(4) K-3 Translated by Anthea Bell. Illustrated by Robert Ingpen. In this handsome edition (here reissued in inexpensive paper-over-board) of one of Andersen's best-known stories, the familiar text about the shunned duckling who becomes a beautiful swan has been smoothly translated, and Ingpen's rich illustrations are full of texture and show unusual insight into the animal world. Unfortunately, on some pages the narrow-margin text is a bit difficult to read against the illustrations.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Robert Ingpen. Bored Willow is visited by Tally, a white-bearded character, who convinces her that, thanks to the imagination, a book has more than one story. The accomplished painterly art, featuring a flying horse, reflects this promising if message-y premise. Alas, Willow sounds as though she's reading lines that the plot requires ("Please, tell me more about the book inside the book").

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Robert Ingpen. A classic of English literature, the story of four animal friends--Mole, Ratty, Badger, and Mr. Toad--and their riverside adventures receives lavish, naturalistic illustrative treatment. Rendered in dusky greens, earthy browns, and firelit golds, the full-page paintings and spot art perfectly capture slightly sinister woodland environs and cozy underground interiors. Less anthropomorphized than in other illustrated editions, these animals still brim with personality.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Robert Ingpen. Ingpen illustrates Kipling's classic tale of a boy raised by jungle animals. His richly colored handsome illustrations appear on almost every page, pulling readers into Mowgli's world. The text's small type size is unfortunate.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Robert Ingpen. An appended note describes the illustrator's dissatisfaction with the movie images of Baum's classic. Ingpen's fans will appreciate his attempts to draw "L. Frank Baum's 'Oz' characters and their adventures to be as near to 'real' as I have always wanted them to be." The large book, with its heavy cream-colored paper and approachable pictures, is a handsome version for collectors.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Robert Ingpen. This unabridged version of Stevenson's classic, following the adventures of young Jim Hawkins, Long John Silver, and the crew of the Hispaniola on Treasure Island, features new art by Ingpen. The heavy pages of this edition have the look of parchment paper and the illustrations bring to mind old oil-on-canvas paintings, providing a pleasing aesthetic.

Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Robert Ingpen. This reissue of the one-hundredth-anniversary edition is notable for its painterly illustrations, which reflect touches of Sendak, Wyeth, the pre-Raphaelites, and others. The overall effect of the art is impressionistic, and the book itself is handsome.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Robert Ingpen. This beautifully designed new edition is just in time for the centenary of Twain's death. Readers familiar with Tom Sawyer's exploits will enjoy revisiting familiar scenes and characters while those new to this beloved classic will laugh aloud as Tom gallivants with Huckleberry Finn and pines after the charming Becky Thatcher. Ingpen's delicate illustrations are full of beauty, magic, and mischief.

Reviewer: Chelsey Philpot

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Robert Ingpen. Ingpen's fans will be the obvious audience for this edition of Dickens's classic Christmas story. The large book, printed on heavy cream-colored paper, also includes Dickens's lesser-known short story "A Christmas Tree." Ingpen's ghostly illustrations highlight the scarier parts of the tales. Reading list.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Robert Ingpen. Ziba and her mother flee from the violence that shatters their country. Aboard a refugee ship, the girl vividly recalls pieces of her past and looks forward to the future. Arresting watercolors accompany the poetic text, which eloquently implies more than it states ("The darkness spread, seeping into the quiet corners of the peaceful village").

Reviewer: Amy Lois Cohn

(4) K-3 Translated by Anthea Bell. Illustrated by Robert Ingpen. In this handsome edition of one of Andersen's best-known stories, the familiar text about the shunned duckling who becomes a beautiful swan has been smoothly translated, and Ingpen's rich illustrations are full of texture and show unusual insight into the animal world. Unfortunately, on some pages the narrow-margin text is a bit difficult to read against the illustrations.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Robert Ingpen. This hundredth-anniversary edition is notable for its painterly illustrations, which reflect touches of Sendak, Wyeth, the pre-Raphaelites, and others. The overall effect of the art is impressionistic, and the book itself is handsome.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(3) K-3 Translated by Harold D. Morgan. Illustrated by Robert Ingpen. A homely but virtuous dwarf enchants a group of crystal-mining dwarfs with his gift for poetry, while a greedy, "stinky old troll" tries to do the same but ultimately sees his true disagreeable nature reflected back at him. Ingpen's art, which incorporates silver foil, captures the cave dwellers' craggy features and the rich, earthy colors of their mountain environment.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann

(3) YA Illustrated by Robert Ingpen. Rich illustrations supply both panorama and detail for this distillation of information about Shakespeare's life and works. Rosen's conversational narrative frequently introduces relevant quotations from the plays as he discusses facts and scholarly guesses about Shakespeare, Renaissance London, and the plays themselves. A detailed time line ends the volume. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian