Berry Woman's Children

This is a first for children by De Armond, whose Juneau, a Book of Woodcuts and other outstanding books are featured on adult lists. Superb woodcuts illustrate the Eskimo legends that Grandmother tells to her rapt audience, four children clinging to her ""on the bedplace.'' In the beginning, Grandmother says, Raven made the animals and birds and entrusted them to the care of Berry Woman: some say she is very beautiful; some say she's the moon. The stories hark back to days when people respected the creatures that provided food and clothing; the hunters killed only when necessary and honored the slain in ceremonies involving the entire tribe. De Armond captures the rich cadences of Native-American speech and readers will feel Grandmother is talking to them as well as to the little ones at her knee. Crab, Porcupine, Eagle, Puffin and many other Alaskan animals share magical moments in a rare book which the author-illustrator dedicates to ``the animals and birds who share the earth with us.'' A glossary and pronunciation guide explains the text's intriguing foreign words. (All ages)