(2) K-3 Translated by Rosemary Lanning. Illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger. Janisch's foreboding yet lyrical text is aptly matched by Zwerger's delicate muted illustrations. Eerie scenes of destruction are balanced by pictures of beautifully detailed insects and animals shown filing toward the Ark and, on some pages, as figures in a hand-lettered catalog. The evocative and bewitching interpretation effectively maintains the awe-filled and reverential tone of the Bible story.

Reviewer: Lauren Adams | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 1998

(2) K-3 Translated by Anthea Bell. Illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger. With her delicate, instantly recognizable style, Zwerger is an acknowledged master at interpreting classic tales. Although she has broadened her palette in recent years, this early work, with its acknowledged debt to Arthur Rackham, is well worth seeking out.

Reviewer: Terri Schmitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: June, 1982

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Robert Ingpen. Ingpen's fans will be the obvious audience for this edition of Dickens's classic Christmas story. The large book, printed on heavy cream-colored paper, also includes Dickens's lesser-known short story "A Christmas Tree." Ingpen's ghostly illustrations highlight the scarier parts of the tales. Reading list.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(2) K-3 Translated by Elizabeth D. Crawford. Illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger. Illustrator Zwerger, with her delicate, instantly recognizable style, is an acknowledged master at interpreting classic tales. Although she has broadened her palette in recent years, this early work, with its acknowledged debt to Arthur Rackham, is well worth seeking out.

Reviewer: Terri Schmitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: June, 1980

(4) K-3 Translated by Kathryn Bishop. Whether going on outings, dancing, or whipping up some cookies, five friends show that little old ladies don't "just sit around all day feeding the ducks in the park." Tidy, studied illustrations feature funny repeated elements (one character always has her fishbowl nearby, another is never without her dangly red earrings), but this offbeat homage to seniors could do with a bit more plot.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(4) K-3 When Queen Grumpy gives birth to Prince Grumpy the Sixth, he actually comes out smiling (gasp!). After doctors rule out gas as the cause of the "disfigurement," King Grumpy assumes the "horrid look." Readers will relish being smarter than this all-dog royal family. They'll also enjoy the sight-gag-rich illustrations (though distractingly fuzzy resolution gives some a synthetic look).

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Bernadette Watts. This story follows the voyage of five small pinecones as they fall from their tree into a stream and travel along the water to a river's ocean convergence. The story suggests changes in the bodies of water and surrounding terrain as the pinecones drift away one by one. Impressionistic illustrations in soft, seasonal hues add details that reflect the different landscapes.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Sarah Emmanuelle Burg. With so many brothers and sisters, mouse Muri wonders, "Who is Mama's favorite?" Imitating his siblings fails to garner Muri extra attention, but a dangerous cat encounter proves that Mama "loved them all the same." Though it's sentimental, the story is enhanced by illustrations of softly textured mice, each with distinctive identifiers such as a colored scarf.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(4) K-3 Adapted by Kate Westerlund. After his father leaves town to drum up sales for his cup-making business, Pucca the penguin tries to help out by molding and painting a special cup that looks just like his babysitter, Ms. Parrot. Her delight yields orders for more individualized cups. Friendly animals (and cute cups) fill the pages, but the plot is slight.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(4) K-3 Translated by Kathryn Bishop. In this tale of friendship found and lost again between two bashful children, Bunge's art is the true star. Delightfully skewed perspectives, such as the never-ending staircase up to school, are calibrated to convey a child's worldview. Small fantastical details--pigs in a distant hot-air balloon, birds snuggled in armchairs--add gaiety. Abrupt shifts in the wordy narrative, however, can be disconcerting.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(1) 4-6 Illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger. Zwerger invokes a surreal dreamland virtually devoid of background and details, but with an ambiance so intensely realized it inspires readers' own imaginations. The full-page paintings, especially, are exquisitely composed, with unexpected vantage points giving dynamic views of events. Like Carroll's story itself, these illustrations open doors to many levels of creative interpretation.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2000

(4) K-3 Translated by Anthea Bell. Illustrated by Claudia Carls. The wordy text tells of a girl "so beautiful that...fish jumped...out of the water for joy," though the peculiar illustrations--combining sculpture and paintings--belie common standards of comeliness. The story is set in a surreal landscape where giant meerkats and other animals cavort among humans, including a king whose crown looks like a cross between a pumpkin and a chamberpot.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Gian Casty. One day clown Petronius and his animal friends decide they will no longer perform as directed, and they all leave the circus. They form a new, rule-free circus for children and poets, becoming as successful as they are happy. This edition features the illustrations from the original 1962 Swiss edition; the bold, childlike images are commanding, but the lengthy text lacks verve.

Reviewer: David Elzey

(3) K-3 Translated by Charise Myngheer. Illustrated by Jean-Pierre Corderoch. For his birthday, a boy receives flower seeds from his uncle then secretly scatters them around town. By story's end, the "flower magician" is unmasked. The premise is derivative of Barbara Cooney's Miss Rumphius, but this European import adds a dose of botany and school life to the story. Cheerful paintings that illustrate the boy's quaint town complement the upbeat tale.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(4) K-3 Tad enjoys being a tadpole, especially sporting a tail that helps when playing underwater baseball or fending off bullies. Soft-edged, rounded illustrations in undersea blues and greens show Tad's shock when he begins to grow legs, a normal developmental mark for a frog. The slight story aims to help youngsters find comfort in growth and change.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(4) K-3 Translated by Anthea Bell. Illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger. Dark, muted colors characterize Zwerger's paintings in this classic tale of four past-their-prime animals in pursuit of happiness. Somber portraits establish the animals' gloomy existences, and the pairing of the action-packed robber scenes with the static illustrations dilutes some of the story's excitement. The ominous ending leaves readers unconvinced that the "musicians" live happily ever after.

Reviewer: Sethany Rancier Alongi

(4) K-3 Chester runs away when his family becomes too busy to play with him. In the predictable tale, the lonely canine finds that, after he experiences the forest, the city, and the pampered life, home is where he belongs. The subdued, almost-surreal illustrations, which depict Chester's journey and his return to his newly attentive family, feature lots of unexpected perspectives.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(4) K-3 Translated by Kathryn Bishop. Illustrated by Mandy Schlundt. Sophie and Grandma Elizabeth go to the local dance, just like Grandma used to do with Grandpa. Sophie is jealous when Grandma finds a partner but then realizes that Grandma always saves a special place for her. The wordy, nostalgic text is enhanced by Schlundt's richly colored, intentionally grainy illustrations, which indicate emotions with the curve of a line.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(3) PS Baby hedgehog Elvis wants a hug. Everyone tells him he's too prickly until he meets a kindly crocodile who's in need of a kiss. The theme is a familiar but amiable one; each animal gets what he's been missing--a friend. The other animals aren't being unjustifiably nasty: the illustrations feature a main character who really is very pointy.

Reviewer:

(3) K-3 Adapted by Kate Westerlund. Translated by Sayako Uchida. Five mice follow the haunting sound of music to a frog concert. Quickly barred ("Frogs only!"), they decide to create their own instruments and stage a mouse concert. Their show is a hit, and when the frogs arrive they all make beautiful music together. Warm textured illustrations help this story about tolerance and cooperation rise above its message-y undertones.

Reviewer: Susan Halperin