THE CIRCLE OF THANKS

Bruchac (Children of the Longhouse, p. 685, etc.) gathers 14 traditional Native American poems of appreciation and respect for nature's gifts. It is a wide sampling, drawn from Cherokee (thanks for medicine plants), Kwakiutl (a prayer for cedar roots), Pawnee (a nod to the stars that guide), and Navajo (an exultation of thunder) traditions. From the Mohawk comes the warm "Thanks to Mother Earth," who is "there to catch us/if we should fall"; from the Papago, the wonderful "Song for the Corn," which asks, "Am I corn of two colors,/am I crazy corn,/singing in the wind?" This excellent collection inspires celebration and thanksgiving for all meaningful things in life. Jacob's stylized illustrations are an eyeful, smartly situating each of the native people in their respective landscapes. (Picture book/poetry. 4-8)