Clever Beatrice

The subtitle of this picture book identifies this story as “an Upper Peninsula conte”[emphasis mine]. A “conte” is defined as “a short tale of adventure” and sometimes as a “medieval” or “fanciful tale”. Well, Clever Beatrice certainly isn’t medieval, but it is set over a hundred years back in time, when Michigan’s forested northernmost peninsula was still being settled and tamed by people of European extraction, mostly Finns, Swedes, Irish, and French Canadians. To the north of this strip of land is Lake Superior; on its east is the St. Mary’s River, and to the south are Lake Michigan, the Straits of Mackinac, and Lake Huron.

In the author’s note that prefaces her book, Margaret Willey notes that French show more Canadians were attracted to Michigan in the 1800s by a lumber boom, and that they regaled the men of the lumber camps and iron mines with their “contes,” tales of wild exaggeration, comic detail, and rhyming dialect. The author writes that Clever Beatrice is an amalgam of several stories about voyageurs, the boatmen employed by companies involved in Canada’s fur trade. The twist is that it’s got a whip-smart girl as its heroine

Beatrice, who is known for her ability to “think fast on her feet” lives with her mother in impoverished circumstances. When she learns that food is running out, she resolves that she’ll get the money that’s needed to buy food. But there are really only two ways to do so: work with the lumberjacks, cutting down trees, or challenge the rich giant who lives on the other side of the woods. He can’t resist gambling on his own strength, but he’s known to be none too sharp. “When you’re a rich giant,” Beatrice’s mother tells her, “you don’t have to be smart.”

The next day, Beatrice walks deep into the woods, deeper than she’s ever been before, encountering lumberjacks felling a mighty tree just before she reaches the giant’s house. She rouses him from his nap in the late afternoon sun and directly challenges him to a contest. “Who can strike a harder blow?” she’d like to know. She proposes that they strike the giant’s front door, “a door as big as a boat, made of long planks of pine.” The huge man is initially amused, but less so when she points to a nearby tree, which she says she knocked over, knowing he’d need the wood for a new front door.

As it turns out, Beatrice doesn’t need to strike a thing. Her suggestion about what she can do is quite enough for her to win ten gold coins from the giant. He doesn’t want a new front door!

He then proposes a second challenge: Who can carry the most water from the well to the house? The giant fills and carries a dozen buckets, but when Beatrice prepares to lasso the well itself, planning to pull the whole darned thing to the house, the giant is alarmed: Where will he get his water in the future? He’d rather relent and cough up the coins than have his well relocated.

A final challenge involves throwing a heavy iron bar. When it’s Beatrice’s turn to throw, another of her ideas frightens the highly suggestible giant. She shouts to his brothers miles away in Sault Ste. Marie (and in every other direction) to mind their heads; an iron bar is on the way. The giant does not want trouble with his brothers.

And so, in no time at all, Beatrice’s foreknowledge of the big man’s stupidity and her perceptiveness about what makes him tick—fearfulness and a desire to preserve what he’s got—earn her a fortune: thirty gold coins. When she leaves, he’s relieved to still have his well and a house with a door.

Willey’s telling is lively with dialogue and detail. Heather M. Solomon’s attractive art complements and amplifies the tale. She is particularly good at emphasizing the size difference between the two main characters: Beatrice, with her walnut-sized fist, and the giant, with two mighty arms that can hold hold six buckets each.

Possessing the flavour of both French Canada and the northern-Michigan woods, this is a terrific picture book that would make for a great read-aloud. show less

An engaging folktale adaptation from the French Canadian tradition of northern Michigan, Clever Beatrice follows its eponymous heroine as she outwits a local giant, and wins a fortune for herself and her mother.

Tales of clever girls are not uncommon, but Willey's introductory note seems to indicate that the original tale featured a young boy. However that may be, this was an entertaining story, with clever, sharp illustrations from Heather M. Solomon. Beatrice's face is particularly expressive. Thank you, Constance, for recommending this to me!

"Good afternoon, Mister Giant, Sir. I have come to make a bet with you." Can a very little girl beat a very large giant in feats of strength? That's what clever Beatrice bets on when she marches through the north woods to the home of the giant, hoping to win some of his gold to help her mother buy porridge. The giant heartily agrees to a contest, never imagining the wisp of a girl could out-muscle him. But what he hasn't counted on is how clever Beatrice is...and that brains beat brawn every time. This tall tale from Michigan's upper peninsula is told in delicious dialect, and introduces a heroine who's as irrepressible as Eloise.

Beatrice really is clever. And poor, of course (they're always poor, have you noticed?), at least, she is until she heads up to bet her strength against a giant.

Let's see... little girl... big giant - yeah, the giant thinks this is really funny too. Pity he's not as clever as she is. Through intelligence and plain old chutzpah, Beatrice convinces the giant three times that if she competes she's bound to destroy his property, so she wins her bets three times and goes home relatively wealthy. Not bad, not bad at all.

I thought that this was a wonderful story. I loved that the story had a young, girl protagonist who was clever enough to do what she needed to help her mother. I really enjoyed how the girl is continually proving her intellect, but in a fun and humorous way. I believe that the children would get a kick out her watching her trick the giant. Overall, I love how the story teaches students how intellect always prevails and how we can be successful by using our brains. I believe that because of the way in which this story is presented as fun and humorous, the message will resonate with students without them even outwardly recognizing it. For this reason, I believe that the story succeeds in both entertaining students and teaching them an show more important lesson. show less

Clever Beatrice was an easy read. I really enjoyed it. Beatrice was a clever character and I was on pins and needles waiting to see how she would trick the giant. I liked that there was a little bit of background for the character. She wanted to support her family, but she was too young to chop lumber. Her mother said that they only other way to get money would be to trick the giant.

Beatrice is desperate, so she goes to the top of the hill and finds the giant. He likes to bet on his strength, so she allows him the opportunity. She never even has to do any of the tasks because she makes him believe that he will be at a loss if she is successful, so he just gives her the money.

Once she has left him high and dry, she returns home.

I show more loved the illustrations for the book and the book was easy to follow along. I like how creative the author was will the bets and this is the kind of book that I would read to children. However, I think it would be good to point out that lying to get things is not a good thing. show less

A charming Canadian style conte or folktale. Beatrice shows her charm an wit to outsmart a giant and gain money for her family. The collage style illustrations really fit the story and the location of this tale. The moral is, brains wins over brawn everytime.