The Raccoon and the Bee Tree

The fourth South Dakota Historical Society Press Prairie Tale

Gold Medal, Distinctive Illustration, Fantasy, Myths, and Legends, Juvenile Books, Ages 5-8, Mom's Choice Awards, 2010

Gold ADDY, Elements of Advertising, Illustration, South Dakota Advertising Federation, 2010

Silver Medal, Fantasy, Myths, and Legends, Juvenile Books, Ages 5-8, Mom's Choice Awards, 2010

Silver Medal, Children's Picture Books, IPPY Awards, Independent Publisher , 2010

"This is a delightful tale. . . .Susan Turnbull has illustrated this edition with charming artwork."— LibraryThing reviewer

"The illustrations are truly wonderful."— MIPA Book Award judge

In southeastern South Dakota, wild animals begin to stir as day turns to dusk. A curious raccoon emerges from his bed and starts hunting for food. Tempted by sticky honey oozing from a bee’s nest, the little raccoon finds trouble he did not bargain for.

The Raccoon and the Bee Tree combines an old American Indian tale written down by Charles Eastman and Elaine Goodale Eastman with a traditional European fable. Written one hundred years ago, The Raccoon and the Bee Tree has a lesson for children that is still important and relevant in today’s modern society.

This is a "very charming story with outstanding artwork."— LibraryThing.com

"The raccoon is a likable little character and the story has good conflict and resolution."— MIPA Book Award judges

Illustrator Susan Turnbull at a Prairie Pages book signing in Pierre, South Dakota:

Elaine Goodale Eastman was born in 1863 in Massachusetts. She moved to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation to teach when she was twenty-two years old. There she married Charles Eastman and later became his editor and co-writer.

Charles A. Eastman was a Wahpeton Dakota born in Minnesota in 1858. After working as a doctor on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, he started to write about his life and the stories he remembered. Eastman published many books containing traditional American Indian stories.

Susan Turnbull is an award-winning advertiser, marketer, and graphic designer from Rapid City, South Dakota. She has illustrated several books for both children and adults, and is also part of a toy inventors group in New York. Her artwork is in several fine private collections throughout the United States and she's been featured in fine art galleries and exhibits in South Dakota, New York and New Mexico.