HOW THE INDIANS BOUGHT THE FARM

A tongue-in-cheek, witty text with pictures that illustrate more than amplify how one ``great Indian chief and his great Indian wife'' triumph over a tricky government relocation policy. The government man tells a skins-clad native couple to leave their lands and move into a wooden house that stands near the wooden barn; the only catch is that they must raise sheep, pigs, and cows, and they haven't the funds to buy these animals. Still, they're gamely cooperative, and soon the wife (now in a white apron) waves her husband (now in bib overalls) off on a canoe trip down the great river to find livestock. He acquires a moose, a beaver, and a bear, in a hilarious, three-animals-in-a-canoe sequence. A week later, the animals have collected enough friends to join them on the farm so that when the government man comes to check compliance (bringing a thick stack of papers and several other officials), he is soon dispersed, leaving a paper trail behind him. ``Bought the farm'' is, of course, a gallows-humor euphemism for death, but the death of a former way of life turns out happily indeed, in a perfect read-aloud book. (Picture book. 5+)