The potential for children's literature inherent in the Indian legends is most fully realized by Christie Harris on Once Upon a Totem…. Other collections may have more charm, or a more fluid style, but the legends chosen by Harris and her interpretation of them are outstanding in that they seek quietly to illuminate universal values. The stories are very much a part of early Indian life and very much a part of today.

The book contains five legends relating to the Indians of the North Pacific Coast, a people unusually rich in myth and legend. (pp. 24-5)

Harris does not interpret the intricate character of the trickster-hero Raven but is concerned to present a group of separate stories, each of which has its own shape and development. Her task is therefore somewhat easier than that of those writers who have endeavoured to put some order into the cyclic...