American Indian Families (True Books: American Indians)

Jay Miller is the author of several nonfiction books for children.

Grade 3-5. Although these titles are similar to the "New True" books (Children's Press), their format can be distracting. Captions appear in boxes shaded with two colors. A busy double-page spread that places a variety of print styles, colors, and photos against a dark background appears in each book. Families contains an incomplete caption. In a discussion about harvesting wild rice, Foods shows a photograph of a man bending the bunches of rice down into the canoe, whereas the text explains that a man poled the canoe while "a woman bent the bunches down." However, Miller provides a good deal of fascinating information. All three books are meant to be a general discussion of a particular aspect of Native American culture. Since there are so many tribes in North America, the author can highlight only a few. Each title features clear, full-color photographs; a map showing the location of the tribes mentioned within the text; and a page with suggestions for additional resources, including web sites.?Suzanne Hawley, Laurel Oak Elementary School, Naples, FL
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