HOW CHIPMUNK GOT HIS STRIPES by Joseph Bruchac & James Bruchac

How Chipmunk Got His Stripes, retold by Joseph Bruchac and James Bruchac, is a Native American Pour quoi tale.  Pour quoi is French for "why" or "how come". The main characters in this delightful folktale are Big Bear and Brown Squirrel, who both have human traits, common to pour quoi tales.  Big Bear walks along bragging and bragging that he can do anything.  Brown Squirrel does not believe Big Bear, so he dares Big Bear to command the sun not to come up the next morning.  Of course Big Bear, the braggart that he is, declares that he will be able to keep the sun from rising.  To Big Bear's dismay, he is unable to keep the sun from rising.  Brown Squirrel cannot resist teasing, even though his grandmother taught him to never, ever tease others.  Every bad deed has a consequence, and Brown Squirrel must wear his consequence on his back after Big Bear's claws come in contact with him.  The reader learns a lesson of pride and anger. 

Throughout this charming tale, the authors' have used effective dialogue that will encourage audience partipation during a read aloud.  Big Bear brags "I am Bear, I am the biggest of all the animals. Yes, I am!" (Bruchac & Bruchac). This verse is repeated throughout the story, allowing young children to read along and predict the upcoming words.  There are wonderful opportunities for the story teller to add enjoyable sound effects.  "The sun is going to rise, oooooh! The sun is going to rise, oooooh!" and "The sun will not come up, hummmph! The sun will not come up, hummmph!" (Bruchac & Bruchac).

The book is illustrated by Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey using pen-and-ink and watercolor.  The illustrators create a vivid image of the forest where the animals live.  Big Bear and Brown Squirrel are very well illustrated, showing life-like fur on both characters.  My favorite illustration is that of the forest animals joining Big Bear and Brown Squirrel as they wait through the night to see if the sun will come up.  The expressions on the animals' faces are cartoon like, adding a bit of humor to the story.

Bruchac, Joseph and James Bruchac. How Chipmunk Got His Stipes. Illustrated by Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2001.  ISBN 0803724047

"As a child, I heard this story from my father namy times, but it took on a new life for me after I began my own storytelling career and saw how young audiences reacted to it." -- James Bruchac

Reviews for How Chipmunk Got His Stripes

"Aruego and Dewey's vibrantly hued trademark watercolors add significantly to the humor" -- School Library Journal

"The dialogue is effective and invites audience participation--especially the repeated phrases with sound effects." -- Publisher's Weekly 

Find out more about Joseph Bruchac and James Bruchac.