(3) K-3 Illustrated by Mary Azarian. The book opens with what looks like an extended family sitting around a table laden with food; the diners then proceed to give thanks to all those who helped provide their feast, from farmers and fishermen to truckers and grocery clerks. Sumptuous woodcut illustrations on clean double-page spreads and a simple, gently rhyming text celebrate the workers and the process.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Mary Azarian. Twenty haiku portray a range of dog breeds, from Pembroke Welsh Corgi to Samoyed to Border Collie. Accompanying the poems are Azarian's woodcut illustrations, printed in black and hand-colored with acrylics. The meticulously detailed woodcuts sturdily capture every dog and its setting, whether indoors or out, and echo the essential image expressed in each of the poems.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2011

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Mary Azarian. In this revealing work, readers can consider Darwin from two points of view: his own and his biographer's. The primary narrative follows the voyage of the Beagle, and nearly every spread contains a parchment-like "letter" including edited portions of Darwin's own diary and letters. Azarian's watercolor-tinted woodcuts evoke naive art of the period. A brief author's note and source notes are appended. Bib.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2009

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Mary Azarian. Tuttles have farmed the same land for twelve generations, and this interesting family saga offers a real sense of history. Michelson's chosen details suggest the arc of social and economic change over four centuries. Azarian's woodcuts make a splendid complement, visualizing costumes, architecture, and historical artifacts and implements with equal felicity. Her down-home pictures epitomize the characters' self-reliance, optimism, and work ethic.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2008

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Mary Azarian. In 1856, young Miss Bridie immigrates to America, bringing a shovel with her. She uses the shovel as she finds work, marries, raises a family, improves their farm, and eventually plants a tree in her husband's memory. Azarian's woodcuts and Connor's spare, direct, but lyrical text work together to tell a story that is both particular and emblematic of the immigrant experience.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Mary Azarian. Second-person text ("To have a Christmas like Helen's / you'll need to be born on a Vermont hill farm, / before cars, telephones, or electricity") helps readers experience what Christmas was like during the author's grandmother's childhood. Though not all the snippets of Helen's history work as a whole, Azarian's bold woodcut illustrations are eye-catching.

Reviewer: Lauren Rizzuto

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Mary Azarian. This story has the ring of authenticity, a feeling supported by Azarian's homely woodcuts, some of which resemble period samplers. Information in the brief prologue and afterword provides background for the main narrative, which focuses on how Louisa May Alcott discovers her own "voice" as she listens to the tunes that Thoreau coaxes from his flute. The text is quietly informative, easy to read, and attractively displayed.

Reviewer: Mary M. Burns | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2002

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by Mary Azarian. Sugaring, haying, and mud season are a few of the distinctive experiences the author shares with her readers as she reminisces about growing up on a Vermont family farm. Mary Azarian's vibrant woodcuts, hand tinted with watercolors, accentuate the rural aspects of these northern New England events.

Reviewer: Juliet S. King

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Mary Azarian. Azarian's luminous woodcuts perfectly suit this historical winter tale. In thirteenth-century Norway, a few courageous cross-country skiers saved the infant Prince HÃ¥kon from noblemen who wanted to usurp the throne. The daring rescue and the subsequent heroic act by HÃ¥kon's mother make for an exciting read. A brief author's note explains how much of the legend is factual and which details were added to flesh out the story. Bib.

Reviewer: Anne St. John

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Mary Azarian. A handsome collection of brief, imagistic poems circles through a calendar's worth of full moons. Native American names for the moons serve as each poem's title; a short note following each verse explains the inspiration for the lunar names--e.g., July is called the Buck Moon because bucks begin to sprout antlers during that month. Painted woodcut prints provide beautiful, naturalistic backdrops for the poetry. Questions and answers about the moon are included.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(2) 4-6 Set in the early days of the Fresh Air Fund program, this gentle novel gives us not only a trio of engaging girls but an accurate glimpse of Vermont farm life in the early twentieth century. Twelve-year-old Dossi Rabinowitz boards the train with her journal, a copy of 'Anne of Green Gables', and a great deal of trepidation. The story of two cultures meeting and learning to respect each other is told subtly, with natural dialogue.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Mary Azarian. A warm period look at a cold subject--snow--and one self-made scientist, Wilson A. Bentley, the man who discovered, among other things, the fact that no two snowflakes are alike. Bentley's dedication to his research is clearly evident, and the ridicule to which he was sometimes subjected is appropriately down-played for a young audience. The book exhibits a beautiful blend of Azarian's splendid woodcuts, a lyrical text, and factual sidebars.

Reviewer: Elizabeth S. Watson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 1998

(4) PS Illustrated by Mary Azarian. Attractive hand-colored woodprints illustrate this counting rhyme. As barn cat watches, increasing numbers of insects, birds, and other animals gambol around the farm. In the corner of appropriate illustrations, a numeral from one to ten is displayed, but emphasis on the numbers isn't strong enough to make this an effective counting book. A few inconsistencies in meter make reading the verse aloud awkward at times.

Reviewer: Anne St. John