The editors respond. (letters to the editor).

We founded BIBR to cover books by and about people of African descent. Both the Powell and Morrisons' books are by black authors, and we want to cover work by our authors no matter where their creativity leads them. We welcome your feedback on whether this philosophy serves our readers well in the children's book category.

Readers may also recall that telling stories featuring animal characters is an ancient African tradition, as reflected in such works as Anansi the Spider, Aesop's fables and the original Br'er Rabbit folktales.

Suzanne Rust, editor of CHILDREN'S BOOKSHELF, adds: I, too, believe our focus is to highlight work by African Americans in whatever form their creativity sees fit. Animals are, in fact, a popular way of presenting issues to young children. Since we do showcase so many stories with positive African American characters (Pictures for Miss Josie, Me and Uncle Romie and the recent Frederick Douglass book, our young adult fiction, etc), I feel that it is fine to balance it all with the fantasy world of animals, especially the Morrisons' version.