Berry Magic - Softcover

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.

“Sloat collaborates with Huffmon, a Yup'ik storyteller, to infuse a traditional ‘origins’ tale with the joy of creating. Hearing the old women of her village grumble that they have only tasteless crowberries for the fall feast’s akutaq―described as ‘Eskimo ice cream,’ though the recipe at the end includes mixing in shredded fish and lard―young Anana carefully fashions three dolls, then signs and dances them to life. Away the bound, to cover the hills with cranberries, blueberries, and salmonberries. Sloat dresses her smiling figures in mixes of furs and brightly patterned garb, and sends them tumbling exuberantly through grassy tundra scenes as wildlife large and small gathers to look on. . . . Young readers will be captivated by the action, and by Anana’s infectious delight.”―KIRKUS REVIEWS

“This charming pourquoi tale tells of an Eskimo girl and her magic. Listening to the older women complain as they pick the hard, dry crowberries, Anana thinks up a plan to give them pleasure. She sews four dolls, each with a different color pelatuuk, or head scarf. After carrying them to the hills, she sings a special song and dances, transforming each doll into a berry girl who speckles the fields with cranberries, blueberries, raspberries and salmonberries. Done in a palette of deep, earthy hues, ethereal blues, and bright highlights, Sloat’s pictures are vibrant and engaging, befitting the land of the northern lights. The rich language enlightens readers to different elements of the Eskimo culture such as reindeer-skin bags, muskrat parkas, and the “ice cream” called akutaq. Delightful, playful and beautifully written.”―SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL