(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Inga Moore. This attractive new edition of Burnett's classic story about the healing power of a garden benefits from Moore's detailed ink and watercolor art. The book is heavily illustrated with scenes grand and expansive in addition to smaller, close-up views of plant and animal life.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(4) 4-6 Oxford Children's Classics series. These budget-priced unabridged volumes, compact and sturdily bound with glossy-finished covers, have pleasant but bland pink- (Garden) and purple- (Beauty) heavy cover illustrations and a uniform design. A short "about the author" is included in each. Review covers these Oxford Children's Classics titles: The Secret Garden and Black Beauty.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(4) 4-6 Mary Engelbreit's Classic Library series. Each of these classic novels features a cover illustration by Mary Engelbreit (intrepid orphans Anne, Sara, and Mary all look pretty much the same, with different hair color) and is packaged with a gimmicky necklace. For libraries, the value of these unabridged hardcovers is the inexpensive price. Review covers these Mary Engelbreit's Classic Library titles: A Little Princess, The Secret Garden, Alice in Wonderland, and Anne of Green Gables.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(4) 4-6 Mary Engelbreit's Classic Library series. Each of these classic novels features a cover illustration by Mary Engelbreit (intrepid orphans Anne, Sara, and Mary all look pretty much the same, with different hair color) and is packaged with a gimmicky necklace. For libraries, the value of these unabridged hardcovers is the inexpensive price. Review covers these Mary Engelbreit's Classic Library titles: A Little Princess, The Secret Garden, Alice in Wonderland, and Anne of Green Gables.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(4) 4-6 Charming Classics series. Illustrated by Tasha Tudor. Each of these "deluxe editions" of classic novels are packaged with a gimmicky necklace (thus the "charm" in the series title). For collections, the value of these unabridged hardcovers is the inexpensive price.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Scott McKowen. The story of Sara Crewe, a wealthy boarding school student who retains her pluck even when her personal circumstances change, is presented in its unabridged format. A handful of scratchboard illustrations (all featuring a monkey that doesn't debut until halfway through the novel) repeat over and over as chapter headers. The book concludes with some open-ended questions to stimulate thought.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Scott McKowen. The time-tested classic about orphaned Mary Lennox and the neglected walled garden she returns to life is presented with a ribbon bookmark and a list of open-ended questions ("Is an absent father worse than a bad father?") for readers to ponder or discuss. A handful of scratchboard vignette illustrations repeat as chapter headings throughout the book.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Barbara McClintock. Sketched in pen and washed with watercolors, the small vignettes and larger illustrations that accompany this picture book version of the classic novel clearly depict Sara Crewe's sad reversal of fortune. The retelling retains the basic plot and characterizations and so provides a good introduction to the tale, but it is no substitute for the original story, which has a grander scope and greater emotional resonance.

Reviewer: Anne St. John