History for Ages Eleven to Fifteen:

The Award-Winning Summer of the Bear

The Summer of the Bear targets the 8th-grade social studies curriculum, but
is appropriate for ages 11-15, for either social studies or reading arts.
Teachers and parents will find that Summer makes the history come alive for
their children. It is a story about modern teenagers, and the choices they face,
while retracing the steps of their Euro-American and Native American
forefathers. The book makes an excellent read-aloud for sixth-graders and an
exciting read for any teen, who loves adventure and mystery. Summer of the
Bear received the Michigan State History Award for Literature for Children
and Young Adults in 2007.
How to Teach This Book to your Child
If you are wondering how to present this book to your child so that she learns
the facts she needs to know, it may help you have her put the following
questions to the text. All of the historical facts are indexed in the back of the
book.

I. Purposes of the Book: Every book is written for a reason, and, as obvious as
that may seem, your child needs to learn to recognize the purpose for which
the book was written. Only then can she understand how every detail of the
book points toward the author’s goals. This is also a great way to prepare her
to write her own papers and books, be they fiction or nonfiction. Purpose is
the most important organizational principle in writing.
A. The first purpose of Summer of the Bear is to teach readers about the
histories, economies, and customs of the both the Indians and the
Canadian fur traders, the voyageurs, the coureurs de bois, the commis,
and the big American fur trading companies.

Sugar Bush picture – with Indian woman.

 The boys in the story sing the voyageurs’ songs while they are
paddling up the Pigeon River. Authentic music appears in the text.
The reader learns a certain amount of French, which is translated in
the text, and, again, at the back of the book. The reader also learns
about Native American history, especially Ojibwe history, from pre-
contact times to the present. Along with this, he acquires a number of
Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe language) terms.
Seeking to fulfill his core democratic value of liberty, the hero
discovers the responsibilities that go hand-in-hand with freedom. The
core democratic values are of paramount importance for the eighth-
grade curriculum.
Jean-Baptiste and Kevin discuss the difference between traditional
or survival economies (like that of the Anishinabeg) and command
economies (the European economy, which was geared to profit). (Pp.45-
46)
The teens in the story become involved with an Ojibwe
bearwalker. In processing what happens to them, the boys discuss the
California missions, the Esselen Indians and how some bearwalkers
can be good, while others are criminals. They talk about California
because one of them, Brock, has read a mysterious, scary novel about
Esselen bearwalkers. What kinds of bearwalkers do the boys
themselves turn out to be?
Finally, two of the boys visit Michilimackinac, Mill Creek, and
Mackinac Island in Michigan, where they see an Algonquian lodge, the
wealthy trader and peace-maker, Ezekiel Solomon’s house, and learn
how Mill Creek was founded to supply lumber for the construction of
the fort on Mackinac Island. Kevin, the narrator, tells his friend, Brock,
who is a very minor expert on Vernor’s Ginger Ale, about Père
Marquette.
B. The second purpose of this book is to serve as a text for reading arts. It
is a lively, adventure-packed, coming-of-age story about Kevin Murphy
and his best friend, Brock Tomlinson. Kevin, the narrator, looks back
on his 14th summer, the year that he became a responsible citizen.
The boys set out to spend the summer at the Tomlinson cabin in
the Pigeon River Country State Forest, Michigan. The French Canadian
teen next door, Jean-Baptiste Vaillant, takes the boys on a canoe trip
they will never forget. They become witnesses to a mysterious murder,
committed by a bad bearwalker, and eventually encounter a real bear.

Picture of Jean-Baptiste

Everything in the story tests their courage and their loyalty to each
other, as well as the values that their parents and teachers have been
trying to instill. In spite of themselves, they are inexorably pushed
across the threshold from boyhood into the adult world.

C. The third purpose of the book is to help youngsters learn solid values
they will carry into adulthood. The main thrust of the story is unity in
diversity: teamwork and the invaluable contribution each individual is
 able to make to the group. They must also learn to be considerate and
wise, in addition to being courageous and unselfish. Both Kevin and
Brock become “men” on this trip precisely because they eventually
learn all of these lessons, including the virtue of protecting family
honor by behaving in exemplary fashion.

