(3) K-3 Illustrated by Pascal Milelli. Canadian artist Tom Thomson teaches a young girl how to paint in an imagined chronicle of real events during the summer of 1914. Vande Griek paints with bold, visually descriptive words in the poetic text, regularly musing on the varying ways "the west wind blows." Milelli's oils on canvas vividly evoke the artist's style and the lakeside landscape. More on Thomson is appended. Reading list.

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Karen Reczuch. Written in loosely rhyming verse, this story follows a pair of common loons as they first incubate two eggs then help their hatchlings find food and avoid predators. Solid information about loons (e.g., migration, maturity, conservation details) is included in the backmatter. Handsome acrylic paintings showcase the birds' plumage. Reading list.

Reviewer: Bridget McCaffrey

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Pascal Milelli. Set in the 1900s and based on the life of Emily Carr, a Northwest Coast painter, the text is narrated by children who study drawing and painting with Miss Carr. Milelli's oil on canvas illustrations are appropriately painterly, allowing his darker underpaint colors to show through in flatter areas. The lack of plot probably won't matter to young artists or to teachers looking for historically accurate material about women painters.

Reviewer: Lolly Robinson