Amish Home

In carefully composed color photographs, Bial ( County Fair ; Corn Belt Harvest ) meanders through the simple ways of a people seemingly clinging to the 19th century--a striking contrast, youngsters will find, to their accustomed 20th-century technology. From black-box buggies to colorful quilts and clothing (though patterns are not allowed, bright hues are acceptable), the Amish devotion to ``plain'' and avoidance of ``convenience'' is illustrated by common artifacts. (No people are glimpsed in these pages: while the Amish object to having their pictures taken, they do not mind if their ``worldly goods'' are photographed.) Although Bial's unadorned photographs may lie beyond young readers' sensitivities, parts of the text should prove absorbing. (``During their teenage years, many Amish boys go through a wild period called rumpaspringa . . . They may soup up their buggies with plastic reflectors, stereos, carpeting, dashboards, and speedometers.'') As the photographs focus on modest material objects, the text ably attends to the unseen objects of Amish life. Bits of Amish history, agriculture, environmental attitudes and education are presented in an all-important context of humility, community and productivity. Ages 8-12. (Mar.)