cover image BEARS MAKE ROCK SOUP AND OTHER STORIES

BEARS MAKE ROCK SOUP AND OTHER STORIES

Liselotte Erdrich, , illus. by Lisa Fifield. . Children's Book Press, $16.95 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-89239-172-1

First-time author Erdrich creates 14 short, myth-like tales to accompany each of fine artist Fifield's paintings, which dominate this volume dedicated to traditional tribal life. Both underscore the Native American ideal of humans and animals living in peace. The narrative is at its best when it plays off the paintings. Two successive standout tales, for instance, demonstrate the give-and-take between humanity and the natural world. "The Abandoned Yearling" tells of a young moose, rejected by his mother, who is fed and sheltered by a Native woman; Fifield's painting, gently tinted in sand and sable hues, shows Native mothers and children standing quietly among moose mothers and their babies, literally opening their tipi to the yearling moose. The painting resembles a tapestry; all the figures weigh in equally, the humans neither more nor less prominent than the other creatures. In the story that follows, "Grandfather Moose," the yearling, now an elder, returns to give the woman who helped him a gift—a "moose track" pattern for a magnificent robe she and the other women are making for him. Not all of the tales dovetail as fluidly as these, but Fifield's paintings alone will repay many viewings, and readers will come away with a deeper appreciation for the possibilities of cooperation between humankind and nature. Ages 6-up. (Aug.)