(3) K-3 Illustrated by Janice Lee Porter. Five-year-old Yuvi narrates her Jewish family's flight from Ethiopia, traveling the desert with little food, harassed by robbers, and ending up in Jerusalem. Throughout her travails, Yuvi is reassured by her grandmother's refrain: "We have angels with us. We'll fly home." Flowing illustrations in browns, blues, and oranges bring this story, based on one woman's experience with Operation Moses, to life.

Reviewer: Amy Kellman

(3) K-3 On My Own Folklore series. Illustrated by Janice Lee Porter. After sharing the gods' finest treasure, chocolate, with the Mayan people, god/king Kukulkán incurs the wrath of fierce Night Jaguar. Bokuden, Japan's greatest swordsman, defeats a boastful but gullible warrior with wit instead of weapons. The illustrations for each folktale nicely reflects its native culture. Back matter contains additional information, including a pronunciation guide. Reading list, websites. Glos. Review covers these On My Own Folklore titles: Bokuden and the Bully and The Chocolate Tree.

Reviewer: Laura A. Woollett

(3) K-3 On My Own Folklore series. Illustrated by Janice Lee Porter. In these stories, trickster Anansi wins a box of stories from the sky god; the Yellow Emperor fights the Black Dragon; a young man wins a princess's hand with his magic pomegranate; and a self-centered girl becomes the ghost La Llorona. Each tale is paired with an illustration style that nicely reflects the culture. Back matter provides further information. Review covers these On My Own Folklore titles: Anansi and the Box of Stories, The Tale of La Llorona, The Magic Pomegranate, and The Dragon Emperor.

Reviewer: Laura A. Woollett

(4) K-3 Yo solo biografías series. Illustrated by Janice Lee Porter. Accessible narratives, including anecdotes chosen for their kid appeal, introduce these important (and classroom-friendly) historical figures to young Spanish-language readers. Although some of the illustrations have a static feel, their colorful warmth enhances the text. In each book, a brief afterword is accompanied by a photograph of the subject. Timeline. Review covers these Yo solo biografías titles: George Washington Carver, Pablo Picasso, and Wilma Rudolph.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Janice Lee Porter. Hope has trouble accepting the death of her grandpa Jack until her aunt Poogee teaches her that she can hold onto him through her memories of their time together. Though the writing is overly purposeful, this story adequately portrays a child's coming to terms with a relative's death. The textured illustrations feature a close-knit African-American family. A recipe is appended.

Reviewer: Jim St. Claire

(4) K-3 On My Own Biography series. Illustrated by Janice Lee Porter. Considering vocabulary and sentence limitations, these authors adequately present the lives of their subjects: Banneker pioneered as a black farmer, surveyor, and almanac writer; Coleman as a black woman pilot; and Nightingale as a wealthy Englishwoman who founded a nursing school and corps. The biographies' illustrations are colorful if somewhat static. Afterword, timeline. [Review covers these On My Own Biography titles: Benjamin Banneker, Bessie Coleman, and Florence Nightingale.]

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Janice Lee Porter. In this second book about Hope, the young girl and her family gather at her maternal aunt's farm for an annual reunion. Hope's contribution to the feast--pickles stuffed with peppermint candy--is a surprise from her father's side of the family. The lively illustrations, which depict Hope as biracial, are a fitting match for this story of a boisterous and loving African-American family. Recipes are included.

Reviewer: Anne St. John

(3) K-3 On My Own Biography series. Illustrated by Janice Lee Porter. Packed with information and illustrated with bold, folk-flavored artwork, this easy-to-read book explores the life of John Chapman from his childhood to his life as a frontiersman. The concise text both acknowledges that scant facts of Chapman's life are available and clearheadedly challenges some well-known legends about this popular folk hero. Bib.

Reviewer: Emma Loy-Santelli

(4) K-3 Colors of the World series. Illustrated by Janice Lee Porter. In the books in this series, each of ten double-page spreads features a color, the color's name is translated into the country's national language(s), along with the phonetic pronunciation. Faced by a stiff illustration featuring the color, a couple of paragraphs briefly discuss random cultural or historical information. Subjects include an Israeli Arab wedding and the Sabbath, and Communist China and the Great Wall. Ind. [Review covers these Colors of the World titles: Colors of Israel and Colors of China.]

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(4) K-3 Carolrhoda On My Own Books series. Illustrated by Janice Lee Porter. This short, somewhat superficial biography introduces one of the most heroic sports stars of the twentieth century. The easy-to-read chapters, accompanied by stylized artwork, cover Owens's childhood, college years, and Olympic medal-winning performance in Berlin. A black-and-white photograph illustrates the afterword. A list of important dates is included.

Reviewer: Cindy Lombardo

(4) K-3 Colors of the World series. Illustrated by Janice Lee Porter. Ten color names are written in and translated into Hindi--India's national language--and are matched with brief cultural snapshots of life in this Asian country. Topics presented include the Himalayan Mountains, which border the north; a bride's red wedding sari; the Golden Temple, a Sikh shrine; and the Hindu god Krishna. The stylized, loosely textured paintings suggest (but do not quite evoke) Hindu designs. Ind.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) K-3 Carolrhoda On My Own Books series. Illustrated by Janice Lee Porter. Freed slave and activist Clara Brown and radical abolitionist John Brown are profiled in these early readers. Simple sentences make for taut story lines and render weighty themes, especially John Brown's controversial legacy, accessible to children. The spare, expressionist paintings in Aunt Clara are mostly successful in conveying emotions in a few strokes; some human figures in John Brown are stiff and awkwardly rendered.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Carolrhoda On My Own Books series. Illustrated by Janice Lee Porter. Picasso's life story is told with economy, verve, and diplomacy. While emphasis is placed on anecdotes that will appeal to children (we learn that Picasso's son's toy cars were used to make a baboon sculpture), there's no attempt to dodge complex subjects like cubism, Guernica, and the artist's moral lapses. The moody, textured illustrations, which include fine imitations of Picasso's paintings, complement the master's style.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Janice Lee Porter. After someone asks whether she's "mixed," second-grader Hope, a biracial child, wonders what that means. Her great aunt assures her that as the child of a white father and an African-American mother, she represents "generations of faith 'mixed' with lots of love." While the story is somewhat contrived, it's well told, and the illustrations, with their fluid, rounded shapes, are a dynamic accompaniment.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(4) K-3 First Person Book series. Fifth-grader Mark finds it tough being the new kid at school, especially because he's deaf. On the basketball court, however, he eventually connects with his classmates. The prose in this brief story is somewhat stiff, but readers will appreciate Mark's realistic friendship with Keith, who good-naturedly trips Mark whenever he starts to hog the ball. An author's note about deafness and sign language is included.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Janice Lee Porter. From agriculture to zoos, this book informs the reader about the state of Minnesota. The text is dry, but the subject matter should interest Minnesotans. The acrylic paintings, which use the nubby canvas to convey texture, dominate the pages, adding interest to the brief paragraphs of information about the state's history, geography, wildlife, and notable citizens.

Reviewer: Suzy Schmidt

(3) K-3 Colors of the World series. Brief but absorbing, this book uses ten colors to introduce young readers to Australia's history, culture, wildlife, and geographic attributes. Each double-page spread features one color, whether it's the gray of a kangaroo or the white of the Sydney Opera House, and has bold, appropriately toned gouache illustrations to match. A simple map is included. Ind.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.