(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Cory Godbey. Naia and Kylan seek help from Gelfling clans to stop the Skeksis. But Kylan's song-teller skills may not protect them in unknown lands. Fans of the film The Dark Crystal should enjoy reconnecting with favorite characters in this facile but engaging enough expansion of Jim Henson's original fantasy. Full-page illustrations help draw readers into the world.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Cory Godbey. Young Gelfling Naia's brother is missing and believed a traitor. To clear his name, Naia travels to meet their matriarch. Trouble is also brewing in Naia's homeland, all signs pointing to the Skeksis Lords as the cause. While slightly confusing, especially for readers unfamiliar with the film The Dark Crystal, this is still a vividly imagined return to Henson's fantastical world. Full-page illustrations are included. Glos.

Reviewer: Sian Gaetano

(2) K-3 In a story set in fifteenth-century China, dumplings serve to bring together three people--a homeless girl, an old hunchbacked woman, and an enslaved ship's carpenter--whose experiences have been painfully bitter. Lee's delicately detailed art balances landscapes and domestic scenes; the story's action is dramatically paced across successive panels resembling Chinese screen paintings.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2002

(3) K-3 Six Jataka tales are retold here in a plain, conversational style complemented by almost severely simple linocut illustrations. In a framework that connects the tales in a natural manner, the stories are told by a statue of Buddha to a group of animals in a temple seeking shelter from a monsoon. The unabashedly spiritual approach of Lee's retellings of these religious stories--often secularized when adapted--is laudable.

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