Bearhide and Crow by Paul Brett Johnson

by Paul Brett Johnson

After Sam tricks Amos into swapping a prize-winning gourd for a smelly old bearhide, Amos decides to give Sam a taste of his own medicine by negotiating an even more worthless trade.

Genres: Picture Books

Hardcover

First published March 1, 2000

About the author

Paul Brett was a painter and children’s book writer/illustrator who grew up in the small town of Mousie, Kentucky, in Knott County. He was asked once in an interview to locate Mousie. He said: “Mousie is over there around Onion Blade, Dismal, Possum Trot, Sassafras, and Right and Left Beaver. But, if you haven’t been to Knott County, you may not be able to locate those places, either.”
That response was quintessential Paul Brett Johnson, a man of deep humor, good will, and immense artistic talent who honored his mountain upbringing in his work. Because he showed talent as a young child, his parents secured art lessons for him, and he made drawing and painting his life’s work.
After nearly a decade of trying to break through in the children’s book market, he finally saw success in 1993 with the release of The Cow Who Wouldn’t Come Down, a School Library Journal Best Book, an American Bookseller Pick of the Lists, and one of the New York Public Library's "One Hundred Books for Reading and Sharing." He eventually produced two companion books of these funny, outrageous tales of a farm woman and her adventurous animals, The Goose Who Went Off in a Huff, and The Pig Who Ran a Red Light. His art was whimsical, colorful, and full of motion that delighted children and adults alike. He was most fond of giving animals a sly (and hilarious) sense of humor and keen intelligence—traits that often matched his own. Eventually he wrote and illustrated over 20 books for children and served as illustrator for several other children’s book writers including George Ella Lyon, James Still, and Margaret Hodges.

Reviews

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Folks called Amos Dyer a swapping fool, 'cause he was always ready to swap something for nothing [of value]."

Set in the earlier days of America, this book has a folksy quality, like the stuff of which legends are made.

Paul Brett Johnson gave readers the concept, the text, the illustrations, and also his unique style.

Personally, I've never seen so many illustrations in a picture book... that emphasize using the color orange. Interesting!

FIVE STARS, even though orange is my least favorite color.

[Nichole · Rating 1 out of 5]

This uses the word g*psy multiple times. It also uses the stereotype of g*psies being magic.

[Israel Graves · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading the childrens picture book The Bearhide and the Crow there were a few things that I,a future educator, found a little disturbing. I think that the appropriate age group for this book is early primary grades(K-3)in elementary schools and because of this the message that children of that age group may recieve from this book I do not find appropriate. I get from this book the message that it is okay to take something that doesnt belong to you if the person or people who obtained it first are "bad guys". I think that instead of teaching children that if you find something that isn't yours you should turn it in to lost and found or give it someone of authority it teaches young children the concept of "finders keepers". If you found it, its yours and you're free to do with it as you please, no matter who may actually looking for it. I also believe that it sends a message to children that getting revenge is an okay. That if someone does something to you that you dont like instead of learning from it or forgiving them its quite alright to pay them back even if it means lying and tricking someone. I find these messages disturbing because these are two things that children struggle with everyday in school. "If I find money or find something that I want even if it doesnt belong to me is it alright to take it?" "If someone tricked me during recess,the whole class laughed and it embarrased me so should I get revenge by lying and tricking that person tomorrow just so they feel how I did?" As a future educator I would not want my students reading something that answers "yes" to these questions forming in their little heads. If anything I would use this book to teach my students a lesson of what NOT to do! In this book the illustrations were simple and not very detailed I noticed that several of the pages had a lot of white space on them as well. These simple illustrations with what seems to be water color was appropriate for the text of the book because it was simple as well. I do believe that this book would make a good read aloud because there is a lot of converstional dialogue that the children could also be a part of. You could have one child read aloud Sam's dialogue and another child read Amos' to help engage the class in the book.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

“But you know Amos —couldn’t pass up a trade no matter what.”

It starts when Amos swaps a blue ribbon gourd with Sam Hankins for a “fly-ridden bearhide.” Chased off by his wife, who thinks he is a grizzly bear, he ends up hearing to robbers talk about their stash of gold. It turns out it’s on Sam Hankins’s land. And Amos knows just how to get Sam to trade him for it.

[Kathryn Cullen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think that this book is appropriate for third grade through fifth grade. Amos Dyer can fool many people. However, a neighbor/ rival of his convinces him to trade bear hide skin for his wives famous vegetable. throughout the story, Amos convinces the neighbor of is that a bear skin and a crow are lucky. Amos also convinces his neighbor that the bear skin and the crow is more important than the bag of gold. I like how Johnson adds aspects of Appalachia Kentucky into the story. This book would be useful in the classroom when discussing the concept of barter and trading. This would fit because farmers are trading for the better product throughout the entire story. The pictures fit with the story and help to get the point across. The story used cartoon-like figures to me and this worked because it helped to get the point across and add humor to the story. the color scheme was bright and bold.

[Madison Daub · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a great children book. Paul Brett Johnson did a great job at telling a good story and connecting to his readers. He sent a good message to young children. I think the main character Amos was funny and a well loved character. Amos did not give into Sam when he tried to talk down on the bearhide and the crow. At the end of the day Sam ended up wanting them back and Amos left a bag of gold and was able to buy something nice. I think that this book is a typical Appalachian story from a man that grew up living in the mountains.The illustrations in the book were great and really gave me a visual of what the story would of looked like. I would really enjoy reading this book to children and then giving them a lesson on the meaning of the story after wards. I think they could really take something from reading this book.

[Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Bearhide and Crow by Paul Brett Johnson. I thought this book was good because it had a strong moral about trading, something that kids love to do with lunch food and toys. It shows that sometimes trading is not always worth it, and that you should think for yourself. The illustrations were cartoonish but went well with the story and would keep the child's attention. I think that this book also shows the culture of Appalachia through the dialect and setting. I would definitely use this book in my classroom.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a good book for 2nd thru 5th grade. The use of dialect was excellent, but I do not think it is a good idea for students to read a lot of books about people tricking each other or stealing from their acquaintances. I thought the illustrations of the animals were fantastic but the illustrations of the people were not so realistic. I could use this book when talking about other cultures money or economic systems.