In PW 's words, `Goble's incomparable paintings, full of vitality and color, illustrate a true story, the Cheyennes' sole victory over encroaching whites whose railroadstear open our Mother, the earth.' His final picture mutely and eloquently records the difference between attitudes of the conquerors and the Native Americans who respected the land.'' Ages 5-8. (Mar.)

Gr 1-3 Goble has taken several accounts of the 1867 Cheyenne attack of a Union Pacific freight train (listed on the verso of the title page) and combined them into a story from the Indians' viewpoint. As the Cheyenne Prophet Sweet Medicine had foretold, strange hairy people were invading the land, killing women and children and driving off the horses. Descriptions of the iron horse inspired curiosity and fear in the young braves who decided to go out and protect their village from this new menace. Keeping fairly close to actual Indian accounts, Goble presents the braves' bold attack on the train, glossing over the deaths of the train crew. The highlight of the book is the portrayal of the young braves as they explore the contents of the train. They toss meaningless rectangles of green paper into the air and spread bolts of colorful cloth across the prairie. Deciding they had nothing more to fear, the braves return home, little realizing what the future holds. The art, done in India ink and watercolors, is delicately colored with lots of open white space. A beautifully illustrated story. Karen Zimmerman, I.D. Weeks Library, University of South Dakota, Vermillion