When the Jaguars Ate the Moon (Hc)

Featuring animals and plants, this well- researched compendium of traditional Native American tales tunes into contemporary concern for biodiversity and multiculturalism. Single-page stories condense a smorgasbord of anecdotes, myths and folktales into appetizing morsels. Arranged alphabetically, species from anteaters to zompopos run away with the show: an eerie lunar eclipse occurs when jaguars take bites out of the moon; land-dwelling Whale is banished to the ocean for ``always swallowing people, animals, trees and even whole towns''; Coyote, shutting the door on a spirit trying to return to life, changes death from a temporary to a permanent state. Although Brusca and Wilson's (coauthors of The Blacksmith and the Devil) storytelling sometimes lacks force and focus, a certain power mounts with the subtle building of themes about the equality of people and animals and the interdependence of humans and nature. Each tale identifies the people and geographical region of its origin; framing each already colorful spread are small, detailed illustrations of indigenous flora and fauna. Ages 5-9. (Mar.)