(3) K-3 Berner's friendly colored-pencil and watercolor illustrations decorate this tribute to cold, snow, and fall and winter holidays. A hodgepodge collection of songs, poems, recipes, and stories from different cultures, this volume contains both "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe and information on the Seven Principals of Kwanzaa. A satisfying way to make the months from September to March a little warmer.

Reviewer: Chelsey Philpot

(4) 4-6 Translated by Anna Brailovsky. Illustrated by Rotraut Susanne Berner. In this strange tale, young Christine befriends a talking cat. The cat gives her advice--sometimes sage, mostly mystifying--as they contemplate eternity. Imaginative strong-lined black, white, gray, and yellow illustrations that play with perspective and proportion act as breaks between the episodic chapters, adding to the sophisticated air of a story best suited to budding philosophers.

Reviewer: Susan Halperin

(2) 4-6 Translated by Michael Henry Heim. Illustrated by Rotraut Susanne Berner. Self-described math-phobe Robert begins having surreal dreams in which he encounters a number devil, who teaches him, just for starters, the crucial importance of zero and how to make all numbers out of ones. More difficult concepts are deliberately repeated in several dreams; occasional additional problems are provided for greater challenges. Infinitely more fun than the usual word-problem assignment.

Reviewer: Daniel Brabander | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 1998