(2) YA Focusing on Lincoln's life through the lens of slavery, this book reads easily and is full of descriptions of specific incidents, quotations, and anecdotes that add color and detail. The vintage photographs and graphics used to illustrate the work are well labeled, and the index will allow fact-hunters to zero in on topics. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Elizabeth S. Watson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 1999

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Salvatore Murdocca. When fifth-grader Cara, a creative loner, publishes her own newspaper and editorializes on the absence of teaching in her classroom, she evolves into a popular editor while her teacher returns to the kind of motivating teacher he used to be. The text flows effortlessly yet explores thought-provoking issues such as intellectual freedom that are likely to engender further exploration.

Reviewer: Elizabeth S. Watson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 1999

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Jill Weber. Back after a ten-year hiatus, Angel has neither aged nor outgrown her penchant for jumping to the most pessimistic (and often funniest) conclusions. When her mom announces they'll be spending the summer in Greece with stepdad Rudy's parents, Angel goes right into worrywart mode. Delton's storytelling is natural; her use of dialogue, authentic.

Reviewer: Elizabeth S. Watson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 1999

(2) 4-6 Fisher's warm, storylike text provides a good introduction to the subject, capturing Bell's apparently indefatigable energy and interest in the world around him. The full- and double-page illustrations in this straightforward biography give the text an intimacy and a sense of personal investment on the part of the author-illustrator.

Reviewer: Elizabeth S. Watson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 1999

(1) 1-3 Illustrated by Kevin Hawkes. Wesley is a nonconformist suffering rejection from classmates until he puts his school lessons to use and founds his own civilization. Beginning with the discovery of a new staple crop that Wesley christens "swist," the idea works superbly, its flowering caught equally well in text and illustrations. A language and counting system evolve to support his innovations; it's all here and it all fits.

Reviewer: Elizabeth S. Watson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 1999

(2) K-3 In the fourth entry in the popular series, Miss Lewis, teacher and world traveler, shares her observations of fauna with her class via letters, "photographs," and paintings as she completes a grant-funded trip around the world in search of indigenous wildlife. The premise works, and the double-page spreads of animals are superbly rendered to provide sufficient detail and maximum appeal.

Reviewer: Elizabeth S. Watson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 1999

(2) 4-6 Illustrated with vintage photos, the book includes vignettes describing discoveries, friendships, and rivalries, all related in a lively narrative that could have originated around a sourdough's campfire. Jones presents an intriguing picture of a remote event, its place in history, the hardships and successes it encompassed, and the people who are remembered for their part in making it happen. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Elizabeth S. Watson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 1999

(2) 4-6 In Matthews's personable text, Bell's inexhaustible curiosity emerges as his wide range of experiments are outlined; his concern for people and making their lives better is also made clear. The book features many vintage photographs and drawings that richly picture the details of life in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. A chronology is included. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Elizabeth S. Watson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 1999

(2) 4-6 Making extensive use of family memoirs and journal articles, the book is arranged in ten chapters, each featuring an individual child or in some cases siblings. Almost a pictorial album, the book invites the reader to browse through the collection of vintage photos that show families, miners, children on their own, settlements, camps, and many objects common to their lives. Bib., glos.

Reviewer: Elizabeth S. Watson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 1999

(2) 4-6 In a carefully crafted book featuring abundant use of strikingly beautiful color photographs, Ryden relates her personal observations and encounters with the mustangs on the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range in Wyoming. A combination of elegant and sound information about this distinct group of horses includes their habits, evolution of the breed, and the history of its presence in North America. Bib.

Reviewer: Elizabeth S. Watson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 1999

(3) YA Living for a year with her sculptor father in rural Pennsylvania, Taylor tries to hone her journalist's detached perspective. But when she rescues an injured hawk and meets the scientist who operates the nearby raptor rehabilitation center, she starts to lose her objectivity and finds herself becoming involved. Savage deftly combines a nature tale with a coming-of-age story.

Reviewer: Elizabeth S. Watson

(2) 1-3 Illustrated by Jim Fowler. Molly, new to the neighborhood, becomes instant best friends with plucky, resourceful Albertina. Their friendship is temporarily jeopardized when Molly overhears Albertina telling tough-talking, karate-kicking Violet that Molly has a nightlight. All is resolved in a gently surprising way. A nifty early chapter book that will claim a solid place in this growing genre.

Reviewer: Elizabeth S. Watson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 1998

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Nicole Rubel. Ralph experiences the ugly but familiar feelings of jealousy and selfishness when he fears he may have to share Sarah with new school friends. Gantos's skillful examination of the child's world is once again evident as the author probes a common negative emotion and suggests, but never preaches, a positive outcome. Rubel's illustrations depict a consistently naughty feline, yet manage to make him believable whether worried and abandoned or loved and purring.

Reviewer: Elizabeth S. Watson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 1998

(2) 1-3 Lily and her plucky mare, Beware, return for their fourth adventure, in which they save Gramp's favorite Morgan, Stogie, a horse that won't let humans near him. A fierce storm has set livestock loose, including Stogie, and how Lily finds and saves Stogie makes a marvelous story, tense and realistic. Haas knows horses and their people, and it shows.

Reviewer: Elizabeth S. Watson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 1998

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Whitney Sherman. This fine addition to folklore collections contains clever stories resounding with the concepts of truth and justice. Seven thematic sections include "Forgiveness and Mercy: Throwing the First Stone" and "Settling Disputes: Between a Rock and a Hard Place." Jaffe and Zeitlin have included excellent documention and suggestions for extending the use of the stories beyond simply telling. Bib.

Reviewer: Elizabeth S. Watson

(2) 4-6 Levin has created a tense drama that follows young teen Jody as he attempts to deal with life with his mother, a key member of a radical animal rights group. Jody is forced deeper into the effort as Moss, a sheep-herding Border Collie "rescued" by his mother, must be nursed back to health. For youngsters who first met Moss in Away to Me, Moss, to which this book is a sequel, the plot will hold even more suspense.

Reviewer: Elizabeth S. Watson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 1999

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Mary Azarian. A warm period look at a cold subject--snow--and one self-made scientist, Wilson A. Bentley, the man who discovered, among other things, the fact that no two snowflakes are alike. Bentley's dedication to his research is clearly evident, and the ridicule to which he was sometimes subjected is appropriately down-played for a young audience. The book exhibits a beautiful blend of Azarian's splendid woodcuts, a lyrical text, and factual sidebars.

Reviewer: Elizabeth S. Watson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 1998

(2) YA Lia's mother inherits the family's antebellum plantation and plans to make it a foster home for handicapped children. The house is supposedly haunted, and the very thought of a malevolent ghost overwhelms Lia, who feels like a wimp. Typical of Nixon's popular gothics, this title has it all--a hint of romance, some really scary scenes, and a plucky heroine who successfully routs both outer and inner demons.

Reviewer: Elizabeth S. Watson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 1998

(3) 4-6 Photographs by William Munoz. Using the work of scientist Dr. Irene Pepperberg (who began studying animal communication with Alex, a grey parrot) as a starting point, the author presents a fascinating discussion of experiments with grey parrots, other birds, and mammals relative to animal intelligence and communication with humans. The book is illustrated with good photographs that extend and clarify the text. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Elizabeth S. Watson

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by Bruce Degen. Commander Toad rides again! This time, while on a journey home, he and his crew intercept an uncharted planet. This new tale of the Star Warts bunch has some fine use of language as well as silly word play. The adventure is just right for the almost-reading set. Black-and-white drawings accompany the story.

Reviewer: Elizabeth S. Watson