(4) 1-3 Stepping Stone series. Illustrated by Robert Papp. In eighteenth-century Italy, Anna Maria's dying father makes her a violin to remember him by. When Anna Maria goes to live with the nuns and the composer Vivaldi in a Venice orphanage, a jealous girl throws the precious violin into a canal. Shefelman's character and plot development are a touch simplistic but make the book more appropriate for the age group. Text includes a historical note. Glos.

Reviewer: Lisa Catherine Findlay

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Tom Shefelman. This fictional account lyrically narrated in the composer's voice presents key moments in Antonio Vivaldi's life and musical career. Vivaldi's mother dedicates her young son to the priesthood. He fulfills this promise, but music eclipses his religious vocation. Terra cotta–toned ink-line and watercolors, which accent Vivaldi's red hair, effectively depict Venetian landmarks. Musical notation decorates the endpapers. Glos.

Reviewer: Paula M. Cairo

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by Tom Shefelman. Young Wolf is proud of his new colt and furious when his best friend, Little Big Mouth, teases the animal with a quirt. The conflict between the two boys escalates, resulting in a serious accident that Young Wolf can only remedy if he makes a great personal sacrifice. The moving story is briskly paced and copiously illustrated with pleasing black-and-white artwork.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Tom Shefelman. A fictional account based on actual encounters between Comanches and Texans in 1840, the story concerns Tsena, the son of a peace chief who witnesses his father's death at the hands of the tejanos. Escaping from captivity, he is aided by a white family before returning to his people and seeking vengeance against the Texans. This balanced portrait of the conflict is well paced and gracefully written.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta