LIGHTNING INSIDE YOU
and Other Native American Riddles
edited by John Bierhorst & illustrated by Louise Brierley
Incredible as it is, Native American riddles have never before been gathered together in a book; there's even been some scholarly doubt that native riddling traditions exist on this side of the Atlantic. Bierhorst puts such questions to rest with a harvest from dozens of North, South, and Central American peoples, sandwiched between an analytical introduction and a list of published sources (mostly journal articles). Like other translated riddles, many here seem alien or fragmentary (``You grab it, I grab it'': ``air''—Maya), though in several the humor is close to home (``Why does a dog have a curl in its tail?'' ``So fleas can loop the loop''—Cherokee). Answers at the bottom of each page allow for guessing; Brierley's small, stylized b&w illustrations add occasional clues. Unique. (Folklore. 8+)