(3) K-3 Illustrated by Lynne Russell. Anholt's prose has far more liveliness than his protagonist Ella, a serious child who finds the sunshine within herself only after her grandmother gives her the key to her summerhouse, built as a reminder of her former island home. Russell's vivid, color-drenched pastels are equally adept at capturing character and evoking the fantasy island world of the summerhouse.

Reviewer: Jackie C. Horne

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Lynne Russell. In this version, the manger baby receives bread, a story, and a child's kiss courtesy of three women of modest means, each summoned from a different faraway land by the same star. The star motif is overused (the baby receives "a kiss full of starlight"), but the tale is otherwise an engaging adaptation of the Nativity story. The rich oranges and blues of the oil pastel artwork lend a luminous quality to the illustrations.

Reviewer: Nell Beram