In this original folktale inspired by the North American Plains people, Crow and Weasel come of age together as they make a voyage into unknown territory, made vivid in Pohrt's well-researched paintings. All ages. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Two youngsters set out on a journey, encounter wonders, risk death, find wisdom, and return to tell their tale. The plot line is as old as the Babylonian epic Gilgamesh , but Lopez ( Arctic Dreams , LJ 3/1/86) gives it a style and setting that make it new. Meditative Crow and spirited Weasel belong to the Native American Plains people, but their aspirations and the lessons they learn are timeless and transcultural: to be truthful, to acknowledge the Ones Above, to value friendship, to express gratitude, to seek knowledge. The epiphanies of the quest pertain to the passage from youth to maturity, but also speak to the adult of what is truly important in life. Beautifully rendered watercolors focus on the characters and their (authentic) accouterments rather than on landscape.The picture book format may limit the book, misleadingly, to the children's section. In fact, thoughtful adolescents are the youngest readers to whom this fable will make its serious appeal.-- Patricia Lothrop, Univ. of Washington Lib. Sch., Seattle (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.