(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Júlia Sardà. After a poor fisherman appoints Death as his son’s godfather, Death grants the father a path to fame and wealth: the former fisherman can tell if someone will die based on where Death is standing by the bed. When the king falls ill, the now desperate physician plays a trick on Death in order to save the monarch, with tragic consequences. This unsettling "reimagining” of a Grimms’ tale is complemented by haunting, woodcut-style illustrations in bold green, orange, and mustard.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Kerns

(2) 4-6 Molly and her sister are sent to their grandparents after their mother's death and their father's emotional retreat. Things take a sidestep into magic realism when Molly discovers the kind, gentle, invisible-to-everyone-else "hunted man." In sixty short chapters Nicholls handily weaves myths and classical stories into Molly's everyday, middle-grade doings to create an unsentimental and detailed portrait of a grieving family.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2011

(1) 4-6 Sam, eleven, is dying of leukemia. This journal record of his final four months describes eight goals, which include being a teenager (smoking, having a girlfriend) and seeing the earth from space. Nicholls creates a character and a world that are authentic, buoyant, honest, and stripped of sentimentality. The energy and joy of this novel is a remarkable feat.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2009