Touching Spirit Bear

Mikaelsen, Ben. Touching Spirit Bear. New York: Harper Collins, 2001.

            Written by a white author, while incorporating elements of Native American tradition, Touching Spirit Bear recounts the story of Cole Matthews, a fifteen-year-old boy who is beset with intense rage, frustration, and violent behavior as a result of his alcoholic, abusive father and alcoholic, neglectful mother. After beating a classmate to the point of permanent damage, Cole must finally face the justice system and potentially, jail time. However, his parole officer introduces “Circle Justice,” a system based upon Native American tradition that allows the offender to find some sort of healing without the typical United States court system punishment. Cole is banished to a small Alaskan island where he must survive on his own and independently face his healing. After only a few days on the island, a bear unmercifully attacks Cole, altering his journey forever.

            This book deeply examines feelings of adolescent anger and frustration in a way that allows readers to believe all of the details in the story are true. Highlighting themes of forgiveness, a human’s responsibility for his or her actions, and the justice societal expectations, this book is extremely relatable and teachable in a middle school context. The book is replete with many scenes of action and descriptive passages regarding Cole’s condition on the island. While the book is close to 250 pages, middle school students could definitely read this book. Indeed, I chose to read this book after seeing it in use in a seventh grade classroom in which the students loved it!