A collector of tales from around the world, Riordan (The Snowmaiden, 1992, etc.) now turns to stories from North America’s first people. The 20 stories of this beautiful book, each with a descriptive opening note and only a few pages long, are written in stately language eminently suited to reading aloud. They come from many Native American traditions, and include Pueblo, Apache, Blackfoot, Mohawk, and Salish tales. They deal with the origins of things as they are, with love, war, loss, and peace. It is richly illustrated, with full-page paintings as well as spot illustrations and accents from Foreman. Riordan includes a note on how the months and seasons are described by various tribes, a brief glossary and bibliography (most of the sources are older and scholarly); and a note on how he gathered versions of these stories by listening, carefully, over two decades. The tone is consistent, formal, and elegant. With a foreword by Shirley Little Dove Custalow McGowan of the Mattaponi. (glossary) (Folklore. 8-12)
