(3) K-3 Translated by Lyn Miller-Lachmann. Illustrated by Marco Somà. In this Portuguese import, when a "crown" (a human's lost ring) lands in a pond and a frog finds it, the pond's amphibious denizens agree that she's now the queen and must "give orders...and punish the frogs who don't obey." This delicious riff on the misuse of power is accompanied by predominantly green- and brown-hued art with Beatrix Potter–like delicacy and the subdued mirth of Arnold Lobel.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Translated by Lyn Miller-Lachmann. Illustrated by Yara Kono. In association with Amnesty International. A family searching for political and educational freedom instead finds itself in a society limited by conformity; but the mother takes boring, solid-color sweaters--offered only in green, orange, and gray--and makes fantastically patterned sweaters, inspiring others. Based on a family from dictator-led Portugal exiled in Communist Czechoslovakia in the 1960s, the allegorical picture book features graphically strong three-color illustrations.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 Translated by Lyn Miller-Lachmann. Illustrated by Madalena Matoso. Originally published in Brazil in 1987, this newly translated picture book captures the amazement of learning to read. Pedro finds letters he's just learned miraculously appearing on signs, posters, and T-shirts. Portuguese illustrator Matoso uses a limited palette, broad fields of color, and flattened perspective, creating enigmatic graphics that play with the concept of visual representation and cleverly pointing to the way written language works.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(3) K-3 Translated by Lyn Miller-Lachmann. Illustrated by Bernardo P. Carvalho. A series of colorful, graphic double-page spreads with brief captions offers profound commentary on what can happen around the world in the matter of one second. Elegant understatement of text considers a host of possibilities, from the mundane to the suspenseful ("...Something important slips from a woman's fingers") to the ruminative, while the illustrations offer delightful, novel perspectives on events.

Reviewer: Grace Enriquez