HENRY KELSEY AND THE PEOPLE OF THE PLAINS. Conner, Daniel C.G. Scarborough, Globe/Modern Curriculum Press, 1986. 58pp, paper, $6.25, ISBN 0-13-386996-2. (Native People and Explorers of Canada Series) CIP. JAMES COOK AND THE NUU-CHAH-NULTH. Conner, Daniel C.G. Scarborough, Globe/Modern Curriculum Press, 1986. 56pp, paper, $6.25, ISBN 0-13-508987-5. (Native People and Explorers of Canada Series). CIP JACQUES CARTIER AND THE PEOPLE OF THE EASTERN WOODLANDS. Conner, Daniel C.G. Globe/ Modern Curriculum Press, 1986. 56pp, paper, $6.25, ISBN 0-13-508995-6. (Native People and Explorers of Canada Series). CIP OUR COAST SALISH WAY OF LIFE-THE SQUAMISH. Conner, Daniel C.G. and Doreen Bethune-Johnson. Scarborough, Globe/Modern Curriculum Press, 1986. 78pp, paper, $6.25, ISBN 0-13-643982-9. (Native People and Explorers of Canada Series). CIP OUR ARCTIC WAY OF LIFE-THE COPPER INUIT. Bethune-Johnson, Doreen. Globe/Modern Curriculum Press, 1986. 70pp, paper, $6.25, ISBN 0-13-643867-9. (Native People and Explorers of Canada Series). CIP Grades 9-10 Reviewed by Adele Case Volume 15 Number 4 1987 July The five paper-backed booklets comprising the Native People and Explorers of Canada Series stitches together historic details about very different areas in Canada. Three of the published excerpts (from the text) are written by Daniel C.G. Conner. One tells of the exploratory ventures of Jacques Cartier, and weaves in many of the day-to-day activities of the eastern woodlands people (those who lived in the region on either side of the St. Lawrence River). Another booklet shows us the pattern of life of the people of the plains and follows the career of Henry Kelsey, who travelled the area from his early days as a ship's cabin boy with the Hudson's Bay Company. The last of the Conner books has a West Coast setting. It follows the visit of James Cook to the Nootka sector of Vancouver Island, and clarifies Cook's trading activities with the Nuu-Chah-Nulth Indians'. A fourth book is jointly written by Daniel C.G. Conner and Doreen Bethune-Johnson, and delves into the long history of the Coast Salish people and the present-day way of life of the Squamish. The last book in the set is written by Bethune-Johnson alone, and tells of the life style of the Copper Inuit people of the Arctic. All the booklets are copiously illustrated. Those by Conner make use of a wealth of material from government sources, national museums, scholars' works, and university special collections. Enlivened by really excellent and interesting line drawings, the booklets show the tools and hunting methods of the native peoples, as well as their food storage and preparation methods. Word lists, questions, and glossaries are provided to assist learning, and to stimulate further student research. Rather than baldly reciting facts, the books follow the seasonal habits of the tribal peoples, so students would have a far better understanding of the complexity of the yearly pattern of existence in what was often a hostile environment. Artists' sketches show the gear used for a whale-hunting expedition, a buffalo hunt, or a fishing or bird-catching trip. Conner occasionally quotes from the explorers' own diaries or logs, and these add to the reader's interest in these capsule histories. Much of the prose stresses the concern the native peoples had for conservation and their respect for the environment. The more pragmatic approach of the Europeans is hinted at, and many chapters end with a question that ought to spark student investigation. Bethune-Johnson's booklet on the Inuit and the booklet co-authored with Conner on the Coast Salish are slightly unlike the others, as they focus on particular native families, and do not have an European explorer included as a central focus. Research, however, is just as thorough as in the other booklets in the series, and these two publications contain photographs of present-day Indian tribal elders, parents, and children. Black-and-white drawings of longhouse interiors and exteriors, types of salmon, igloo-building and layout plans, migration routes for hunter-dwellers and even a plan of Coppermine in the Northwest Territories are given. The booklets are a visual treat and the organization, divisions of material, and illustrations make them an outstanding teaching resource. It should be noted that Lois Guss of the Squamish Band contributed to the Coast Salish book, while Edna Elias gave information for the Inuit book. Bethune-Johnson contributed to the works by Conner, so the booklets are the product of painstaking collaboration of these two educators, with additional suggestions from many teachers. The books will help fill some of the many blank spots in Canadian students' knowledge of our native peoples. More books of this quality could enlighten Canadians on the traditions and way of life of other of our native peoples. Adele Case, Britannia S.S., Vancouver, B.C.