Middle School (9 - 14) Books

KOKOPELLI'S FLUTE by Will Hobbs. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, N.Y., NY 10020, (800) 223-2336, FAX: (212) 698-7007. 156 pp., $15.00 cloth. 0-689-31974-6 Age 10 - YA

This fantasy, set amid the Anasazi cliff dwellings in northern New Mexico, finds Tepary Jones on a night hike to Picture House to watch a lunar eclipse. Once there, he discovers a group of pot hunters pillaging the ruin. After they hastily depart, the teen finds that they have left behind a flute carved from an eagle bone. Once he blows a few notes, he is overcome by strange powers from an ancient time that change him into a rat as soon as the sun slides over the horizon. Told from a strong environmental perspective, Hobbs' mesmerizing story brims with contemporary issues (such as the Hantavirus outbreak and the planting of ancient strains of seeds) and respect for native peoples. Grade: B+. Reviewed by Steve Brock

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