NATIVE AMERICAN ANIMAL STORIES told by...

NATIVE AMERICAN ANIMAL STORIES told by Joseph Bruchac, illustrated by John Kahionhes Fadden (Fulcrum Publishing: $11.95; 135 pp). Bruchac adapted these tales of coyotes, bears, salmon etc. from “Keepers of the Animals,” the collection he compiled with Michael Caduto. The Inuit-Inupiaq fable, “The Gift of the Whale,” exemplifies the recurring theme of a benevolent creator who watches over not only humans but also animals, plants and even stones. When the Great Spirit sees that the people of the Arctic need the meat, fat and hide of the bowhead whale to survive, he allows them to hunt the whales they need, but only during the season of heavy mists: “Though I give you permission to kill my most perfect creation, I do not wish to watch it.” The unfamiliar but moving tales in this collection offer wonderful read-aloud material for parents who want to teach their children to revere the Earth.