cover image In the Night Still Dark

In the Night Still Dark

Andrew Lewis, Richard Lewis. Atheneum Books, $13.95 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-689-31310-3

This poem is an abridgment of The Kumulipo, the Hawaiian creation chant. It begins with the ""darkness of the night, nothing but night,'' and follows the creation of the world to man and the dawn of the first day. Lewis's adaptation of this tale has retained a richness of language and the rhythym of a chant, but it is also entirely accessible to young children. And Young's illustrations are superb; his use of electricbut somehow mutedpinks, oranges, greens, blues and reds provides an evocative, mythical background for the stark white lettering of the text. Together author and artist have created an outstanding version of a centuries-old story. All ages. (March)