I. The Issues Raised in the Book, which You Can Discuss with
Your Child:
A. One of the very first issues raised in the book is the meaning of Core
Democratic Values for kids. Do kids get any of these rights? Why? Why
not? When the Constitution tells us we’re FREE, does that mean we can
do and say anything we want, or are there bounds to our liberty?

“And personal liberty,’ Miss Frolich droned on, “is the right to think, to act,
and to be an individual without governmental control or protest . . .”

What a joke. If I wanted to do something, my father would decide whether or

not I could do it. If he could have controlled my mind, he would have. I guessed
you got to enjoy all those freedoms Miss Frolich had been teaching us when you
grew up and moved out of your parents’ house. This really ex citing plan I had
hatched for that summer is a perfect example of what I mean. It was harmless,
but it would allow me the freedom to be the real me. I doubted my father would
go for it. (Pp.2-3)

“That’s very nice. I mean you should have the freedom to be the person you
were born to be,” my father yelled, “but what about me? I feed you, clothe you,
put a roof over your head, and I love you. Don’t I have any rights? And what
about your mother? Didn’t it ever occur to you that she might be worried? Having
the right to liberty doesn’t mean you can do anything you want any time you
want. The right to liberty brings with it tremendous responsibility. You have to
think about other people. You have to think about what’s fair for them as well as
for yourself.” (P.98)
B. Conservation and the Proper Uses of Wealth.

Drawing of scenery

Conservation and sharing for the Native American constituted a way of life,
whereas the Euro-American wastes enormous quantities of natural resources
and only gives for a tax write-off. He may worry about the obvious end of the
world, but, when it comes to making money, he thinks only of the here and
now. Native Americans always gave thanks for everything they took, and
they took exactly what they needed from the Earth.

“Wild rice (mano’min) is said to be generous to those who ask permission from the
spirits to take it. They must pick only as much as they need and no more. This is so that
there will always be plenty for everybody.” (Pp.16-17)

“We Anishinabeg are the original conservationists. The Creator gave us everything
we needed.”

“During the pre-contact period ‘the time before the Europeans came’,” Jean-Baptiste
interrupted, “they could get what they needed from their environment. They asked the
spirits’ permission for everything they took; they never took any more than they needed.
Why would they want something extra, when they had more than enough? It is their way to
share with family and needy neighbors. Their way of showing wealth is to give it away, not to
display possessions.” (Pp.44-45).
C. What is the Best Kind of Economy? Survival Economies Versus
Economies Geared to Profit.

“. . . The Anishinabeg only wanted to survive. The Indians eventually made

themselves trouble because they killed all their fur-bearing animals to satisfy
European demands. Then the fur trade died. If they had preserved the animals,
the way their customs taught them to do, they would never have run out of fur
for warmth or meat to eat.” (P.45)

D. For the Indian, Nature Is Not Only Good, but It Is an Integral Part
of the Creation. For the White Man, Nature is Evil and is Put at
Man’s Disposal. He Therefore Destroys it, with Little Thought for
the Future.
In this novel, Kevin is fearful of the forest and hostile nature.

“That night I couldn’t sleep, worrying about what would happen when Brock’s father
came up for the weekend, and we weren’t there. Then I worried about what would
happen if we got lost or found a bear. What if we drowned?” (Pp.22-23)

His friend, Jean-Baptiste, angers a mother bear, which forces Kevin to

kill it. Then Jean-Baptiste takes only the bear’s hide, leaving the meat to
rot. By contrast, the Indian sees the bear as a positive force:

“Kuo-Haya,” he said to his boy. “I have come to take you home. The bears have
taught me a lesson. I shall treat you as a father should treat his son.” Then he promised
that he would always be kind to the bears, because they had taught the boy that we must
always be kind to one another.” (P.52)

When Jean-Baptiste sees that Kevin and Brock are horrified at eating
the muskrat he has just killed, he says,

“My Anishinabe Friend, Ed, taught me that one only kills what one needs to survive.
One offers tobacco and asks the animal’s forgiveness so that he will lead more muskrat,
 or deer, or whatever it is, to one’s gun when one needs to eat. Then one buries his bones.
You see, the Anishinabeg think that everything in creation is related. So one is related to
this muskrat, to the tree, to the river, to everything.” (P.32)

When Kevin looks at nature, he sees death at every turn. By contrast,

the Anishinabe boy, Mickie, sees nature as a protective force, as long as he
treats her respectfully:

Drawing of Mickie

“My Ahsaymah, or Tobacco, in Anishinaabemowin, carries my thoughts to the Spirit

World. It represents my sincerity. When I offer Tobacco to the spirits, they tell me the secrets
of the Creation. The Water Spirits appreciate my respectfulness so they guide me safely
across the rivers. I’m always able to find something to eat because the animals offer
themselves to me when I’m hungry. The Tobacco shows them the truth of my intentions.”
(P.36)

E. Disciplining Children.
Both Kevin and Brock come from families where children are sternly
disciplined. It is new for them to learn about Indian discipline:

“The Anishinabeg never beat or shout at their children,” Star said. “If the child is
uncontrollable, they might threaten him with monsters that prey on disobedient children.
But, for the most part, they speak calmly and clearly to the child who misbehaves.”
“What do they say to him?” Brock asked.
 “They tell him a teaching story,” Star replied, “like the one you just heard” (P.52)

F. The Equality of Women.

Star’s father told us another story that night about Native American women. “Their
roles varied widely from tribe to tribe,” he began, “but Indians have always loved and
respected their woman. They were leaders and war chiefs in some nations. In all tribes,
women are the ones who give and preserve life. Like any man, a woman’s first allegiance
is to her family and her tribe. A good life means doing what you are supposed to do,
rather than what you want to do.” (P.53)

II. And here are some terrific literary questions you can have your
children put to the text.
A. In the story, a real bear and a bearwalker appear. What does one have to
do with the other? The characters talk about the Bear Clan, real bears,
and tell Indian tales about bears and bearwalkers. What is the meaning of
the Bear as the central symbol of the novel? What kind of a bearwalker is
Kevin? What is the Bear Clan?

The adventure begins and ends with the bear. If you had to pick a geometric
shape for the narrative, what would it be? What relationship does this
narrative shape have to the content of the novel? (Hint: For traditional
Native Americans, all things are round).
B. What is the function of Flashback in the novel?
C. Characters are really ideas. Some ideas are static – they never change.
Some ideas grow. In a novel, the static ideas support or contrast to the
ideas that grow. The characters/ideas are presented as people so that the
reader can relate to them and be swept away with the flow of the novel.
He has to care about the characters in order to learn the ideas they
embody. There are four principal characters in this novel. Two of these
characters are main characters and two are secondary. Which ones? Why?
 What is their function in the story? Of all the characters, which ones are
flats (types that never change) and which ones are rounded
(psychologically believable characters that grow)? How does the author
accomplish this?
D. How does Kevin change? How does Brock change? Do Jean-Baptiste or
Mickie change? Do the Schickbahouk or the Bearwalker change? Does
Crystal change?
E. How does the narrator (the one who tells the story), Kevin Murphy, feel
about pretending to be someone he’s not with the opposite sex? What do
you think the author feels about role-playing? How does the author get
this across in the novel?
F. How does the narrator feel about liberty? How does the author feel? How
does the author get her feelings across in the novel?
G. How does the author feel about discipline and raising children? How do
you know that Star is speaking for the author in this instance?
H. The function of a novel is to teach lessons or to raise fundamental
questions, which cause the reader to think seriously about this or that
issue. What are the lessons to be learned from Summer of the Bear?
I. There are several different points of view presented about the status of
women. How does Jean-Baptiste feel about them? Kevin? Star? The
Native Americans? The author?
J. Do you think Kevin was right to go off without sharing his plans with his
parents? Do you think the boys were wise to solve the problem of the
bearwalker by themselves, rather than reporting their suspicions to the
police? Do you think Jean-Baptiste should marry Louise Beauparlant?
Why? Why not?
K. For the Native American, Nature is good. Every part of the creation is
valuable, as valuable as man himself. Man may take only those things in
Nature that he needs for his survival. He must never take more than he
can use, and he must never waste what he does take. What is the attitude
of white people towards Nature? What is Kevin’s attitude? Jean-
Baptiste’s, Mickie’s? Considering the shrinking natural resources of the
world today, what attitude do you think would be a good one to adopt? Do
you think Nature is evil? Harmful? Dangerous? Are you afraid of wild
animals? Why do you feel the way you do?