(3) K-3 Illustrated by Astrid Henn. Becky loves borrowing things from her friends at kindergarten until she loses track of who let her borrow what. Luckily, Becky has a plan. Colorful hues and lively, soft lines illustrate this simple story of Becky's predicament, her brainstorming, and a happy resolution.

Reviewer: Rebecca Hachmyer

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Nina Spranger. A guinea pig boasts that the star of Super Guinea Pig to the Rescue is his best friend. When housemates dog, canary, and goldfish scoff, the miffed guinea pig appears in superhero costume to impersonate the star and impress his pals. The earnest, imaginative braggart and his underwhelmed friends are shown in amusing watercolor and acrylic illustrations.

Reviewer: Carrie Harasimowicz Sullivan

(4) K-3 Translated by Marianne Martens. Illustrated by Rolf Siegenthaler. When a gold coin falls from Santa's sleigh, the forest animals decide to give it to a kindly woodcutter who lives nearby. The woodcutter turns out to be Santa himself, who appreciates the return of his lucky coin. Originally published in German, this abruptly ending story has attractive illustrations that depict Santa living in a snowy wood instead of at the North Pole.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(4) K-3 Translated by J. Alison James. Illustrated by Cristina Kadmon. After Baby Bear finds out about the traditions of Christmas from the forest animals, he is crushed to learn that bears sleep through it. While Baby Bear is hibernating, his animal friends surprise him by waking him for a Yuletide visit--a too-easy solution suggesting that interfering with nature is no big deal. The illustrations feature realistically proportioned animals in seasonal activities.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Translated by J. Alison James. Illustrated by Nora Hilb. When cat Finn and hamster Max move into a new neighborhood, four tough cats tell Finn he can't join their gang unless he stops being friends with Max. Max and Finn's temporary solution leaves both pets unhappy until Max rescues the gang leader and is allowed to join the prowlers. The wordy story is illustrated with kittenlike cats in bright colors.

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(3) K-3 Translated by J. Alison James. Illustrated by Cristina Kadmon. Three mischievous rabbits assign blame for their misdeeds on "Alex," a rabbit they invent to take responsibility. One day a new rabbit named Alex appears, and the three must repair the damage they have done to Alex's good name. Rabbits tumble around the illustrations; the cutesy art suits the tone of the simple story.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(4) K-3 Translated by Marisa Miller. Illustrated by Christa Unzner. Tired of being scared by the ghosts that dance around her room each night, Miranda frightens them with her scary Halloween witch's mask. The feisty protagonist soon tames the nighttime spooks and gets rid of them all together. The illustrations show a gang of not-too-scary ghosts and a determined Miranda. Despite the unoriginal premise, a young girl taking matters into her own hands is a satisfying message.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(4) K-3 Translated by J. Alison James. Illustrated by Maja Dusi­kova. Despite tales of dangerous creatures on the other side of the river, Raccoon and Little Fox cross over into each other's territories unharmed. While visiting, they discover the history behind the scary tales. The history seems contrived, but the fablelike book, with its cast of friendly looking animals, makes an effective point about fear of the unknown.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) K-3 Translated by Kathryn Grell. Illustrated by Anne-Katrin Piepenbrink. A parrot overhears a zookeeper say that everyone must be careful with the zoo's new wild wombat. The parrot tells a seal, who embellishes the news for a chameleon, and so on, until the animals are literally running scared of what they imagine is a fierce monster. This fine original tale about gossip and gullibility features realistic images of both the terrified animals and what's inside their active imaginations.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Translated by Rosemary Lanning. Illustrated by Julia Gukova. When sparrow Ben joins forces with the barn cat to try to impress a group of daredevil sparrows, he unwittingly helps the cat capture all of the Buccaneers. Now it's up to Ben to figure out a plan to help the Buccaneers escape. While the text is on the bland side, Gukova's soft-focus illustrations will amuse readers, particularly with the cat's comical facial expressions.

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(4) K-3 Translated by J. Alison James. Illustrated by Julia Gukova. When Hamster brings his friend Hedgehog home to see his new treasure, he makes a horrifying discovery: it's been stolen! So the two set out to find the culprit, picking up other woodland animals along the way. While the text is wordy and somewhat preachy, the facial expressions on the animals are highly amusing, and readers will enjoy the simple detective work.

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(4) K-3 Translated by J. Alison James. Illustrated by Nicolas d'Aujourd'hui. According to a prefatory note, the European folk belief that frogs can predict weather led to the practice of keeping "weather frogs" in jars. When Moss the frog fails at weather prediction, he leaves his pond to consult a weather frog in a jar and discovers she's actually a captive without special powers. The illustrations are lively and spontaneous, but the story loses momentum toward the end.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(4) K-3 Translated by J. Alison James. After dreaming one night that she is incredibly strong, Lizzie the mouse boasts that she is the strongest creature in the forest. When Albert the bear challenges her to a wrestling match, Lizzie's confidence is shaken, but she wins with some help from her friends. Despite the contrived ending, Lizzie's predicament is entertaining, and the jaunty cartoon illustrations give the otherwise unremarkable story life.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.