(3) K-3 Illustrated by Terry Widener. Based on historical documents, O'Neill lyrically recounts determined young Homan Walsh's triumph of constructing and flying a kite across the Niagara River from Canada to New York. His success aided engineers in building the first bridge connecting the countries. Lush full-page acrylic paintings capture the drama of the event. The author's note provides additional information. Timeline, websites. Bib.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith. "Mike and Conrad, Conrad and Mike" are inseparable pals--until brash new student Victor arrives, and suddenly Conrad seems to have forgotten all about Mike. But Victor's poor sportsmanship during recess opens Conrad's eyes to what it really means to be a best friend. The story is embellished with exuberant cartoonlike acrylics and jazzy typography.

Reviewer: Cindy Lombardo

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Enrique O. Sanchez. At her first swap meet with her family, Estela hopes to sell her beloved music box to earn money for folk dancing lessons. When a neighboring vendor loses her inventory in a sudden strong wind, Estela makes a sacrifice that delays the attainment of her goal. The acrylic illustrations convey an air of activity as they direct attention to the principle characters and events. A brief glossary (with pronunciations) precedes the story.

Reviewer: Christina Dorr

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith. Mean Jean rules the schoolyard until a feisty, diminutive newcomer, Katie Sue, invites her to help break in a new jump rope, and the bully learns that being a tyrant is overrated. Though the rhyme is irregular, the language in this manic democracy lesson is lively ("she'd push 'em and smoosh 'em, / lollapaloosh 'em"), and Huliska-Beith uses acrylics and collage to capture the power struggles from appropriately lofty perspectives.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) 1-3 Illustrated by Nancy Carpenter. A nineteenth-century girl with a voice loud as thunder finds a haven and a home aboard a sailing ship, where her vocal cords are an asset. The illustrations are appropriately jaunty and colorful and the premise nicely improbable, but the additional information provided by the author and illustrator in the endpapers, front matter, and endnotes is more interesting than the story itself. Glos.

Reviewer: Amy Lois Cohn