(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Maja Dusíková. This large-format, unabridged edition of the first volume of the classic tale of a girl and her grandfather in the Swiss Alps features pastoral illustrations whose gentle appeal plays up the story's homiest details and plot points. An afterword by Swiss academic Verena Rutschmann tells more about the tale's history and provides brief and engaging literary analysis.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Maja Dusíková. An unfriendly shepherd encounters a man asking for coal for his wife and new baby. The man has no bucket, so the shepherd says, "Take as much as you need!" He's amazed when the man picks up and carries hot coals. This original Nativity story by the winner of the 1909 Nobel Prize for Literature takes some leaps in logic, but the illustrations infuse the scenes with magic and wonder.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(4) K-3 This serviceable picture-book adaptation of the fairy tale is paired with romantic watercolor illustrations. The retold text is standard fare, though it is faithful to the Grimms' version; much of the menace of the words is softened by Dusíková's soft, pastoral art in which Sleeping Beauty looks like the teenager she is.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(4) K-3 Translated by Kristy Koth. Illustrated by Maja Dusíková. A slim picture book version of Salten's classic novel gives young readers an outline of the story but lacks the original's emotional depth and language. "Bambi knew at that moment that he would never see his mother again," and he must learn the ways of the forest without her help. Illustrator Dusíková creates a warm woodland setting with her full-page watercolors.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Maja Dusíková. The classic novel of an orphan and her grandfather who live high in the Swiss mountains is smoothly adapted. However, much charm is lost for lack of detail, and children will struggle to read even this "easier" version, so why not just read the original aloud to them? The pastoral illustrations have a gentle appeal.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Maja Dusi­kova & Maja Dusikova. When Rachel, the shepherd's daughter, hears of the birth of Baby Jesus, she finally knows what to do with the special silver bell that she found--offer it as a gift to the baby, along with one of her father's lambs. Misty art illustrates the sentimental picture book, but unfortunately, the pedantic ending, which tells the modern reader to listen carefully for the sound of the bell at Christmas time, seems tacked on.

Reviewer: Anne St. John