(4) K-3 Illustrated by Walter Lyon Krudop. The "many voices" of the title include a fictional letter from an Armenian girl to her dead mother, a running narrative from a modern-day child, and--most successfully--quotations from real people who passed through Ellis Island. Their powerful words are accompanied by historical photographs; paintings (some muddy) also decorate the crowded pages. The format blurs fact and fiction in a confusing way. Reading list, websites.

Reviewer: Miriam Steinberg-Egeth

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Walter Lyon Krudop. Captain John Slocum, a sailing man sadly outmoded by the growing dependence on steamships, rebuilt the old sloop Spray and set off in 1895 to become the first man to sail solo around the world. This picture book biography is a bit text-heavy, a fact not helped by the muddy oil illustrations, but the engrossing story mostly overcomes the drawbacks.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Walter Lyon Krudop. When a new water pump comes to her Sudanese village, Fatima is pleased, but out of loyalty she still helps her grandmother fill their baobab tree with rain for the dry season. A broken pump and water shortage convince the villagers it's best to "mix old with new." The dialogue is stilted, but the story's factual basis makes this a strong narrative, illustrated with desert-shaded oil paintings. A glossary of Arabic words is included.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Walter Lyon Krudop. Forty-two first-person, free verse poems form a believable portrait of an eleven-year-old boy's family life. The verse covers experiences from the ordinary to the traumatic to the joyful: in one poem, the narrator finds a friend's family meals more interesting than his own; "Broken Ice" tells of a brother's near-drowning; a baby sister is marveled over in "New Baby." The poems are accompanied by occasional black-and-white line drawings.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Walter Lyon Krudop. A young boy wonders about his neighbor, Melville Murrell, who talks to birds and wants to fly. Murrell builds a flying contraption, and the boy is astounded when it lifts off the ground. This fictionalized glimpse of an actual pre-Wright-brothers invention is illustrated with expressive acrylic paintings. Repetition of the titular phrase becomes tedious, but the book is interesting for its unfamiliar subject. An author's note offers additional background.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Eileen Christelow & Walter Lyon Krudop & Jo Ellen McAllister-Stammen. Two Terrible Frights (1987), Teddy Bear Tears (1987), The Completed Hickory Dickory Dock (1990), and The Good-Night Kiss (1993) have been combined into an omnibus edition designed to help parents ease their children into sleep. A note from the author preceding each story underlines the tale's themes and potential applications.

Reviewer: Amy Lois Cohn

(2) 4-6 With a spareness and precision that echo Byrd's unforgiving environment, Burleigh exposes the coldness and aloneness that companioned Admiral Byrd's six solitary months in 1934. Excerpts from Byrd's 'Alone' punctuate Burleigh's evocative writing. Krudop's paintings encompass both the steely blues, grays, and whites of a frigid, unearthly, and beautiful snowbound landscape, and the fiery, candle-lit cold of Byrd's dwelling.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.