(1) 4-6 Illustrated by Armando Veve. The time is the future. The "Powers-That-Be" are kidnapping children--using a meteorological weapon of windstorms that sweep them up, to then be sold to mountain trolls for profit. Parents are instructed to protect their offspring (the "youngers") by keeping them imprisoned inside day and night. A band of rebel youngers--Ant, Boots, and Ren, led by our narrator Tag and accompanied by a dog named Blue Tooth--make their escape and set off on a quest to rescue their abducted siblings. It's a classic folktale journey, with magical objects, helpful old women, gnomic advice, monsters, the unleashing of unusual talents, outwittings, and a glorious eleventh-hour comeuppance. Along the way we are deftly reminded of the "Other Times" (i.e., now) of climate change, pollution, political corruption, neglect of the young, and racial injustice. The tone here is pitch-perfect, capturing that particular fairy-tale flavor of the absurd mingling with the deeply serious; slapstick alongside real suspense; and language being bent, repurposed, and enjoyed for its own deliciousness. Veve's distinctive and quirky textured black-and-white art is interspersed. Preus is so confident in this genre that it is no surprise to learn in an afterword that she grew up listening to her father tell Norwegian fairy stories. She appends an intriguing list of tales that inspired this fresh, rich, and buoyant fantasy.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2022

(2) YA In 1940s Vichy France, a remote mountain-plateau village known for sheltering refugees fleeing Nazi persecution houses a unique and innovative high school that draws students from all over France and beyond. Many of the students secretly work for the resistance, the maquis, which becomes much riskier after the arrival of Inspector Perdant from the national police, there to "identify evidence of illegal activities and unregistered Jews, foreigners, communists, and undesirables." Preus (Heart of a Samurai, rev. 9/10; Shadow on the Mountain, rev. 11/12) weaves the experiences of students Philippe (who smuggles refugees over the border into Switzerland), Celeste (who carries messages for the maquis), Jean-Paul (who runs a sophisticated document-forging operation), and others into a tale of danger and bravery, luck and wits, purpose and community, and even occasional humor (some pretty on-point Nazi jokes). Chapters alternate among characters, with Preus always circling back to Perdant's constant spying and dogged pursuit of arrests, which amps up the suspense (somewhat undermined, however, by how easily local farm boy Jules outwits him at every turn). An extensive epilogue informs readers about the real people upon whom the novel's characters are based; and about concentration camps, the Boy Scouts and their relationship to the maquis, and the actual high school L'Ecole Nouvelle Cévenole in the village of La Chambon. A bibliography and a pronunciation guide complete the book.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2020

(3) YA Teen detective Francie Frye (Enchantment Lake) returns for another whodunit in northern Minnesota, this one involving the murder of an archeologist--with Francie's brother Theo as the prime suspect. Meanwhile, a new school year unfolds for Brooklyn-transplant Francie; new friends (and some enemies), a lead in the school play, and surprising plot twists give this readable mystery a modern-day Nancy Drew feel.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(4) K-3 Illustrated by David Geister. Sighting nature's clues of a coming storm, Sophie warns her family and then helps her father, the lighthouse keeper, prepare. In an informative but repetitive narrative, readers learn that a dandelion closing, an extra-thick spider's web, low-flying seagulls, etc., are all signs of changing weather fast approaching. Realistic oil paintings suggest an old-fashioned setting at Lake Superior's Split Rock Lighthouse. An explanatory author's note is appended.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(2) 4-6 A dozen years after the events of Heart of a Samurai, American ships arrive in Japan to force trade. Preus retells this gunboat diplomacy's world-changing effects through two boys: servant Yoshi (who longs to be a samurai) and cabin boy Jack. Bolstered by period illustrations and rich appended material, the book is solidly historical but never forgets to be an adventure story. Bib., glos.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2015

(3) YA When a string of mysterious deaths occurs at Enchantment Lake, teenage Francie fears that her wacky aunts may be in danger. The former television detective wastes no time investigating, following her instincts rather than red herrings to find the culprit. Preus's eerie northern setting and descriptive writing breed suspense and intrigue, yielding a refreshingly clever mystery.

Reviewer: Sophie Williamson

(1) 4-6 Preus takes readers to mid-nineteenth-century Norway in a tale strongly infused with myth. Fourteen-year-old Astri is determined to go to America. First she must escape the brutish goat herder to whom her greedy aunt and uncle have sold her. Norwegian folktales are seamlessly integrated into the lyrically narrated story, which features a protagonist as fearless as any fairy-tale hero.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2014

(2) YA This historical adventure novel is based on the experiences of a real boy who spied for the Resistance during the Nazi occupation of Norway. Readers will get an authentic picture of everyday life in WWII Norway, but Preus meticulously keeps the focus on Espen and his peers. The final chapters take the book into adventure-thriller territory without losing the humanity that characterizes Preus's account. A pronunciation guide and photos of "the real Espen" are included. Timeline. Bib.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2012

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon. This picture book gallery of impressive trees, illustrated in friendly folk-art style, offers substantive information on what makes each specimen unique. Preus discusses world-record holders as well as fascinating oddities; a number of the trees have cultural significance. Gibbon's mixed-media paintings bustle with life, including birds and squirrels in the high branches and people in the shade. Conservation tips are appended. Websites. Bib.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2011

(2) 4-6 Shipwrecked in 1842, fourteen-year-old Manjiro and his fellow fishermen are rescued by a whaler. Manjiro stays on the ship, learning English and later going with the captain to his home in Massachusetts. The facts of the teen's life are inherently dramatic, but Preus keeps her hero (a real person) human-sized and empathetic. The book is augmented with actual drawings by Manjiro.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2010

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Hideko Takahashi. Transported to Minnesota after World War II, an ancient Japanese temple bell is eventually returned to Japan "as a gesture of goodwill." Narration by a fictional Japanese grandmother and an American girl gives the heartwarming story a sense of immediacy, while the appealing illustrations supply historical details about its Japanese setting. An endnote describes the real events that inspired this hopeful book.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Andrea Arroyo. Arroyo's simple, striking illustrations fit well with this moving story about a young girl who braves a snowstorm to get medicinal herbs when the villagers become ill. She loses her moccasins and leaves bloody footprints on the path, which that spring is lined with flowers that come to be known as the moccasin flower, or lady slipper. The text, which is sprinkled with Ojibwe words, is spare but effective. Source note included. Bib.

Reviewer: Debbie Reese