Turtle's Race With the Beaver
by Joseph & James Bruchac
Description:
Publisher's description (Dial Books for Young Readers, 2005): Turtle's Race with Beaver: A Traditional Seneca Story is a children's Picturebook by Abenaki father and son team, Joseph and James Bruchac. The storytellers explain that they have heard several variations of this tale and note that Aesop's version of the Tortoise and the Hare is an example. In this retelling the writers explain that this is a Seneca version taken from Arthur C. Parker's collection of Seneca legends. In this story, turtle lived in a pond that had everything she needed. As winter approached she prepared for winter as all turtles prepared. She buried herself in the bottom of the pond. When spring arrived Turtle swam and swam and finally she reached the surface. But something had changed. There was more water and no rocks for sunning and there was someone else in the pond. Turtle saw a Beaver in the pond and asked the Beaver what it was doing. The Beaver replied that this was his pond and asked the Turtle what she was doing. Turtle said there was enough room for both animals but Beaver challenged Turtle to a race and the loser would have to leave the pond. Turtle knew she was slower and couldn't defeat Beaver but she agreed. During the race Turtle used her wits and caught a ride by hanging on to Beaver's tail. At the finish line Turtle managed the win and an embarrassed Beaver left the pond. Turtle enjoyed her pond again and Beaver managed to find another pond close by. But there was another Turtle living in it but by then Beaver had learned the value of sharing. The colourful illustrations capture the spirit of the story and make this a great story for learning lessons about humility and sharing. A great read-aloud story for children from preschool to grade three. Guided Reading Level: J
Resource format: Picturebook
Age recommendation: Kindergarten - Grade 3
Keywords: oral traditions, Seneca, storytelling, sharing, humility, animals
Year of publication: 2005
Publisher information: Dial Books for Young Readers
Teaching and Learning Ideas
Our team collaborated with new teachers, alumni of the Werklund School of Education’s Bachelor of Education program, to create teaching and learning plans for texts in this website. With audiences ranging from Pre-Kindergarten to Post-Secondary, lesson plans across this resource address a wide range of school subject areas, inclusive approaches, and Indigenous education topics, such as the revitalization of Indigenous languages. As this website was designed with Undergraduate Programs in Education instructors, as well as teachers in mind, connections to UPE courses have been flagged on each lesson plan. These lessons are intended as a starting place for educators, to help you envision ways in which you might bring Indigenous literatures, as well as ways of knowing, being, and doing, into your teaching contexts. Please adapt, use, and share these lessons in ways that are generative for your teaching practice. We offer our sincere thanks to the dozens of new teachers who gifted us with these creative ideas!
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