(3) K-3 The traditional Christmas carol is illustrated with elaborate paintings as sumptuous as the gifts in the song. Each spread includes, hidden in the foliage and ribbons, all the items listed in previous verses. A helpful key to the hidden objects is included on the back of the dust jacket. Music and an artist's note are appended.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Laurel Long. Mary Mapes Dodge's classic tale is here adapted for a picture book audience. Hans and his sister prepare for an ice skating race while Hans tries to solve the puzzle of a mysterious watch. The book's highlight is Long's glowing oil paintings, which are equally effective in illustrating Holland's snowy, glittering landscape and the story's warmer, more intimate family moments.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2007

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Laurel Long & Laurel Long. In this retelling of a Grimm tale, a lady finds herself promised to a lion who is really an enchanted prince. A magical accident interrupts their happy marriage; the prince is transformed into a dove, and the lady spends seven years searching for him. Elaborate oil paintings, full of vibrant colors, complex patterns, and swirling lines, mirror the drama of this story of faithful love. A source note is included.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by Laurel Long. After her grandmother's death, Katya sets out into the world armed only with a Russian nesting doll, which produces a magical helper each of the three times she opens it. The luxuriously detailed oil paintings depict Katya's determined efforts to free a prince from the spell that has turned him into a living block of ice. Readers will cheer the brave heroine as she faces a daunting task in this attractive picture book.

Reviewer: Anne St. John

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Laurel Long. In this tale of canine loyalty, Prince Llywelyn's hound Gelert saves the prince's infant son from a wolf and is wrongly accused of harming the baby. Gelert disappears, only to return when Llywelyn himself needs rescuing. Exquisitely detailed illustrations inspired by Renaissance art render this medieval Welsh legend in a series of tableaux. An author's note provides historical background.

Reviewer: Pamela McCuen