(3) YA Illustrated by Michael Foreman. Two collections of Garfield's prose retellings published in England in 1984 and 1995 are here combined. The twenty-one tales incorporate occasional lines from the dramas; lavishly described settings and physical appearances bring the stories to life. Foreman's delightful watercolor illustrations aren't included, but his moody ink drawings are. Garfield's work remains the strongest of the many retellings available for middle school readers.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Michael Foreman. Orphan Johnny Trott, a bellboy at London's Savoy Hotel, is lonely--until a cat named Kaspar and a girl named Lizziebeth enter his life. Johnny finds himself on an adventure, stowing away aboard the Titanic then helping Lizziebeth's family escape the disaster. Morpurgo's highly accessible text provides a good amount of suspense. Foreman's black-and-white illustrations are by turns dramatic and reassuring.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Michael Foreman. This reissue of the first book Foreman illustrated (published in 1961 when he was in art school) tells of a general who sees the error of his ways. After spending a day in the countryside admiring the flowers, he sends his soldiers home to cultivate their own communities. Foreman's striking watercolor and gouache illustrations, although dated, are the strength of this morality tale.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(4) PS Illustrated by Michael Foreman. Who will befriend a lonely dog? Who will recognize the sad child on the sidelines? The book's art is stronger than the trite rhyming text: "Left out, no fun. / I wouldn't do this to anyone." Spare charcoal, colored-pencil, and pastel drawings poignantly illustrate the ache of loneliness, the desire for community, and the joy of acceptance.

Reviewer: Cindy Lombardo

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Michael Foreman. For young reporter Lesley, reclusive violinist Paolo Levi addresses the question he's long avoided: why he never performs Mozart. Levi delicately but inexorably reveals how he began studying violin, his early life, and most importantly, his parents' experience in a concentration camp. Soft watercolor illustrations suit the book's understated and moving revelations. An author's note explains Morpurgo's inspiration.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Michael Foreman. A girl and her grandfather build a nest box for barn owls. They wait patiently and finally, in a climax that is both visual and textual, spot their new avian neighbors. Cool pastel watercolors emphasize the stillness of a night sky. The fictional tale is accompanied by a parallel informational account, set apart in hand-lettered font, that smoothly complements the story. Ind.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2007

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Michael Foreman. This thoughtful retelling preserves many of the qualities of the original text--rich language heavy with alliteration, strong emotions and violent battles, thoughtful reflections and nostalgic yearning. Foreman's soft and often pretty pictures of flowing-haired warriors and almost comic monsters in shadowed halls and murky landscapes seem aimed at a younger audience than does the text.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Michael Foreman. A palette of blues and greens predominate in the watercolor illustrations for this version of the classic fantasy. Foreman models his depiction of a dark-haired Alice on Carroll's photographs of the real Alice Liddell, a girl, with, he notes in an afterword, a "...mischievous little face." This interpretation will be a welcome addition to the pantheon of fine Alice editions.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Michael Foreman. The gallant Gawain quests to find the Green Knight and keep his promise to fulfill the Green Knight's challenge. This famous Arthurian legend is retold in formal storytelling language and illustrated with vibrant watercolor and pastel paintings.

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(3) PS The many familiar rhymes and songs collected here lend themselves especially to hand or body movements, some self-explanatory ("Head and shoulders, knees and toes"), some with endnotes describing the accompanying moves. Blue skies and green grass dominate the palette of the cozy illustrations, where hokey-pokeying skeletons are at home among cuddly teddies and a star-spangled hippo. No music is included. Ind.

Reviewer: Lauren Adams

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Michael Foreman. Foreman's illustrations for this edition range from mystical, dreamlike scenes, such as the animals' visit to the god Pan, to comical renditions of the adventures of Toad. An oversize oblong with full-color watercolors throughout, the book has a pleasing heft and feel. With its glossy coated paper, full cloth binding, and detailed endpaper maps, this is an edition to cherish.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: December, 1999

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Michael Foreman. Despite modern-day scenes that bookend the story and the text's occasional lapse into the point of view of Joan's pet sparrow, this novel effectively brings the fervent heroine to life. Following voices that she believes convey messages from God, fifteen-year-old Joan takes control of the French army and leads them to victory. Liberally illustrated with large watercolors, the book incorporates Joan's actual words as recorded at her trial.

Reviewer: Anne St. John