(4) K-3 Photographs by Per Breiehagen. In this follow-up to The Christmas Wish, it's springtime "long, long ago," and Nordic child Anja wishes she were small to better conceal herself while playing hide-and-seek with her cousins on their mountain farm. Readers won't remember Anja's stock exchanges with the region's animals, but they'll remember the manipulated color photos of, for example, Anja riding a pinecone down the mountain.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Photographs by Per Breiehagen. Anja, who lives "so far north that the mothers never pack away the wool hats or mittens," dreams of becoming one of Santa's elves. She skis off through the tundra, meeting various animals who guide her to Santa. The story is old-fashioned, but the illustrations--large, clear photographs of a Swiss Miss lookalike--evoke the digital age, pointing to the timelessness of Christmastime wonder.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2013