The Sign of the Beaver

Book Summary: The Sign of the Beaver
 Twelve-year-old Matt and his father went to Maine ahead of the rest of their
family to build a cabin on their recently purchased land in 1768. Matt’s father leaves
him there while he returns to their old home to collect the rest of the family. Matt runs
into trouble quickly when a man tricks him and steals his rifle, which was Matt’s only
way to feed himself. He gets so hungry he decides to steal some honey from a
beehive. He ends up getting stung so many times that he nearly dies. He is saved
when a Native Indian man and boy rescue him and heal him.
 To thank them, he offers one of his only possessions... a book. They end up
making an agreement that Matt will teach the boy, Attean, how to read. They both end
up learning from each other. Attean learns a little of how to read. Matt learns how to
hunt and survive off the land.
[SPOILER] Many weeks have passed... far more than the seven weeks Matt’s father
said he would be gone. Attean’s grandfather offers to take Matt with them when they
go on their hunt. He doesn’t want to leave the boy alone in the woods, when it is
possible that Matt’s father will never return. Matt says no, that he must wait for his
family. He knows he will never see Attean or his grandfather again because they are
moving their tribe to escape the increasing number of white settlers taking their land.
After many weeks, Matt’s father and family finally arrive and are amazed at how well
he has managed to survive.
Author Biography: Elizabeth George Speare
 Elizabeth George Speare was born November 21, 1908 in Melrose,
Massachusetts. Speare discovered writing at eight years-old. She earned her Bachelor
of Arts from Smith College in 1930 and a Master’s degree in English from Boston
University. She taught high school English from 1932 to 1936. In 1936, she met her
future husband, Alden Speare. They moved to Connecticut where they married and
raised two children. Speare intended to write, but found the duties of motherhood
drained away any free time. She only began to seriously write when her children were
in junior high.
 Speare published her first novel, Calico Captive, in 1957. The next year she
completed the Witch of Blackbird Pond, which won the Newbery Medal. She also
won a Newbery Medal in 1961 for The Bronze Bow. In 1984, The Sign of the Beaver
was published. It received a Newbery Honor, the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical
Fiction, and the Christopher Award. In 1989, Speare received the Laura Ingalls Wilder
Award for her contribution to children's literature.
 Elizabeth George Speare died of an aortic aneurysm on November 15, 1994 in
Northwest General Hospital in Tucson, Arizona. She was 84 years old.

Discussion Questions
1. At twelve-years-old, Matt’s father leaves him alone for seven weeks. Do you think kids in the
1700s were more mature than kids today or is it just a matter of doing what you have to do to
survive? Why do you think so?
2. Matt tries to do the right thing in cooking for Ben and making him welcome. He ignores his
own misgivings (p. 17) and treats him like a guest. Did Matt do the right thing? If you were
miles from anyone else and someone needed a place to stay for the night, would you let them? Or
would it be better to send them away to fend for themselves? Why?
3. The more time Matt spends with Attean, the more he realizes that the foolish way the native
man in the story of Robinson Crusoe is portrayed is not something that is logical (p. 43, 57).
Why does it take living a similar experience for him to realize that?
4. Matt seems to accept the idea that animals can understand people talking when Attean speaks
to the fish he throws back (p. 50) and when he apologizes to the bear’s spirit for killing it (p. 73).
Do you think that animals can understand? Why or why not?
5. Attean says they must leave the trapped fox because it is another tribe’s hunting ground. Does
it seem right that because someone owns something they can do whatever they want and you
shouldn’t stop them? Or should you do what you think is the right thing, no matter the situation?
(p.64)
6. When Matt realizes that the land his father bought was the Indians’ and that they were tricked
because they couldn’t read what they were signing, how do you think he feels? Consider that he
knows his father paid money for the land, but because of it, his friend is leaving his homeland
forever. Is there anything he could do about it?
7. Do the Indians have a right to dislike the white settlers? They were cheated out of their land
and many killed. Attean’s grandmother hates white people (p. 87). How can these bad feelings
be overcome? If there is a solution, why do we still have racism today?
8. Could Matt have survived the winter without Attean’s training and the Indian’s gifts? Why or
why not?
9. Does Matt do the right thing in staying behind instead of going on the hunt with the Indians?
Why? What would you have done in that situation?
10. In 2001, at Pinellas County (FL) elementary school someone tried to ban this book because it
used the word squaw to refer to Native American women. Should a book use terms that would
have used during the time the story takes place or should they use terms that are okay today? Do
you think books that use offensive terms like these should still be read? Why or why not?





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