(3) K-3 Translated by Rosemary Lanning. Illustrated by Eve Tharlet. A reissue of Will You Mind the Baby, Davy? is unchanged except for the title. Rabbit Davy is not excited about having a new sibling, but he warms up to the baby when he has great success comforting her. The loose, expressive illustrations successfully express Davy's appropriately childlike emotions.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) K-3 Translated by Rosemary Lanning. Illustrated by Eve Tharlet. When young rabbit Davy wishes for someone who's always there to spend time with him, his grandparents surprise him on his birthday. They bring with them all the stories, games, love, and patience that only grandparents can offer a child. Soft watercolor and charcoal illustrations convey the warmth in the rabbit household.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) K-3 Translated by Rosemary Lanning. Illustrated by Eve Tharlet. When Davy and his rabbit siblings can't find the Easter Bunny in the woods, Davy surprises his disappointed siblings with gifts of his own. The illustrations' muted tones suit this simple Swiss import about generosity. Although Davy's fans probably won't mind, the plot leaves an important question unanswered--who left Davy's Easter gift? Younger readers may be confused by the abrupt ending.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(3) K-3 Translated by Rosemary Lanning. Rabbit Davy knows what impresses Santa: helping one another, being kind, and sharing. After Davy divides his family's winter food supplies among some hungry woodland animals, the rabbits scrimp by until Christmas Eve--when Davy's friends arrive with food that will sustain them and provide a bountiful harvest next summer. Expressive charcoal line and watercolor pictures illustrate this satisfying story.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(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

(4) K-3 Translated by Rosemary Lanning. Lars, a little polar bear, helps clean the wings of his new friend, Yuri, a puffin who can't fly because he's soaked with oil. The bear explores a hot-air balloon, and soon he and Yuri are floating above the clouds. As in the other Lars books, the polar bear eventually helps his friend get home. Although the prose is energetic and the illustrations capture the snowy setting nicely, the story line isn't well developed. Concurrently published in Spanish.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(4) K-3 Translated by Rosemary Lanning. Illustrated by Julia Gukova. When sparrow Ben joins forces with the barn cat to try to impress a group of daredevil sparrows, he unwittingly helps the cat capture all of the Buccaneers. Now it's up to Ben to figure out a plan to help the Buccaneers escape. While the text is on the bland side, Gukova's soft-focus illustrations will amuse readers, particularly with the cat's comical facial expressions.

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(4) K-3 Translated by Rosemary Lanning. Illustrated by Eve Tharlet. When Davy the rabbit and his siblings fail to find the Easter bunny in the woods, Davy decides to surprise his disappointed siblings with gifts of his own. The muted tones of the artwork suit this simple Swiss import about generosity. Although Davy's fans probably won't mind, the plot leaves an important question unanswered--who left Davy's Easter gift? Younger readers may be confused by the story's abrupt ending.

Reviewer: Anne St. John

(3) K-3 Translated by Rosemary Lanning. A foppish emperor and most of his subjects are tricked by smooth-talking weavers who swear they make the most exquisite cloth in the world. The text is simply told, and the details of an imaginary eighteenth-century European court (including the vain emperor with his frizzy red hair, his coyly discreet pantaloons, and his little flea-bitten dog) will leave readers chuckling.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) PS Translated by Rosemary Lanning. Illustrated by Eve Tharlet. A woman insists on taking five things to the beach: a book, a ball, the pet turtle, the beach umbrella, and her baby. But with every vehicle she tries, from bus to balloon, she finds she would have to leave one item behind. As she tests out each vehicle, readers will enjoy guessing which object is missing from the spacious, comical illustrations.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(4) 1-3 Translated by Rosemary Lanning. Suspected of pinching some of Grandpa's honey, Max and Molly turn detective to unmask the real thief and restore grumpy Grandpa's usual fun-loving spirit. A touch of wordplay (bee-lieve, beeline, sticky honey business) enlivens the thin mystery. Obrist's illustrations, full of anthropomorphic bears, closely follow the narrative, making this book a suitable choice for newly independent readers.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(3) K-3 Translated by Rosemary Lanning. Illustrated by Eve Tharlet. Davy appears for the seventh time in this gentle story about the joy of family celebrations. When the young rabbit wishes for someone who's always there to spend time with him, his grandparents surprise him on his birthday. They bring with them all the stories, games, love, and patience that only grandparents can offer a child. Soft watercolor and charcoal illustrations convey the warmth in the rabbit household.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) K-3 Translated by Rosemary Lanning. Wondering what's in the treasure chest Squirrel found, the forest animals worry that gold and silver will make Squirrel become greedy. But Squirrel takes the "treasures" he found (seeds, nuts, and honey) and bakes a cake for his real treasures--his friends. The uninspired text is buoyed by the richly colored cartoon-style art that keeps the focus on the characters.

Reviewer: Suzy Schmidt

(4) K-3 Translated by Rosemary Lanning. Augustus's colorless life is transformed when he finds and tries on the round red nose of a circus clown. Suddenly he is a clown, cracking jokes and playing tricks. A mélange of black and white and color, the precisely rendered illustrations brim with bizarre detail. The surreal fantasy, a Swiss import, is intriguing but doesn't deliver quite as much fun as it promises.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) 1-3 Translated by Rosemary Lanning. Illustrated by Ulrike Heyne. Eight-year-old Paul longs to have a dog of his own, but his father insists that he must first prove himself worthy; he's given a chance when he discovers a dog stranded on a sinking fishing boat. Accomplished, atmospheric watercolors rendered in the tones of a stormy sea add richness to a dramatic yet understated chapter book text.

Reviewer: Jackie C. Horne

(4) K-3 Translated by Rosemary Lanning. Illustrated by Cristina Kadmon. After a day of play, Sebastian tells his father all the things he'd like to be when he grows up. When the young turtle asks his dad what he wanted to be, he says, "a father," and Sebastian decides he wants to be just like him. While the pastel illustrations convey the right mixture of humor and tenderness, the sweet tale ends on an overly sentimental note.

Reviewer: Emma Loy-Santelli

(4) K-3 Translated by Rosemary Lanning. Judging from his first impressions of the animals in his new neighborhood, Buddy the dog mistakenly assumes that nobody likes him. But when he asks the animals why they are unfriendly, he discovers that they in turn are making false assumptions about him. The lesson is obvious, but the bold compositions, with their distinctive animals, add interest to the rather bland text.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(4) K-3 Translated by Rosemary Lanning. Humpty Dumpty meets Alice in Wonderland in this surreal tale. Venturing into the night with her teddy bear, Laura discovers, chases after, and befriends an egg-shaped creature. In the morning she finds her nighttime playmate has transformed into a yellow-beaked, stripy-legged bird. Radiant pinks, blues, and reds dissolve into utter darkness, creating misty, dreamlike backdrops, against which the uneven text gets lost.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(4) K-3 Translated by Rosemary Lanning. Illustrated by Eve Tharlet. Davy the rabbit and his friend Eddie have a terrible fight when Davy's bark boat is swept downstream after the dam Eddie constructs gives way. It takes a chance encounter beside the same stream for the two friends to acknowledge that playing together is far preferable to playing alone. The soft, cozy illustrations are the most appealing part of a book that explores a familiar theme.

Reviewer: Amy Lois Cohn

(4) K-3 Translated by Rosemary Lanning. When Lars, a polar bear cub, finds a lost husky puppy all alone at the North Pole, he offers to help him find his way back to his mother and his people, even though Lars's father has warned him to stay away from humans. The story is pleasant and cheerful but lacks a sense of energy. The watercolor illustrations in snowy shades of blue show likable animals.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley