Black Bear Red Fox

by Julie Flett

A book demonstrating colours in English as well as in Cree, along with the pronunciation.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Indigenous, Childrens, Nature, Storytime, Art

22 pages, Board book

First published January 1, 2017

About the author

Julie Flett is a Cree-Metis author, illustrator, and artist. She has received many awards including the 2017 Governor General's Award for Children's Literature for her work on When We Were Alone by David Robertson (High Water Press), the 2016 American Indian Library Association Award for Best Picture Book for Little You by Richard Van Camp (Orca Books), and she is the three-time recipient of the Christie Harris Illustrated Children’s Literature Award for Owls See Clearly at Night; A Michif Alphabet, by Julie Flett, Dolphin SOS, by Roy Miki and Slavia Miki (Tradewind Books), and My Heart Fills with Happiness, by Monique Gray Smith (Orca Books).

Her own Wild Berries (Simply Read Books) was featured in The New York Times and included among Kirkus’s Best Children’s Books of 2013. Wild Berries was also chosen as Canada’s First Nation Communities Read title selection for 2014–2015.

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both aesthetically splendid on an illustrative level (as is of course natural and in fact also to be expected with Julie Flett's always stunning and visually expressive artwork) and indeed to and for me as a language and linguistics enthusiast also very much educational and enlightening regarding Cree as a language (and how colours are used in the latter), I have found Black Bear Red Fox absolutely wonderful in every way. And yes, as a German instructor (and a budding linguist) I also and in particular do totally appreciate the detailed supplemental information (at the front of Black Bear Red Fox) on Cree, the always necessary pronunciation guide, that in Cree, colours words are obviously seen and approached as verbs and not as adjectives, with Cree nouns being divided into two categories, into inanimate and animate objects (which information has definitely been very much helpful to and for me, as in Black Bear Red Fox, the colour endings for animals are obviously animate and for plants inanimate, makes perfectly common sense, but yes, very nice and educational to have the book so clearly demonstrate and show this).

Highly recommended and indeed, even if you might not be all that interested in the text itself (in the dual language Cree and English colours and nouns) and the detailed linguistic information on Cree and how it as a language works colour-words wise, just Julie Flett's pictures (colourful and full of a simplicity that nevertheless is to my eyes also quite complex in nature) are enough to in my opinion seriously consider Black Bear Red Fox as a book either for purchase or to sign out from your local library (if available).

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apparently this book is only available in board book format, which is the format I received through ILL. The author is Cree/Metis from Vancouver.
The opening page of the book explains a bit about the Cree language, including the fact that color words are verbs. That was surprising--how does one yellow? The facing page has a pronunciation guide and a list of color words in three forms: prefix form, animate singular verb form and inanimate singular verb form.
In the book, Flett selected 10 animals and flowers, and paired each with a color: black, red, pink, blue, yellow, purple, brown, white, orange, and green. The text is extremely simple-- the color and object in English and Cree. The artwork is lovely, simple with little detail, very stylized, and the color pallette is very distinct.
So, an excellent introduction to Cree colors.

[Jaime M · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 2 year old English/Michif child enjoyed pointing out all of the animals and identifying the colours (in English). We practiced the animal names and he was able to say them which made me happy but at his age, the colours in Nehiyaw are a little too complex for him and I which means I’ll keep reading the words to him out loud until we are able to say it. We’ll also have this book for our future reference. It was also good for me to remember Nehiyaw. Hopefully soon my toddler will be able to and will want to automatically refer to animals in Nehiyawewin. I personally love the artwork/illustrations. Beautifully printed on thick board and the art itself is fabric-like cut shapes in a collage setting. We had fun picking out shapes and identifying berries and other plants. There’s not too much in the way visually but just enough for the eye to keep interested over every read.

