A NATURAL HISTORY OF WESTERN TREES and A NATURAL HISTORY OF TREES OF EASTERN AND CENTRAL NORTH AMERICA <i> by Donald Culross Peattie, illustrated by Paul Landacre (Houghton Mifflin: $18.95 each).</i>

Forty years after their initial publication, these volumes remain classics of nature literature. In addition to the botanical information, Peattie provides vivid accounts of how different human cultures have used the products of various species of tree: The soft, light wood of the 200-foot Canoe Cedars enabled artists of the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian tribes of the Pacific Northwest to produce extraordinary carved implements, building ornaments and totem poles; pound for pound, Sitka Spruce is stronger than steel and provides an ideal material for racing shells; the Osage Orange provided several Amerindian tribes with the raw material for powerful bows, and the pungent fruit repels cockroaches. Peattie brings this material to life in a series of anecdotes and tales that are fascinating to read--or read aloud to children.