(4) K-3 Illustrated by Daniel San Souci & Justin San Souci. Some fur traders accept a mysterious stranger's offer to be magically transported home for Christmas Eve...provided they don't speak until they arrive. They break the promise but outwit the stranger for a happy ending in this variant of a Canadian tale. The conflict is too-easily resolved, but the chilly illustrations and smattering of French provide a strong sense of place. Glos.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Daniel San Souci. Robert San Souci retells the Grimm tale of Clever Elsie as a story about a sibling duo, instead of the customary husband and wife, making a mess of their farm and housework. The wordy text is ably supported by Daniel San Souci's lively illustrations.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Daniel San Souci. In this second picture book spin-off of My Side of the Mountain, weasel Baron tries to steal Oksi's babies for his own youngsters' meal. Sam Gribley helps protect the falcons, though he doesn't stop being friends with Baron. Although the text meanders, the shades-of-gray message is refreshing. San Souci's illustrations add beauty and dimension to the woodland scenes.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Daniel San Souci. Female tricksters from the southern tradition of Br'er Rabbit get their due in this thoroughly entertaining retelling of stories from At the Big House by Anne Virginia Culbertson (first published in 1904). The amusing paintings, showing well-dressed animals cavorting and posturing, combine with rich language and easy-to-read print on creamy pages to make this a handsome volume.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Daniel San Souci. Frightful, the falcon who appeared in the author's My Side of the Mountain trilogy, returns in a picture book. Now the focus is on her hatchling, Oksi, who "did things her own way" and ends up wintering in the north with young Sam Gribley. Though well illustrated, the text is wordy and overwritten, suggesting that Oksi's story would also be better suited for a novel than a picture book.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Daniel San Souci. Newborn wild mustang Little Pinto travels with the herd in search of water, observes a challenge to the band's leadership from a rogue stallion, and is temporarily separated from his mother while fleeing a low-flying airplane. Carefully crafted prose builds character, drama, and atmosphere without resorting to anthropomorphism or quaintness. Stunning watercolors capture the rich reds of the Western desert landscape.

Reviewer: CHristine Sarrazin

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Daniel San Souci. This straightforward account of Hernán Cortés's 1520 conquest of what is now Mexico gives both the Spanish and the Aztec sides of the story--a welcome reminder to young readers that even bloody battles shouldn't be looked at in black-and-white terms. The book's careful prose and accomplished watercolor illustrations relay both the revolution's drama and Montezuma's humanity. Bib., glos.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Daniel San Souci. David finds his normally voluble grandfather acting sullen after he sells his dairy farm and moves in with his family on Grosse Ile, Michigan. As David takes him on walks and shows him island highlights, Grandad gradually comes around. This refreshingly unsentimental tale of love's capacity to heal has an admirably light touch, as do the watercolor illustrations depicting the changing seasons.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Daniel San Souci. While a young polar bear learns to live and hunt on his own, a sharp Arctic fox follows him and barks warnings of danger in exchange for mealtime leftovers. The judiciously spare text subtly characterizes this natural relationship, and the stunning watercolors capture the chilly vastness of the northern tundra. The glossary does not include pronunciations for the Inuit terms, making reading aloud more difficult.

Reviewer: Emma Loy-Santelli