Thank you to all those involved in making this book. It’s so important to have these well-made and beautiful treasures in literature for Indigenous and non-Indigenous children.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bilingual book of colors, in both English and Cree. Always love Flett's art, and this takes a simple board book concept, colors, and gives it a bit more depth.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nicely done art, and an interesting idea. It could be fun to go through multiple times, until the Cree pronunciation flows.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous. I hope that educators and caregivers can find the energy to learn how to read this aloud in Cree.

[Jennifer Wise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Black Bear Red Fox outdid all of my expectations for a picture book and I know I want to have this in the classroom. This book is not only bilingual for students, but the writing has pronunciations for students to learn. The artwork blew me away, and helped tie in everything on the pages, giving the students context clues for the subject of the page.

[Sahar Amirifar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is perfect for teaching colors and animals. With the inclusion of Cree language, and the wonderful illustrations, this book can very intriguing for young readers. The American Indian Library Association (AILA) has selected this book to receive the American Indian Youth Literature Award in 2018.

This is a great book to introduce children to the Cree language, especially if the classroom has any children that speak that language. This book allows children to relate as it is teaching different colors. The illustration in the book is so simple but yet beautiful.

[Kristen Hylton · Rating 5 out of 5]

The art is this book is absolutely gorgeous! I love that it's bilingual in English and in Cree. The kids had fun telling me what color we were seeing on each page, and what kind of animal it was. I had the kids act like the animals on the pages, too, and asked if they'd ever seen them in real life. That way they got to practice their colors and animal identification, gross motor skills, and also connected what they were seeing illustrated to real life events. The parents really enjoyed learning the words in Cree, too! It was all-around a fun book to read for storytime.

[Devin Lenzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an informative book showing kids the colors with the english words that match, but it also teaches kids how to say the colors in Cree.
This is an early/beginning reader that is really good for teaching kids their colors but also teaching kids how to say a color in a different language.

[Mikayla Flood · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is reading appropriate for primary aged children. (age 5/6 mainly)
This book is about learning colors from animals in Cree which is a Native American language. the illustrations are well known and Julie Flett also did the illustrations for 'Little You'.
COMMENTS:
This book is helpful in teaching students something new. Children are always excited to learn new things.

[Kara Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very informational, it shows all readers and kids the English words are in color that match up, and teaches kids how to say the colors in Cree. This beginner book for readers is a great way to teaching kids what their colors are but also showing them how to say their colors in a different language.

[Sue Mosher · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a small child, this is a simply a book of colour and animal names with beautiful illustrations. For adults, there is a fascinating description of how the Cree language works in regard to naming colours and animals. Something for every age to learn.

[Melia Bents · Rating 5 out of 5]

Age level: 5-6 years olds. This picture book provides beautiful imagery of animals along with their names and color in Cree. While it is a simple book, it is informative of the Cree language and is very vibrant in the color and illustration choices.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Black bear Red Fox, by Julie Flett, is a young readers book. It lists colors of different objects, and repeats them in multiple languages. This is beneficial or English language learners, who speak the languages given in the book. This could be used in a kindergarten class for ELL's.

[Lauren Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great book for colors, and sharing the names of the colors in different languages. It is a great way for children to learn about the different colors that there are. Black Bear Red Fox would be a good book for a Kindergarten classroom or English Language Learners.

[Elizabeth]

This book was a Picture Book Honor Book for the 2018 American Indian Library Association's Youth Literature Award.

The prefatory material explains that, "In Cree, verbs must change their shape to match the associated nouns (similar to French) which are classified as animate or inanimate. Because colour words in Cree are verbs (action words), we need to learn both animate and inanimate forms for every colour, and we need to know whether each noun is animate or inanimate. If a noun is plural, the colour verb must be plural too." I was really intrigued by this and did a tiny bit of Googling, and according to EastCree.org, "Many concepts that are nouns in English are verbs in Cree, like the time of day the days of the week, the seasons of the year, the weather…"

The illustrations are striking. Having read a number of other board books put out by Native Northwest, I was a little surprised that the illustrations weren't in the art style I'm used to in Native Northwest books (this is not a criticism, I just sort of forgot I was reading a Native Northwest book). And some of the illustrations suffer from a problem I often experience in color books -- that if I didn't already know the color it wouldn't be intuitive to me which of the colors on the page was being named for me (though the yellow really pops on the "yellow-spotted turtle" page). The page with the word on it is all in that color -- but for "purple" it's a much lighter shade than the flower on the facing page, which seemed unnecessarily confusing to me.

