(3) 4-6 Four times a century, the Bell family offers gifts to the town as thanks for their generations of great wealth. That wealth has now run nearly dry, however, so when it's his turn, Darius's father has little to offer but a wheelbarrow of vegetables. This gentle Australian-import parable about family history, loyalty, and pride makes for a satisfying read.

Reviewer: Norah Piehl

(4) 4-6 When a gigantic pair of lobsters is stolen from Mr. Petrusca's fish shop, spunky Hazel Green cracks the case using sophisticated guesswork and irresistible charm. While sleuthing, Hazel learns that Mr. Petrusca is illiterate and decides to teach him to read. Hazel's role as a tutor is unconvincing, but this novel works well as a clever detective story.

Reviewer: Lauren Maggio

(2) YA Unlike the other fourteen-year-old boys in Yoss's tranquil medieval village, who achieve manhood with one brief, ritual sojourn into the surrounding mountains, Yoss leaves home and ventures forth into the world. During his harrowing, picaresque journey, he encounters villainy at every turn. Although the story moves at a slow pace, Hirsch provides plenty of action.

Reviewer: Susan P. Bloom | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2004

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Andrew McLean. Explorers Bartlett and Jacques le Grand and their young companion Gozo discover a city called Run hidden deep inside a forest. Though Run is a generally harmonious community, Bartlett and Jacques soon find themselves imprisoned by a long-lost rival--and it's up to Gozo to save his friends. Ink and wash illustrations are well integrated into this good-humored adventure.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(3) 4-6 Wanting to march in the annual Frogg Day parade, independent thinker Hazel Green unites the other kids and persuades an unfriendly parade organizer to let them participate. A close community, a friendly baker, and an ostracized mathematician help or hinder Hazel's progress. Set in a vaguely European milieu, the story is compelling, the prose crystalline, and the characters uniquely drawn.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Andrew McLean. An impatient but goodhearted queen longs to taste a melidrop, a tropical fruit that rots within a day. Bartlett, a truth-speaking explorer, agrees to take on the quest and ends up harnessing an iceberg to his ship to keep the fruit from spoiling. A harmonious integration of varied settings and characters, plus suspenseful adventures and choices, makes this a pleasing and entertaining read.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) 4-6 In this second book about Bartlett the explorer, Bartlett and Jacques le Grand must use Inventiveness, Perseverance, and Desperation to free their fellow explorer Gozo from the Pasha, ruler of the City of the Sun. To do so, they must rescue the Pasha's son from an underground city. Hirsch adds touches of humor and cartoonishly goofy characters to this well-limned, well-plotted story.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by August Hall. Antonio and a group of friends put on an outdoor play in hopes of luring their reclusive neighbor, a former actor, to see the show. The scenes in which the kids develop and perform their play are delightful. The novel's latter half is somewhat darker in tone, though no less entertaining.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta