(2) K-3 Illustrated by Bonnie Christensen. Ruthie's grandmother is laid up with pneumonia. Unsatisfied by hospital food, she sends Ruthie home to prepare borscht. Luckily (or is it?) Grandma's neighbors offer their culinary expertise. Schubert's characters and their interactions feel entirely authentic. Christensen's illustrations, with sketchlike dark lines and subdued hues enhanced by beet-colored accents, reflect the comfortable disarray of Ruthie's family life. A recipe is included.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2011

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Bonnie Christensen. This picture book biography presents, for a younger audience, an understandable and compelling picture of a remarkable woman. Though the subject is exciting, Myers's tone is fairly sedate, but, set in red type, quotes from Wells and others add energy. Christensen's ink and watercolor pictures do a good job of capturing the time and place through clothing and other details. Timeline.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2009

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Bonnie Christensen. As a young apprentice in a medieval monastery's scriptorium, Simon yearns to add his own pictures to the margins of books. Father Anselm gives him a puzzle that both challenges his wit and polishes his artistic skills. Though Christensen's large panel illustrations look awkward and blockish, the authentic egg tempera colors and quill pen techniques work well in the delicate details.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Bonnie Christensen. Former slave Dred Scott recounts, in the dialect of the period, the personal and historical events that eventually led to freedom for him and his family. The story is inspiring, but the telling falls short, with a confusing litany of names, dates, and legal maneuvers. Wood engravings illustrate the text. An afterword, author's note, and chronology complete the book. Bib.

Reviewer: Christina Dorr

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Bonnie Christensen. Unconvincing as the voice of a thirteen-year-old, yet intriguing for its use of image-laden language, Crist-Evans's free verse "journal" tells of one boy's journey with his father to join the Confederate forces as they move toward a fateful encounter at Gettysburg. Black-and-white woodcuts and a stark design add to the (sometimes overly self-conscious) sophisticated tone.

Reviewer: Jackie C. Horne