(3) K-3 Illustrated by Owen Smith. Shore and Alexander touch on historical elements of baseball along with highlighting a handful of players including "Dizzy" Dean ("his fastball is mean!"), Babe Ruth ("the Sultan of Swat"), and Jackie Robinson ("This is the Dodger / fulfilling a dream..."). This appealing paean to the "ages-old pastime that captures us all" is illustrated with big-blue-sky, lush-green-grass paintings.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Owen Smith. Magnus the fire horse is trained to pull the steam-powered fire engines of the nineteenth century. When motorized engines are invented, he is put out to pasture but keeps jumping the fence and beating the new truck to the fire. When the truck breaks down, Magnus saves the day. Strong oil paintings full of action illustrate the dramatic tale.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Owen Smith. Three Jack tales ("Jack and the Northwest Wind," "Jack and the Bean Tree," "Jack and the Robbers") are here retold by a popular storyteller. The stories are flavorfully told and amusingly illustrated in a mock Thomas Hart Benton style, but the book design is too grandiose for the homespun fun it purports to contain. A CD of Hicks telling the stories is included.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton