The Bear Says North: Tales from Northern Lands

Alison Mews is co-ordinator of the Centre for Instructional Services at
Memorial University of Newfoundland.

This collection of 10 folk tales from northern hemisphere countries is
perfect for reading aloud on cold winter nights while snuggled under
warm blankets. Barton has embellished, altered, and polished these oral
tales, but maintains that he has kept the heart of each tale intact.
Most will not be familiar to modern children, as they have been gathered
from as far away as Scandinavia, Lithuania, and Russia, as well as from
the Canadian north.

There is the usual array of talking animals, magical beasts, pourquoi
tales, and humans on quests. All portray some aspect of the frozen
north. For example, frost is personified by nasty and vindictive
spirits, rather than the benign and artistic Jack Frost known to
today’s children (“Frostbite”). The northern lights are revealed
as warriors in a mock battle (“The Little Girl Who Wanted the Northern
Lights”). Squirrels become curly tailed and frogs tailless during the
daring undertaking to bring fire to humans suffering from the cold
(“How Frog Helped Prairie Wolf Bring Fire to the Humans”).

Humans are often portrayed as gullible and pathetic, while animals
generally keep the upper hand. And with the exception of an arrogant
Raven who takes advantage of a carnage he created (“The Raven and the
Whale”), kindness is repaid (“Good Neighbours”) and honesty
rewarded (“The Honest Penny”).

Each tale is visually represented by a full-colour illustration in
softly rendered oil pastels. Highly recommended.