The Bears and the Magic Masks

Award-winning storyteller and poet Joseph Dandurand captures the delightful relationship between bears and the Kwantlen people in his fourth book for children ages 6-8.

For a long time, the Kwantlen and the bears have lived side by side. When the master carver falls into the river, the bears rescue him. In thanks, the master carver gives the bears animal masks. But the bears don't know that these masks are magical.

The Bears and the Magic Masks is the fourth in the Kwantlen Stories Then and Now series by award-winning author Joseph Dandurand, following The Girl Who Loved the Birds, A Magical Sturgeon and The Sasquatch, the Fire and the Cedar Baskets.

Joseph Dandurand is a member of the Kwantlen First Nation, located on the Fraser River about twenty minutes east of Vancouver, BC. He resides there with his three children. Dandurand is the director of the Kwantlen Cultural Centre and the author of several children's stories and books of poetry including The East Side of It All (Nightwood Editions 2020), which was shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize. In 2021, Dandurand received the BC Lieutenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence.

Elinor Atkins (Miməwqθelət, "the first bird to sing in the morning") is a member of the Kwantlen First Nation and a Nɬeʔkepmx artist. Her works draw from the traditional teachings of the Coastal and Interior Salish culture and a deep connection to the land and water. She creates in different mediums including illustration, painting, printmaking, wood carving and public art installation. She illustrated The Girl Who Loved the Birds and A Magical Sturgeon; the latter was longlisted for the 2023 First Nations Communities READ Award.