Customer Reviews: Read 18 more reviews...
 Guaranteed to make you cry January 29, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
By the time I put this book down I had tears streaming down my face. This book is so beautiful and appropriately written that you almost forget this book is about a bear and moreso feel like it is about you and the children in your life. The Sleeping Bear Dunes are one of my most favorite places to visit and now I cannot wait to go back and climb the dunes knowing the legend behind them.
The book is sad, but I think it is more sad to adults who more fully comprehend the loss that Mother Bear is feeling. The way the author describes how long she waited for her cubs looking out into the water, waiting from season to season, is just tremendous. The artwork is so beautiful and appropriate for the content of the book.
By the end of this book you are going to want to take a trip out to the Dunes to see them yourself. I highly recommend that as well.
An old legend, well-told and well-depicted June 4, 2006
14 out of 16 found this review helpful
If one travels in the northwest of Michigan's Lower Peninsula, one will see many souvenir items related to Sleeping Bear and the old legend of the origins of the Sleeping Bear Dune and the Manitou Islands just off the coast near Honor, Michigan. If you've never seen Sleeping Bear Dune, which is now a National Lakeshore that incorporates the islands out in Lake Michigan, the Dune resembles an enormous animal laying on the beach, looking out across the water at the islands. I have climbed the landward side of the Dune, and it is enormous (400 feet?). The lakeward side does not look climbable to me, as it is too steep.
Anyway, the legend of Sleeping Bear is allegedly very, very old, possibly originating with the Ojibwa. It is a tear-jerker and, while not violent, it is a tale of love and grief and immeasurable persistence and patience.
This book does the Legend justice. Kathy-Jo Wargin tells the tale in a way that is faithful to all the versions that I have seen. But, the legend is not a very long one. I have actually seen the entire legend on a postcard; while the font was small, it was readable. What makes this book stand out is the work of Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen, who illustrates the tale beautifully and with just the right blend of colorful scenes and softened edges. If it had been too colorful, it would have betrayed the heart of the story, but Mr. van Frankenhuyzen avoids that by giving the illustrations a touch of fuzziness, that renders them almost dreamlike.
This is a small but well-done book about a small but highly memorable legend. They could not have done it better.
The Ojibwe legend of Mother Bear and her two cubs May 1, 2006
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
My children, are you coming?
You are strong, and you are clever!
My children, can you hear me?
I will wait for you forever.
One of the reasons that legends and myths develop is to explain why things are the way they are and that is the case with "The Legend of Sleeping Bear." In this book writer Kathy-jo Wargin and painter Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen tell their version of the story first told by the Ojibwe of Michigan to explain the sandy area that today is known as the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, which is located on the "little finger" of the lower peninsula of Michigan. The story begins in a forest that is now part of Wisconsin along the shore of the lake now called Lake Michigan, and the time (as we are reminded several times) was long before the voyageurs or even the Native Americans lived in the area.
The story is about Mother Bear and her two cubs, who would frolic along the shady shore of the mighty lake whose other side they could not see. But then one day the forest is consumed by a great fire and Mother Bear has to gather her cubs and swim across the mighty lake. She made them promise that they would swim with all their might throughout the night to reach the other side. Mother Bear reached the banks of the far shore, where there were huge mounds of sand and she waits for her cubs, who do not appear. So Mother Bear promises to wait for them forever and as the years go by she sleeps on the shore waiting for them. In time the great spirit of the land honors the love and dedication of a mother for her children.
The idea that you can go to Michigan and see North Manitou and South Manitou Islands will probably appeal to young readers who live in this part of the country, so parents should be forewarned that a request for a family trip might be a consequent of reading this book. I especially like the way van Frankenhuzyen seems to work in every color there is into his paintings (and that you can clearly see these are oil on canvas works). "The Legend of Sleeping Bear" was the first collaboration between Wargin and van Frankenhuyzen, and since then they have come out with another Native American legend from the Great Lakes area each. To date this includes "The Legend of Mackinac Island," "The Legend of the Loon," "The Legend of the Lady's Slipper," "The Legend of Leelanau," and "The Legend of the Petoskey Stone." Reading one of these volumes will not be enough.
A capturing story June 4, 2005
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
The legend of sleeping bear is a sad story. But it is a great legend.
The Best Book I've ever read was Sleeping Bear March 23, 2005
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I think sleeping bear was a book with alot of felling. It was a book that everybody should read. It was a legend that mother bear will remember. It was a legend that is apart of Michigan. I would read this book if I were you.
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