Joseph Bruchac, a prolific (and very talented) children's author of Abenaki descent, here collects thirty-one Native American folktales, poems and songs related to the four elements. As he notes in his introduction: "Just as we have four grandparents, and our lives come from their lives, so we might describe fire, earth, water and air as our Four Ancestors." Divided into four sections, one for each of the elements, these stories encompass the diverse native nations of North America, and range from traditional tales to original stories.

The first thematic section is devoted to "Fire," and opens with the Wampanoag story Greeting the Sun, which addresses the importance of the dawn, and gratitude for the life-giving power of the sun's light. Thanks to Grandmother Moon, a Mohawk song devoted to the night's celestial body, is part of the larger prayer of thanksgiving that traditional Mohawk are meant to say every day. The Pawnee folktale, The Moon Basket, relates how First Boy and First Girl learned many important skills from Moon Woman and her daughter, the stars. Other selections include the Passamaquoddy song, The Singing Stars; the Seneca folktale The Three Hunters and the Great Bear, which explains the origins of Ursa Major; a Chippewa song about fireflies; and a Colville tale How Coyote Stole Fire, which explains how Coyote helped the people gain fire from the Fire Keepers.

The second section, devoted to "Earth," begins with the Navajo Song of the Earth, a small part of the healing rituals of that nation. It continues with the Osage story How the Earth Began, in which an elk plays an important role in creating the land on which people will live. The Cheyenne tale, Wihio and Grandfather Rock, involves a trickster who isn't as clever as he thinks he is; and the song Inyan, the Rock, contains one part of the Lakota creation story. Other selections include the traditional Abenaki song, The Shining Mountain; the Nisqually tale of Tacobud, the Mountain that Ate People, which explains the existence of volcanos; Clay Old Woman and Clay Old Man, a Cochiti Pueblo story about how the people learned to make pots; and the Catawba tale about the importance of Talking to the Clay.

The third section is devoted to "Water," opening with the Zuni tale of The Cloud-Swallower Giant, in which two brave warriors set out to defeat a terrible giant who is depriving everyone else of the water that comes from the skies. The Papago Rain Song celebrates the life-giving rains which cause the corn to grow; while the Penobscot tale, Gluskabe and the Snow Bird explains why winter only lasts for a season, and why skunk looks and smells the way he does. The Cherokee Song for Going to the Water is part of a healing ritual; whereas the Maliseet tale, Aglabem's Dam, explains the existence of the bullfrog. The Tshimshian story, Raven and the Tides relates how the trickster Raven convinced Tide Woman to let the ocean out, thereby providing food for the land-dwellers; and the Yurok myth, How the Prairie Became Ocean, explains how Thunder and Earthquake formed the ocean, and created a good place to live.

The fourth and final section is devoted to "Air," and begins with the Micmac legend of The Bird Whose Wings Made the Wind, in which a shore-dwelling father must trick the bird, and convince him not to create wind all the time. The Pima Wind Song celebrates the power of the wind; while the Navajo tale, The Whirlwind Within, relates how Wind brought language to the people, and explains the existence of fingerprints. The Kiowa story, How Saynday Tried to Marry the Whirlwind demonstrates why whirlwinds should be respected; and the Shohomish tale, How People Pushed Up the Sky, speaks to the power of communal effort. Also included are the Tshimshian Song of the Sky; the Navajo Bluebird Song from the Night Chant; the Inuit How Songs Are Made; and the Abenaki story, The Gift of Stories, The Gift of Breath.

I enjoyed this collection, illustrated by four different Native American artists, immensely. The stories and poems were engaging, and had a strong ecological theme of connectedness - to the world around us, and to one another - that should appeal to both children and adults. For the reader just approaching Native American folklore, collections such as this - in which source notes are given, and the tradition is respected - are an excellent place to begin. ( )