A Gift Bag of Children's Books

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In the sea islands off South Carolina and Georgia, an old woman teaches her granddaughter the intricate art of sewing sweet-grass baskets. It's a skill that goes back to the West Africa of four centuries ago, what is now Sierra Leone and Senegal. This eloquently written, resplendently illustrated book tells how the practitioners of that art endured enslavement and deportation to America, the Civil War, the coming of the 20th century and the social dislocations of World War II — all the while struggling to preserve their native traditions. Today sweet-grass baskets are sewn mostly for the tourist trade, but that hardly matters to the grandmother- narrator. The unbroken circle of the title is not only the structure of the baskets but also the continuity of a proud people and their culture — in the words of the grandmother, "the knot that ties us all together."

Farrar, Straus & Giroux; $16

Bunny Mail
By Rosemary Wells

Old fans and new will welcome this latest installment in a popular series about two rabbits, feckless Max and his sensible sister Ruby. As usual, key plot developments are illustrated with flaps — and who can resist lifting a flap to see what's underneath, especially in Wells' bright, cartoony drawings? Max covets a Sand-Spitter motorcycle with Bigfoot tires like Wilma Warthog's, so even though it's July, he writes to Santa Claus requesting one. "Nobody writes to Santa in the summer," Ruby reminds him. His letter is diverted to Grandma, who, since it consists solely of tire tracks, misunderstands and replies with a picture of a bulldozer. Kids will enjoy being way ahead of both Max and Grandma on this. Max tries twice more, adding splotches of red to his tire tracks, but Grandma still doesn't get it until she sees Wilma putt-putting up the street. On the Fourth of July, right in the middle of Ruby's picnic, Max gets his motorcycle by special delivery. Santa finally understood — or somebody did.

Viking; $15.99