Enora and the Black Crane

With its stylized paintings and spare, fable-like text, this title unself-consciously immerses children in Australian Aboriginal culture. ``Long ago when the world was new,'' and all the birds of the rain forest are black, white and gray, an Aboriginal boy named Enora spies a ``splash of color shimmering and moving among the trees.'' Enora follows the flickering colors and watches as they flow into the forest's birds, making their feathers glow brightly. When Enora kills one of the birds he is transformed into a black crane destined to spend his days surrounded by his more colorful avian comrades. The sinuous lines and intricate patterns of Meeks's paintings achieve an almost hieroglyphic treatment of the human form and natural world. The Aboriginal artist, whose knowledge of the bush and its spirits was passed on to him by his grandfather, provides American readers with a rare glimpse of his culture. Ages 5-8. (Sept.)