(2) 1-3 Translated by Nancy Forest-Flier. Illustrated by Martijn Van der Linden. Bob, an egg-sized, anthropomorphic, unpopped kernel of popcorn wearing a Stetson, makes his way from the American Midwest to the Netherlands, where he falls in with Ellis, a more-or-less regular nine-year-old human girl. If this premise takes your fancy--and it will speak to many an early-chapter-book reader--then you're ready to join Bob and Ellis as they fight to survive and undermine a new, threatening school policy of healthy eating. Bob is a lot of work. Ellis has to keep him secret at home and school, arrange regular reviving sessions in the microwave, prevent him from popping when he loses his temper, and save him when he is mistaken for a rubber duck. (Don't ask.) The basic pattern here is that Bob wreaks havoc, and long-suffering Ellis gets blamed. A generous scattering of pencil drawings helps to maintain the pace, add funny detail, assist with the visualization (a kernel of corn herding sheep?), and, on a couple of text-free spreads, give us a moment of quiet to collect ourselves. The open-ended finale hints at a sequel from this wonderfully loopy Dutch author/illustrator duo.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2021

(2) 4-6 Translated by Nancy Forest-Flier. In alternating chapters we experience two stories, one about a girl with talking-animal companions, the other about a girl recovering from trauma. Certain elements begin to appear in both--piano music, the smell of gasoline, letters--and the stories finally meet. Matti has created an austere world, stripped of coziness and easy answers, daring in its portrayal of childhood pain and strength.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2010

(2) YA Translated by Nancy Forest-Flier. Twelve-year-old Lizzy (whose literalness and physical hypersensitivity suggest autism) is befriended by outcast Piggy. The tension between Lizzy's naiveté and what the reader begins to suspect about Piggy escalates as Lizzy records, in her dispassionate voice, the story of their relationship. Excellent plotting; a fully realized, intriguing narrator; and an unvarnished portrayal of a dangerous friendship make for a gripping read.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2009

(3) 1-3 Translated by Nancy Forest-Flier. Illustrated by Sylvia van Ommen. The book begins with a quarrel between friends Sheep and Goat. Each delicately drawn short chapter further elucidates their complicated friendship with the resolutions often left beneath the surface for young readers to discern on their own. Van Ommen's simple, humorous line drawings make clear with the animals' two-legged stance that they have a lot in common with human critters.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke

(3) 4-6 Translated by Nancy Forest-Flier. Young Maria reluctantly gives up "her" attic when the difficult, bed-ridden Grandma Forever (so nicknamed because she is ninety-three) comes to live with the family. The two slowly develop a relationship, which, because of Maria's faith that the dead are merely sleeping, continues even after Grandma Forever dies. Maria's voice is fresh and her story an original one about friendship and faith.

Reviewer: Mary R. Holt