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“The Hunter’s Promise: An Abenaki Tale”
“The Hunter’s Promise” — book description, reviews, author bio, more
Hunter’s Promise, The: An Abenaki Tale
Hunter’s Promise, The: An Abenaki Tale
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Author(s): 
Subjects(s): 
American Indian
Mythology or Legend

Price:  $16.95

ISBN:  978-1-937786-43-4
Book Size:  8" × 10"
# of Pages:  32
Language:  English



Description of “The Hunter’s Promise”
World-renowned storyteller Joseph Bruchac retells this traditional story of love, loyalty, trust, and magic, which can be found in various forms among many of the indigenous nations of the northeast, both Iroquoian and Algonquin. Join him and award-winning illustrator Bill Farnsworth, as they recount this ancient and unique Abenaki tale of keeping a promise to one’s family and of the proper relationship of humans to the natural world.

AWARDS
  • Finalist in the “Picture Books, Early Reader” category of the 2015 Foreword Reviews INDIEFAB Book of the Year Awards
  • Anne Izard Storytellers’ Choice Award
More Information


Detailed Description
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Details on of “The Hunter’s Promise”

World-renowned storyteller Joseph Bruchac retells this traditional story of love, loyalty, trust, and magic, which can be found in various forms among many of the indigenous nations of the northeast, both Iroquoian and Algonquin. Join him and award-winning illustrator Bill Farnsworth, as they recount this ancient and unique Abenaki tale of keeping a promise to one’s family and of the proper relationship of humans to the natural world.

“Promise to remember me” was all the beautiful woman had ever said to the hunter. She had appeared from nowhere one day, when he had been lonely during the long winter hunting trip. Isolated in the vast wilderness of the northeast, he would only return to his village in the spring. However, it was his destiny that this year he would not be alone, because she had appeared.

The hunter had quickly fallen in love with the mysterious woman, and together they had become their own little family. But when spring arrived and it was time to return to the village, she disappeared just as suddenly as she had arrived. Would he ever see his love again? The hunter didn’t know, but he was sure he would keep his promise and never forget her. That is, until one day when the daughter of the village chief cast a spell on him!

AWARDS
  • Finalist in the “Picture Books, Early Reader” category of the 2015 Foreword Reviews INDIEFAB Book of the Year Awards
  • Anne Izard Storytellers’ Choice Award


About the Author and Illustrator of “The Hunter’s Promise”

Joseph Bruchac

Joseph Bruchac is a well-known Native author and storyteller who has written more than 120 books for both children and adults. His work is heavily influenced by his Abenaki ancestry, and he has worked extensively with other family members on projects involving the preservation of Abenaki culture and language. (The Abenaki are a tribe of traditionally Algonquian-speaking peoples of northeastern North America.) Dr. Joseph Bruchac has contributed two children’s books to our Wisdom Tales Press imprint: A Peacemaker for Warring Nations: The Founding of the Iroquois League (April 2021), illustrated by David Kanietakeron Fadden, and The Hunter’s Promise: An Abenaki Tale (September 2015), which was illustrated by Bill Farnsworth. Dr. Bruchac also contributed “Forewords” to the books Spirit of the Earth: Indian Voices on Nature, edited by Michael and Joseph A. Fitzgerald, and Horse Raid: The Making of a Warrior, told and illustrated by Paul Goble.

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Bill Farnsworth

Bill Farnsworth is a nationally known illustrator, painter, and educator of art. He has spent the last thirty years creating paintings for magazines, advertisements, children’s books, and fine art commissions of portraits and landscapes. For Wisdom Tales, Bill has illustrated the book The Hunter’s Promise: An Abenaki Tale (available in September, 2015), which is written (retold) by the Abenaki author, educator, and storyteller Joseph Bruchac. The Hunter’s Promise: An Abenaki Tale (coming in September, 2015) for Wisdom Tales. The Hunter’s Promise, written by Joseph Bruchac, is a retelling of an Abenaki (a northeastern American Indian tribe) story of a hunter who battles magical forces in order to return to his true family. Bill Farnsworth's paintings and illustrations are recognizable for their beautiful colors, careful attention to various types of light, detailed rendering, and often for their outdoor themes and settings. His paintings convey the power of nature in one way or another, and this will certainly make for a perfect complement to Joseph Bruchac’s tale set in the deep forests of the Northeast.

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Reviews of “The Hunter’s Promise”

“Gr 2–5— [The Hunter’s Promise is] a solid retelling of a traditional Wabanaki Confederacy story . . . Farnsworth's oil paintings add depth to this story. The feelings portrayed through the images allows readers to understand the emotions of the characters. Bruchac reinforces the importance of balance in the land, and integrity of the keeping one's word. VERDICT: A great addition for traditional tale collections. Recommended.”
School Library Journal, from a review by Amy Zembroski, Indian Community School, Franklin, WI



“The prolific, accomplished Bruchac reaches back to his Abenaki heritage to retell the traditional story of a young man who forges an unusual bond while spending the long winter months at his hunting camp  . . . Younger readers may be puzzled by the story, but the understated telling, falling well within the boundaries of folk-tale conventions, proves intriguing, while Farnsworth’s softly glowing oil paintings capture the tale’s mystical feel. A solid author’s note offers further background.”
—American Library Association's Booklist Magazine



“In a retelling of a story shared by several Northeast indigenous peoples, as Bruchac explains in an introductory note, a lonely Abenaki hunter gains a mysterious ‘winter wife’ who cares for him during his hunting expeditions away from his village. As the hunter prepares to return to his village, the woman asks him to ‘remember’ her (readers may wonder why he doesn’t attempt to bring her back with him). Remember her the man does, season after season, as well as the child she bears, until the village chief’s daughter enlists the help of a poohegan (spirit helper) to cloud his mind so he can marry her. Farnsworth’s handsome paintings depict a lush, light-infused wilderness, putting as much emphasis on the pristine setting as on the characters. The satisfying yet melancholy ending leaves a haunting impression.”
Publishers Weekly



“An Abenaki retelling of a traditional story of various indigenous nations of the Northeast that centers on loyalty and humans' relation to nature. . . . Through his scenic paintings, Farnsworth evokes the light, seasons, and life in the forested mountains of the Northeast, supporting Bruchac's words and achieving a striking visual depiction of the environment of Abenaki peoples. The narrative itself is elliptical, offering literal readers a story of loyalty but founding it on a subtle exploration of the spirit world and its relation to ours. Bruchac and Farnsworth honor the Indians of the Northeast, the written versions of the tale, and the elders and Wabanaki tellers who keep this story alive. (Picture book/folk tale. 6-8)”
Kirkus Reviews



The Hunter’s Promise is not just a story of trust and betrayal, the clouding of commitment by enchantment. It is also a reminder of the sacred obligation of hunters and all beings to honor the gifts of animals and plants to sustain life. If this balance and sacred trust between hunter and natural creation is forgotten, or dishonored, the whole world is disordered and broken. The Hunter’s Promise is stunningly illustrated . . . by a famous, multiple award-winning illustrator, Bill Farnsworth. The Hunter’s Promise is a beautifully told wisdom tale appropriate for children age 6 and up.”
Children’s Bookwatch, a publication of the Midwest Book Review



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