(3) K-3 Illustrated by Anne Spudvilas. Li Cunxin's memoir of his rise from peasant to world-renowned ballet dancer is well translated into picture book form. Illustrations, both traditional Chinese ink and watercolors and oil paintings, enhance the lyrical prose; absence or use of color carries meaning and mood. An appended note explains life under Mao Zedong, allowing the story itself to focus on the dancer's struggles and success.

Reviewer: Laura A. Woollett

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Anne Spudvilas. Ben lives in hiding, his only companion upstairs neighbor Mrs. Radinski. When she disappears, Ben resolves to rescue her, and the book ends on a tremulous note of hope. Wild's quasi-phonetic text demonstrates a decayed society and forces readers to savor every word. Spudvilas's sweeping cityscapes, composed of heavy brown-black lines, sickly greens, and menacing yellows and oranges, are artfully arid.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2007