Gift of the Bear
In November of 1755 large numbers of French-speaking Acadians were being exiled from the northern colony of Nova Scotia to Massachusetts. They were not generally welcomed—some were persecuted, others forced to work as slaves on farms—but some families accepted them warmly into their homes. The Abbott family took in a young woman, her three children, and her young nephew, who had been separated from his parents in the confusion of the exodus.
The boy, Jean Hebert, becomes a close friend of 12-year-old Edward Abbott. The pronunciation of Jean’s name sounds to Edward to be ‘Johnny Bear,’ so that becomes his name to the family. As Edward learns more about his new friend, he discovers that his parents might have survived the turmoil of the disorderly arrival and might even be living only a few miles away. The two boys decide to leave one night to find their way to Johnny Bear’s family.
The author, a descendant of both French Acadians and New England colonists, has long wanted to tell this immigrant story of how Acadian people were forcibly deported from their homeland and in large numbers faced a very uncertain future in Massachusetts. In this work of fiction for middle-grade readers she brings into focus the fears and uncertainties of people from different nations who worship in different ways as they adjust to life in a new country.
The themes of friendship and discovery intertwine as the two boys overcome differences and hardships together and undertake a perilous journey in their attempt to locate Johnny Bear’s family.
