(3) K-3 Translated by Kathryn Bishop. Illustrated by Eve Tharlet. Farm child Lena describes waiting for hen Alma to produce a chick. Lena (presumably like the reader) has much to learn: Mom explains that a hen must sit on her egg for twenty-one days before it hatches, etc. Accompanying the well-articulated facts are marvelously truth-telling illustrations, as when four panels show Alma preparing to release an egg from her body.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Translated by Paul Kelly. Illustrated by Florence Koenig. Friends Anna, a servant, and Johanna, the master's daughter, discover a secret on their shared twelfth birthday in seventeenth-century Delft. The picture book's plot, explained in the author's note, is based on two Jan Vermeer paintings, The Milkmaid and The Lacemaker. Lush acrylic paintings use some of Vermeer's imagery. More information about Vermeer and reproductions of the source paintings are included.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Joanna Boillat. When Leo touches a statue in Paris' Musée d'Orsay, the bear comes to life. Named for his sculptor, François Pompon (mentioned in the background note), Pompon the bear mysteriously flies away; Elschner imagines it's now Pompon's "twin" in his place..." and he is waiting for someone like you to visit him." Strong forms, muted colors, and red accents dominate the illustrations in this whimsical tale of art appreciation.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) K-3 Translated by Kathryn Bishop. Written in short, powerful phrases and illustrated with historical paintings, this is an introductory biography of the priest who upended Roman Catholic practices in the sixteenth century. Fleeing the church, Luther translated the Bible into German for commoners, sparked the Protestant Reformation, and would become an influence for many activists. Source notes are included for the (uncaptioned) paintings but unfortunately not for the text's quotations.

Reviewer: Christina Dorr

(4) K-3 Translated by Kathryn Bishop. Illustrated by Giotto. The Christmas story is retold to accompany close-ups of frescoes by Renaissance artist Giotto. Like the art, Elschner's text is formal (if a bit awkwardly translated), and it is more detailed than the familiar Gospel of John. Handsome bookmaking will appeal to an audience looking for a classical interpretation of the birth of Jesus.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Antoine Guilloppé. A wolflike dog, chained up and neglected, narrates his own story in stark prose ("No one came near me. No one dared"), originally written in French. Stark, too, are the crisp silhouette illustrations, in mostly black-and-white with rare pops of color. After the story's sad start, dog lovers will rejoice as this "good dog" finds his place in the world.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Anja Klauss. A little blue hippo who rests beside an entombed Egyptian man awakes during an archaeological excavation and ventures out into the changed world in search of his ancestors, whom he eventually finds in the Louvre with other Egyptian artifacts from the eleventh dynasty. The opportunity for factual connection is lost in an oversimplified narrative, but the art is gorgeous and back matter is enlightening.

Reviewer: Paula M. Cairo

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Stéphane Girel. A frog in a Giverny garden pond is determined to find her way into one of Mister Claude's paintings. But when she finally triumphs, the painting falls into the water. The awkwardly written story does little to introduce Monet's work, but the pretty landscapes nicely embody his style. Reproductions of eight Monet water lily paintings and contextual and biographical information are appended.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Peggy Nille. A cat locked in a gilded cage, dreaming of freedom, narrates this tale of how a bird helped facilitate his escape. The story, inspired by a painting--Klee's Cat and Bird--verges on heavy-handed, but the cat's musing narration complements the abstraction of the stunning art in the master's style. A reproduction of the original painting and biographical information on Klee are included.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(3) K-3 Translated by Charise Myngheer. Illustrated by Jean-Pierre Corderoch. For his birthday, a boy receives flower seeds from his uncle then secretly scatters them around town. By story's end, the "flower magician" is unmasked. The premise is derivative of Barbara Cooney's Miss Rumphius, but this European import adds a dose of botany and school life to the story. Cheerful paintings that illustrate the boy's quaint town complement the upbeat tale.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(4) K-3 Translated by Marianne Martens. Illustrated by Xavière Devos. Just when Sunny the squirrel is most missing Milly, her hibernating marmot friend, a snowman comes alive and keeps Sunny company. Before melting he promises to come back next winter so she will have a friend whatever the season, an ending that is a bit too pat. The snowy illustrations, showing Sunny in snappy striped outfits, are easy on the eye.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(4) K-3 Translated by Charise Myngheer. Illustrated by Alexandra Junge. Tired of his young owner's messy, smelly room, Carlos the cat sets out to find a better home. He ends up in a tidy apartment with a luxurious bed, warm milk, and expensive treats. But the good life gets old, and Carlos starts to miss his former owner. The textured, painterly illustrations add humor to this somewhat preachy story.

Reviewer: Mark Adam

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Angela Kehlenbeck. A poor family in a snowy land lacks a main dish for Christmas dinner. But when the father finds a small white goat, they decide against eating it. At springtime shedding, Mother makes warm mittens whose profits allow her to buy a young ram and start a successful business in mohair goods. Understated prose and soft, textured illustrations endorse the family's wise decision.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(4) K-3 Translated by Marianne Martens. Illustrated by Alexandra Junge. Because her chick wants to hatch on Easter, Hilda the hen must figure out exactly what day that will be. Max the owl helps her keep track of time until Easter arrives--"the first Sunday after the first full moon that comes after the first day of spring." The illustrations give Hilda and her chick plenty of personality, but the story feels contrived.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(4) K-3 Translated by J. Alison James. Illustrated by Lieselotte Schwarz. A small star longs to visit the earth, so the moon turns him into a sea star, and he investigates the ocean and many lands. Years later, he returns to the moon, leaving behind a starfish shell for a young child to find. The warm, luminous illustrations justify the book's large scale, but the lyrical text is self-consciously allegorical to the point of being grating.

Reviewer: Nell Beram