Same Sun Was in the Sky

Sagging under the weight of too much exposition, this anthropology lesson in disguise sputters to a stop about halfway through. The concept is intriguing: that despite the vast differences between the lives of modern and ancient people, ``the same sun was in the sky,'' and a profound connection exists between each generation of the earth's inhabitants. But in first-time author Webb's zeal to share facts, she neglects her plot and characters, relegating the latter to the status of talking heads. In the modern Arizona desert, a boy explores petroglyphs with his grandfather, who lectures him about the Hohokam rock-carvers (300-1500 A.D.). The boy imagines a Hohokam boy like himself, and in the best spread, Porter, also a newcomer, depicts both boys doodling the same pattern in the sand. Indeed, Porter's realistic, sunset-hued watercolors offer a welcome respite to readers wading through this formidable presentation. Ages 5-up. (Mar.)