(2) K-3 Illustrated by Susanne Strasser. When some of Mr. Happy's seeds float over from his garden to next-door neighbor Miss Grimm's bleak yard, she is angry. But a pair of giant sunflowers pushes their houses together, and friendship blossoms, along with a riotous collage garden. The text is unabashedly folktale binary (happy is good; sad is bad) with a touch of positive thinking; illustrations with a European sensibility lend subtlety.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2015

(4) K-3 Translated by J. Alison James. Illustrated by Quentin Gréban. Fay the mouse is frightened by a dog who growls at her on her way home from school. Her father figures out, however, that the dog just wants to be friends and is trying to get her attention. The pleasant illustrations for this slight, somewhat saccharine story make the most of the contrast between the small mouse and her large surroundings.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(4) 1-3 Translated by J. Alison James. Illustrated by Uli Waas. Siblings Flora and Barnaby acquire a pigeon named Jewel and seek advice on her care from their neighbor, old Gabriel, who owns pigeons himself. After Jewel escapes, Flora and Barnaby spend the winter helping Gabriel with his birds and are pleased when Jewel returns in the spring. Cheerful illustrations accompany this pleasant, though somewhat superficial and at times confusing, story.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(4) K-3 Translated by J. Alison James. Illustrated by Cristina Kadmon. While visiting his aunt Molly, Luke spots a real live lion at the edge of the woods. Luke is afraid--until he discovers the powerful beast only wants to get home, and small, insignificant Luke can help. Kadmon's pastel compositions often consist of several panels used together to convey sequence of action. The "lionhearted" theme is labored, but the engaging illustrations redeem the book.

Reviewer: Emma Loy-Santelli

(4) K-3 Translated by J. Alison James. Illustrated by Maja Dusi­kova. When Granny's old canary dies, she reminds Will and Molly that the bird will live on in their memories. Later, when Granny dies, the children realize that as they look at pictures and tell stories about her, Granny will also live on. The otherwise sensitive illustrations are marred by the fact that they show a parakeet rather than a canary.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley