Wildwoods Wisdom: Encounters with the Natural World

Naturalist and wildlife artist Elliot ( Roots: An Underground Botany and Forager's Guide ) draws on native American legends, backwoods folk wisdom, and his own experiences with coons, snakes, possums, groundhogs, skunks, old apple trees, ginseng and other animals and plants to present a compendium of lore, anecdotes and practical advice about the natural world. He also describes colorful people he has encountered during a life of self-sufficiency in the woods, among them an Appalachian mountaineer neighbor, an old-time root doctor, and members of a religious sect who handle poisonous serpents as part of their worship service. Elliot's message is a familiar one: we should all develop sensitivity to nature; the least successful parts of the book are the passages in which he preaches this theme. Elliot is a fine storyteller, and his entertaining nature tales are accompanied by illustrations that have a charming simplicity. (Sept.)