HER SEVEN BROTHERS

Another beautifully realized legend of the Plains Indians from the author-illustrator of The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses (Caldecott Medal, 1979). In the cadenced prose of an old storyteller ruminating by a campfire, Goble tells of a wise maiden, in tune with the natural world, making shirts and moccasins for the seven brothers she mysteriously knows live in the north. The garments complete, she delivers them and lives happily with the six strong men and one small boy who agree that she is their sister, till the buffalo king demands her. When his demand is refused, he sends a stampede—but the brothers and their sister escape by shooting arrows skyward and creating a pine tree that carries them safely to heaven, where they become the Big Dipper. Goble has outdone himself with bright, decorative illustrations (pen, India ink, watercolor) combining Native American designs and motifs with the sweeping panorama and burgeoning wildlife of the Cheyennes' homeland. A lovely, appealing book that commendably includes notes on the sources for both the story and the art, and should find use in story time, independent reading, and curriculum enrichment.