
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.25lbs
Size: 9.80h x 7.80w x 0.20d
ISBN: 9780882405766
Audience: Ages 4-8

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 4.2
Point Value: 0.5
Interest Level: Lower Grade
Quiz #/Name: 85946 / Berry Magic


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Review - Children 05/01/2004 pg. 449
Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2004 pg. 359 - Recommended, Satisfactory
School Library Journal 12/01/2004 pg. 122
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2004 pg. 359 - Recommended, Satisfactory

About the Author
Teri Sloat is the author of THERE WAS AN OLD LADY WHO SWALLOWED A TROUT!, as well as the author and/or illustrator of many other books for children. A former teacher, she lives with her husband and their three children north of San Francisco. Betty Huffmon was the first Yup'ik teacher in Alaska. She worked at the Bilingual Education Center in Bethel, and later directed the Bilingual/Bicultural Center after having been part of a team to make Yup'ik a first language in some of the delta schools and other villages in western Alaska. She also shared the tale for THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE with author/illustrator Teri Sloat.