(4) 4-6 Ancient Fantasy series. Flyswatter is based on oral storytelling from the Nyanga people of eastern Congo; an earlier version was published in Cricket magazine. King (revised edition) is adapted from a sixteenth-century Chinese book, itself based on legend. The fairly short retellings would best be read aloud; dense, text-filled pages with no illustrations are a disappointment. Authors' notes include some background information. Review covers these Ancient Fantasy titles: The Monkey King and The Magic Flyswatter.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) 4-6 Ancient Fantasy series. Shepard's free-verse rendition of an excerpt from the Finnish epic was previously published as a picture book. Illustrations would certainly have enhanced this dense recounting of two suitors' competition to woo a devious maiden and their subsequent flight with the magical gifts they had proffered. Nevertheless, this edition fills a gap as there is little else drawn from the Kalevala available for children.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Kristin Sorra. In this retelling of an English folktale, young sexton Peter Black has a series of eerie encounters with hundreds of cats and their king. Shepard's narration is well paced and makes good use of repetition to build drama and suspense. Shadowy oil illustrations have a luminescent, sculptural quality that greatly extends the unusual tale.

Reviewer: CHristine Sarrazin

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Alisher Dianov. Frustrated by her husband's meager earnings, Jamell convinces Ahmed to become a fortuneteller. After Ahmed unwittingly fools forty treasure thieves into believing he knows their identities, he is rewarded handsomely by the king. The story, adapted from a traditional Iranian folktale, is clever and funny, and the book is well designed: the text is ostensibly printed on scrolls, and the illustrations are the colors of gemstones.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Joseph Daniel Fiedler. Mi Nuong, daughter of "a great mandarin," falls in love with the fisherman she hears singing as he rows by. She imagines he's young and handsome, but when she learns he's a lowly fisherman, she laughs in his face. He pines for her, and when he dies his heart turns to crystal. The lyrically told story (at times sentimental) is accompanied by stiff illustrations.

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