Professional Book Publishing by The Peppertree Press in Sarasota Florida

Florida's Native American History Comes Alive for Kids, December 10, 2008

By	Rachel Jagareski

This book provides three linked stories about a young Native American girl, Moon Spirit, who lived thousands of years ago at Spanish Point, on Florida's Gulf Coast. Though this is fiction, the author-illustrator based this book on historical evidence and her experiences leading archeology tours as a docent at the Spanish Point site.

"The Adventures of Moon Spirit" is written for older grade school and middle school readers and is full of evocative pen and ink illustrations to engage this audience. Young readers can't help but root for the plucky Moon Spirit as she helps her family and village members through several crises, including a bad storm and medical emergency. She is a girl of many skills and through her adventures young readers will learn how coastal Native Americans made pottery, shell tools and dugout canoes, used herbal medicines and gathered their food.

The accompanying illustrations, with their cross-hatching and intricate detail, are like shadowy peeks into this ancient world, and are sure to draw young readers into wanting to learn more about the original inhabitants of this part of Florida. They are filled with little portraits of sea turtles, mosses, flowers, puppies, woodpeckers and the shells that are native to the landscape.

This book would make a wonderful present for any budding archeologists or historians on your gift list, especially young Floridians. Readers who have enjoyed such young adult classics as Jean Craighead George's "My Side of the Mountain" and Gary Paulsen's "Hatchet" may also find Moon Spirit's tales about living off the land especially entertaining.