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Bears Make Rock Soup: And Other Stories
In Bears Make Rock Soup, writer Lise Erdrich and painter Lisa Fifield honor their Native American ancestral traditions. As winter falls, women fill the bellies of hungry bears with sweet stories so they will sleep till spring. Crows warn of enemies in pursuit so that a tribe may escape to safety. Children care for an abandoned moose they find crying for its mother. And animals of all stripes and feathers gather to pay respects to a beloved chief who has fallen while defending his people.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published July 26, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 31, 2019
A collection of short stories about animals.
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August 6, 2024Pictures came first, according to the creators' note. Short stories are inspired by their respective Native traditions, but not taken directly, apparently. Unfortunately, they're not particularly engaging, or easy to parse, imo. Art, also, is interesting... but not, imo, appealing. Somber tone.
August 14, 2020
Bears Make Rock Soup: And Other Stories is a collection of short Native American folk stories that focuses on animals. This book did not win any awards. This book is very suitable for kids seven and up.
I would rate this book a three out of five stars. The reason being is that this book doesn’t have much content to really understand what the point of the story was. I wish the short stories were longer. I feel like these folk stories should teach a lesson because these stories are passed down from generation to generation, so it must contain an important message. I really like the illustrations because it is very interesting to see the paintings of Native Americans. I am not very knowledgeable about the culture, but I feel like the illustrations and the paintings did a nice job of honoring the Native American heritage. You can tell from reading the short stories that the Native Americans really value the interdependence between people and animals. I feel like this book can spark interest in young readers to get them to learn more about the Native American culture. There are not a lot of books about Native American culture, so this is a very unique book in that aspect.
20/08/14
I would rate this book a three out of five stars. The reason being is that this book doesn’t have much content to really understand what the point of the story was. I wish the short stories were longer. I feel like these folk stories should teach a lesson because these stories are passed down from generation to generation, so it must contain an important message. I really like the illustrations because it is very interesting to see the paintings of Native Americans. I am not very knowledgeable about the culture, but I feel like the illustrations and the paintings did a nice job of honoring the Native American heritage. You can tell from reading the short stories that the Native Americans really value the interdependence between people and animals. I feel like this book can spark interest in young readers to get them to learn more about the Native American culture. There are not a lot of books about Native American culture, so this is a very unique book in that aspect.
20/08/14
January 23, 2020
The 1-page story, “Bears Make Rock Soup” would be great to compare and even contrast with the fable, “Stone Soup.” Each story could be a short read-aloud.
The story, “Nest,” is a short, beautiful story to pattern our lives after. “People saw this and learned from her example. They learned they must always be kind to young ones and help their spirits grow. Everyone in the Indian village was to help and teach the children. In turn, the children would grow up to be generous and good to others, and Earth would prosper.”
“The nest is our home, our Earth. We share it with all creatures. Because of this there is always hope—and life continues.”
This book has beautiful paintings by Lisa Fifield, a native from the Oneida tribe, and great stories by Lisa Erdrich, an Ojibway.
The story, “Nest,” is a short, beautiful story to pattern our lives after. “People saw this and learned from her example. They learned they must always be kind to young ones and help their spirits grow. Everyone in the Indian village was to help and teach the children. In turn, the children would grow up to be generous and good to others, and Earth would prosper.”
“The nest is our home, our Earth. We share it with all creatures. Because of this there is always hope—and life continues.”
This book has beautiful paintings by Lisa Fifield, a native from the Oneida tribe, and great stories by Lisa Erdrich, an Ojibway.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 7, 2024
Folk tales about animals such as bear and moose and how they helped Native Americans and vice versa. I enjoyed the folk tales and the pictures.
May 25, 2025
the stories and illustrations were beautiful, but i do wish the stories were a bit longer!
July 6, 2015
was disappointed with how short these stories were. They felt like they each could have easily been expanded to twice the length, and still kept the book short. The artwork was lovely, the concept and snippets of story were intriguing, but not long enough to do any real mythology behind the stories real justice.
October 8, 2011
This book consists of 14 short, myth-like tales to accompany a artist painting, which dominate this volume dedicated to traditional tribal life. Both tales and pictures underscore the Native American ideal of humans and animals living in harmony with each other.
January 23, 2015
The illustrations in this book are oh so beautiful. Each illustration is paired up with a one page story. Some of the stories are very touching and they make you think, but others I didn't care for. Over all, a wonderful book.
October 13, 2010
A collection of one page stories in Native American tradition. The illustrations accompany and add a great deal to the stories.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews