Houses of Bark: Tipis, Wigwams and Longhouses

Andrew Vaisius is a Winnipeg daycare director.

Houses of Bark arrived about a year after Houses of Snow, Skin and
Bones. It is equally detailed, equally rich in color and line drawings,
equally educative and handsome. Shemie unites an accomplished art and
thorough research in this series of reference books for children. A few
extraordinary revelations: the largest longhouse was well over a
football field long; wigwams (domed shelters) often possessed a movable
smoke vent, positioned to best advantage against the elements; most
tipis were constructed with rolls of stitched-together birchbark and
were thus easily packed up when the people migrated. I can hardly wait
for the next item in the Native Dwellings series, a volume on the homes
of the Plains Indians.