(4) K-3 Illustrated by Ann Grifalconi. Julio, a little boy growing up in rural Mexico, is gifted at carving wooden animals. But rather than enter them in the annual contest and possibly earn much-needed money, he helps his near-blind mentor win the contest instead. Grifalconi's collage illustrations, made from fuzzy digitally manipulated photographs, distance the reader from Dorros's spare, moving story.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Ann Grifalconi. This is more than an account of how one soldier's perception of a terrible reality is transformed by his recognition of the humanity he shares with his enemy. The fear here is almost palpable, the danger magnified in the imagination because it is anticipated rather than realized. The haunting illustrations and the taut, poetic text unite in a powerful rendering of the way any war ruptures ordinary lives not so different from our own.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2002

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Ann Grifalconi. On a rainfield in Africa, Wind, Fire, and Rain hold a contest to determine who is greatest. When Fire gets carried away burning things and Wind is unable to stop him, queenly Rain saves the day and proves that "the gentlest is the greatest." Against surreal backgrounds of marbled-paper-and-photo collage, Wind, Fire, and Rain are portrayed as regal Africans in this pourquoi tale.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(4) K-3 Inviting watercolor and pencil illustrations grace this sentimental month-by-month account of how Lucitita's family life becomes more meaningful once her great-uncle moves in. An optimistic, philosophical man, Tio Armando shares his homespun wisdom with his great-niece, and gently prepares her for his death.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.