THE HOPIS

A welcome addition to the First Americans Books series by seasoned collaborators (The Sioux, 1993, etc.). Beginning with a creation myth, Sneve describes the everyday life of the Hopi Indians of Arizona, from the mid-13th century, when the peaceful farmers began moving to the mesas to avoid warring neighbors, through the coming of the Spaniards in 1540, the onset of white settlements, the era of the reservations in the 1840s, and up to the present. The discussion falls naturally into two- to three-page sections devoted to the activities of men, women, and children, as well as to crops, crafts, beliefs, and ceremonies; these are interspersed with brief quotes from Hopi elders, literature, poems, and songs. Himler's majestic full-color paintings, fluidly span history and bring immediacy to the text. Maps of the Hopi region and an index round out this lively, accessible work. (Picture book/nonfiction. 8-10)