For younger readers: a close-up view of traditional California Indian life and early California. Thomas Jefferson Mayfield kept a wonderful secret for almost sixty years: the secret of his childhood among the Choinumne Indians of California's San Joaquin Valley. For twelve years he played and slept alongside Choinmune children, he hunted and fished with them, ate their food and wore their clothes. Adopted by Indians is the story of a boy who had an adventure that we can only dream about and it is absolutely true. Adopted by Indians has been approved by the California Department of Education and is listed in the Instructional Materials Approved for Legal Compliance Catalog. Gr. 5^-8. After his mother died in 1850, young Thomas Mayfield lived with the Choinumne Indians in California, spending almost all of his time between 8 and 18 with them while his father ran livestock in the valley. Mayfield tells of a carefree and happy existence growing up at the rancheria , describing the traditional ways of the tribe before the encroachment of the white settlers and people in search of gold. Although the folksy tone of the narrative may be lost on middle readers, the first-person descriptions of fishing and hunting, clothing, food, and everyday life are genial and appealing. The black-and-white drawings scattered through the book are at their best when they show wildlife, housing styles, and details of preparing food. Edited by Margolin, this account was adapted for children from Mayfield's book Indian Summer: Traditional Life among the Choinumne Indians of California's San Joaquin Valley . Glossary appended. Karen Hutt Margolin (Native Ways, 1996, etc.) adapts for children some of the material in Indian Summer (1993, not reviewed), but does not make it accessible to a younger audience. At the age of 82, Mayfield told his story to a school teacher and historian. His father fought in the War of 1812; Mayfield, born 30 years later, lost his mother at a young age and went to live with the Choinumne Indians, who doted upon him. Running parallel to the history of the Gold Rush and the settling of the San Joaquin Valley in California, the story describes how the Indians lived, their customs, the food, hunting, and the character of the people. These are the remembrances of an adult who does not often speak from the perspective of childhood. The details of clothing, food, etc., have not been woven into an interesting narrative, and Mayfield's personality rarely emerges. Amateurish and inadequate, the illustrations are badly drawn, whether showing equipment, people, or animals, and the compositions are clich‚d, with strategically placed items to cover women's breasts. (maps, glossary) (Nonfiction. 10-13) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. Thomas Jefferson Mayfield was born in Texas in 1844 and moved to California at the age of six. In 1862, he moved to Visalia, California to attend school. After retirement, Mayfield returned to the San Joaquin Valley and spent his last years in the small town, Tailholt. He died in 1928. Malcolm Margolin founded Heyday in 1974. Margolin is author of several books, including  The Ohlone Way: Indian Life in the San Francisco–Monterey Bay Area , named by the  San Francisco Chronicle  as one of the hundred most important books of the twentieth century by a western writer. He has received dozens of prestigious awards and founded the Bay Nature Institute and the Alliance for California Traditional Artists. Used Book in Good Condition