(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Ron Mazellan. Promising her dying father that she would help people in need, Irena Sendler joined a Polish underground organization dedicated to assisting Jewish families during the Holocaust. Rich, dark oils add weight and emotion to this story of a woman who risked her own safety to bring thousands of children out of the Warsaw Ghetto. An afterword tells more about Sendler's life.

Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Jeremiah Trammell. After falling out of an RV, stuffed animal Blue Bear is determined to get back to his boy. Black Bear and Brown Bear help with the search; on the way to a happy reunion, they encounter a variety of animals, from elk and beaver to seal and orca. Cheery illustrations accompany the text, a thinly disguised introduction to Pacific Northwest animals.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Derek Blanks & Derek Blanks. Young Henry Bell wants to learn to read and write, but it's illegal for him to do so because he is a plantation slave. Henry's chance comes when he is asked to escort Master Simon to school. He hides in a tree next to the schoolhouse window and listens in on the lessons. Oil paintings add depth to the somewhat contrived but interesting story of one young man's quest to become literate.

Reviewer: Deborah L. Thompson

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Lisa Desimini. This picture book features Kokopelli, a folkloric character known to the Hopi, Zuni, and Pueblo peoples of the Southwest. Playing his flute, Kokopelli entices first the desert animals and then the children to dance behind him through the dark night. The fluid text and deep purple paintings will pull readers into a magical mood. An appended note provides information on the origins of the Kokopelli legends.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Larry Johnson. Great-aunt Lucy tells about her childhood as a slave and her work on the Underground Railroad. She and her brother conveyed crucial messages to escaping slaves by hanging specific quilts on their fence (i.e., the wagon wheel pattern tells people that the "time's come to pack their belongings"). The accompanying paintings aptly convey the suspense and strong emotions in this well-told story. Bib.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander

(4) PS Illustrated by Ann Schweninger. Two trick-or-treaters look for a ghost in this version of the old bear-hunt story. The illustrations reveal their imagined encounters, with a swamp, a haunted house, and so on; the trip back home shows the actuality--a muddy yard, a dark house, etc. Youngsters will spot that the ghost is Mom in costume in this not-too-scary book, with cheerfully spooky art and a lively, if somewhat overlong, text.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander