(4) K-3 Illustrated by Bimba Landmann. Pope John XXIII's prayer of living each day to the fullest and with intention is published in picture book format. The abstract concepts are illustrated with images of a child leaving his room and living a life of the imagination. Landmann's whimsical, stylized paintings suit the language, but this book has more to offer adults than young children.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Bimba Landmann. With gold-accented paintings that combine a medieval sense of perspective with modern contrasts of color, this illustrated book is sumptuous in its own particular way. As retold here, the story of Francis and Clare is sometimes oblique and disjointed; that fact and the sophisticated art probably demand an audience already familiar with the lives of these saints. Two translations of the "Canticle of Brother Sun" are appended. Timeline

Reviewer: Roger Sutton

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Bimba Landmann. Nicolo's family and teacher try to discourage him from daydreaming about unicorns, but finally his grandfather shows he understands the importance of a vivid imaginative life. Although the message is heavy-handed, the stylized artwork of both the Venice setting and Nicolo's dreamy encounters with his unicorn glows with an almost magical light. Touches of gold leaf give the illustrations extra sparkle.

Reviewer: Anne St. John

(3) K-3 Translated by Jonathan Galassi. Illustrated by Bimba Landmann. This fictional account of how the great painter Giotto--about whom little is known--might have come to be apprenticed to his teacher is lavishly illustrated. Using the warm, burnished palette common in Renaissance paintings, Landmann alludes to Chagall, Mondrian, ancient Egyptian art, Russian religious art, and more in framed paintings, panels, and triptychs highlighted with gold.

Reviewer: Gail Hedges