Archaeologists Dig for Clues (Kate Duke) Price: $5.99 Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers () ISBN: 0-06-445175-5 Join in on the archaeological dig and make some exciting discoveries about how scientists learn about the past. Even the smallest bits of stone can be clues to how ancient peoples lived, so archaeologists dig very, very carefully! Read and find out how some chipped rocks, burned seeds, and stained dirt can suggest what life was like thousands of years ago. Ages 5 to 9

Corn is Maze (Aliki) Price: $5.99 Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers () ISBN: 0-06-445026-2 Popcorn, corn on the cob, cornbread, tacos, tamales, and tortillas. All of these and many other good things come from this amazing plant. Aliki tells the story of corn: How Native American farmers thousands of years ago found and nourished a wild grass plant and made it an important part of their lives. They learned the best ways to grow and store and use its fat yellow kernels. And then they shared this knowledge with the new settlers of America. Ages 5 to 9

Coyote: A Trickster Tale from the American Southwest (Gerald McDermott) Price: $7.00 Publisher: Harcourt () ISBN: 0152019588 Wherever Coyote goes you can be sure he'll find trouble. Now he wants to sing, dance, and fly like the crows, so he begs them to teach him how. The crows agree but soon tire of Coyote's bragging and boasting. They decide to teach the great trickster a lesson. This time, Coyote has found real trouble! Ages 5 to 8

Goat in the Rug (Charles L. Blood & Martin Link) Price: $6.99 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's () ISBN: 0689714181 Geraldine, a goat, provides wool for her Navajo Weaver friend to make a rug and describes each step from the hair clipping and carding to the dyeing and actual weaving. Ages 5 to 8

How Jackrabbit Got His Very Long Ears (Heather Irbinskas) Price: $15.95 Publisher: Rising Moon () ISBN: 0-87358-566-6 Hardbound Why does Tortoise move so slowly? Why does Bobcat have such a small tail? And why does Roadrunner fly so close to the ground and not high in the sky like Eagle? Because the Great Spirit made them special so that they could survive in the desert. But Jackrabbit, who has been chosen by the Great Spirit to lead these new creatures to earth and introduce them to their desert homes, doesn’t listen carefully to what the Great Spirit tells him about each one. He makes up stories in answer to their questions—stories that cause his friends to feel bad about themselves. This sensitive, original tale, teaches children to listen carefully, to treat others kindly, and to see that they, like Bobcat, Tortoise, Roadrunner—and even Jackrabbit—are all special in their own ways. Ages 4 to 8

I is for Indians of the Southwest: The Story Behind The Scenery (Judy Rosen and Biff Baird) Price: $9.99 Publisher: KC Publications () ISBN: 0-88714-211-7 For thousands of years, people have made a living in the dry rugged lands of the Southwest. Long before there were supermarkets or electricity, they hunted, farmed, and gathered wild plants, ever-mindful of the earth that sustained them. Their way of life and knowledge of the earth have been passed down from generation to generation, Will these traditions survive the 21st century? When the keepers of the sacred knowledge pass on, will their wisdom die with them? Today’s Southwest Indians walk with one foot in the old world and one in the new. We would do well to learn about heir ancient way of looking at the world, of trying to live in harmony with nature rather than trying to control it. For all our computers and rocket ships, we may need that knowledge now more than ever. Ages 9 to 13

The Magic of Spider Women (Lois Duncan) Price: $5.99 Publisher: Scholastic Inc. () ISBN: 0-590-46156-7 This story is about the legendary Navajo Spider Women, a sacred being who taught the Navajo how to weave blankets so they could survive the cold during their first winter months in North America. Long before people wrote them down, legends passed orally from one generation to the next, so many different versions of Spider Women’s story exist today. Lois Duncan has drawn from several well-documented versions to create The Magic of Spider Women. Though some of the circumstances may vary from one with which you are familiar, Ms. Duncan has maintained the integrity of the legend as it was conceived to reinforce a most important concept of Navajo culture – the need for a well-balanced life. Ages 4 to 8

Southwestern Indian Tribes (Tom and Mark Bahti) Price: $9.99 Publisher: KC Publications () ISBN: 0-88714-097-1 When discussing the future of Southwestern Indian tribes, there are two popular views among non-Indians. One flatly predicts their eventual absorption into mainstream American life. The other is a sort of golden cultural sunset, where tribes remain quaint and colorful in their crafts and costumes but otherwise adopt “our” way of life. Change is inevitable, but who will change and for what purpose? One thing is certain—the story of the American Indian is not yet finished. How it will end or if it will end remains to be seen. There is still time to begin thinking of the remaining Indian communities as something other than perplexing social problems. Ages 9 to 13

Ten Little Rabbits - Board Book (Virginia Grossman and Sylvia Long) Price: $6.95 Publisher: Chronicle Books () ISBN: 0-8118-2132-3 Weaving, fishing, and storytelling are all part of this spirited book that celebrates Native American traditions as it teaches young children to count from one to ten. Each number introduces a facet of Native American culture, while the simple rhyming text is enhanced by a brief afterward on Native American customs. Ideal for storytime or bedtime, this is a book sure to leave children counting rabbits rather than sheep. Infant/preschool

Ten Little Rabbits (Virginia Grossman and Sylvia LongVirginia Grossman and Sylvia Long) Price: $6.95 Publisher: Chronicle Books () ISBN: 0-8188-1057-7 Weaving, fishing, and storytelling are all part of this spirited book that celebrates Native American traditions as it teaches young children to count from one to ten. Each number introduces a facet of Native American culture, while the simple rhyming text is enhanced by a brief afterward on Native American customs. Ideal for storytime or bedtime, this is a book sure to leave children counting rabbits rather than sheep. Ages 4 to 8

The Unbreakable Code (Sara Hoagland Hunter) Price: $15.99 Publisher: Rising Moon () ISBN: 0-87358-638-7 Hardbound John is scared. His mom married the man from Minnesota, and now he has to leave the Navajo Reservation. John has never lived off the Reservation. What will it be like? How will he measure up to the people who live outside of the Four Sacred Mountains? But John’s grandfather tells him he will be all right, for he has something very special to take with him: he has the unbreakable code—the code that saved the lives of thousands of Americans in the Pacific during World War II, invented using the then unwritten Navajo language. The Unbreakable Code portrays the quiet pride of the Navajo cod talker as he explains to his grandson how the Navajo language, faith, and ingenuity helped win World War II. Ages 6 to 9