[Karly Grice · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5. I really loved this book! Seemingly simple because of its brevity and being a board book, it led me down a rabbit hole of questions, thoughts, and research! So much potential for fascinating discussions re: how language structures actively shape the world! The 1/2 star off is only because I wanted more words! For example, two pages with flowers both had bunnies on them, but I never learned the word for bunny in the book. Every illustration comes with a pairing of fauna with something else (e.g. flora, other fauna, elements, etc.). Finally, the stark contrast of colors/shapes with the occasional subtle coloring nuance visually speaks to the implied complication of assumed binaries and borders when looking at the natural world.

[Madison Hurlbut]

This book is about different animals being different colors. This book is good for young kids because the pictures are good. The pictures are helpful in this because the child can see the color and hear it so they are making connections in their head. This is better than just hearing the word 'red' over and over because they may not know what red is. This book does not really have a plot, it is just about teaching colors. The color words are in English and Cree (with pronunciation).

[Morgan Allwine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book exceeded my expectations and predictions. I loved the artwork throughout and the learning that can take place from this title. Not only is this book bilingual for students, it is also challenging in a way that students want to know more and learn more. Going back to the artwork, I found myself enjoying every page. The illustrations tie together the concepts, text, and art together in a very professional, but fun way for students and young children.

[Andrés · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really appreciate Flett sharing her Cree language and culture through her books. In this book (2017), the reader learns colour words in Plains Cree. The two explainer pages at the front are extremely helpful for adult readers, and the color + animal / plant pages are perfect for the board book level reader. Also pick up We all Count: a Book of Cree Numbers (2014) to expand your Cree repertoire.

[Madalyn Bitner · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a young child, this story would be great when teaching colors and animals. The illustrations in this story are wonderful, and bring the book to life. With the inclusion of Cree language, this book is interesting for adults as well. This is one book that I would introduce to children at a young age.

[Tyler Wansack · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book Black Bear Red Fox is a wonderful children's picture book that helps children learn Cree along with colors and animals. The illustrations are soft and perfect for young children. Each animal is emphasized by its color and focus on each page. This book captures the Native American language converted from English and back.

[Linsey Atkinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is such a good book to explain different verbs and nouns. The illustrations in this book add so much more to the book to make it that much more exciting. When teaching a class about verbs and nouns this book is a must.

[Maria Hatzialexiou · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the illustrations in this board book. They seemed well thought out. This is a good book for young kids with a native american heritage. It helps them colors and animals. I would recommend this book.

[Cassie Busch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is in English and in Cree with the pronunciations. The illustrations and colors are good and detailed which help the reader make connections to what they are reading. It helps young readers learn animals and colors, while also possibly learning colors in a new language.

[Mackenzie Keffer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is reading appropriate for primary aged children. This book is perfect for teaching colors and animals. This book is about learning colors from animals in Cree which is a Native American language.

[Abigail Monte · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very interesting because its a bilingual read that is about colors and is in English and Cree. This book is engaging because they students are learning new words and learning onto what they already know about basic colors. Unique illustration and easy to read font.

[Michael Jorge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting read. It’s always fun to learn some basic words in a different language. The abstract simplistic form of the art really makes the colors and animals stand out in their own ways, and the format of each spread of pages is smart to let you learn the word, and bask in the art.

[Cheriee Weichel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a fan of anything by Julie Flett. There is something about her use of colour that seems to calm my rambunctious granddaughter down when we read them. (well for a few pages anyway)