(3) K-3 Illustrated by James Ransome. Isabella Baumfree was born into slavery but later escaped and transformed herself into Sojourner Truth, antislavery speaker and women's-rights advocate. Assuming the voice of Sojourner, Turner's free-verse narrative is loose and colloquial, and the punctuation quirky. Ransome's dramatic watercolors complement a page design that plays with font size, italics, and ribbons of words floating across double-page spreads. Reading list.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider

(4) YA Amidst the Salem witch trial madness, fourteen-year-old Lidda experiences disturbing, disorienting hallucinations that leave her wondering whether she's insane--or if she might herself be a witch. Though the narrative remains rather ambiguous about the origins of Lidda's visions, an author's note discusses bipolar disorder. There's some melodrama here, but the vivid prose effectively brings Lidda's inner life to light. Reading list.

Reviewer: Norah Piehl

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Wendell Minor. Turner imagines the elderly chief, imprisoned, recalling his initiation into manhood and the proud and tragic tale of his people's subjugation by the white man. The first-person narration, though descriptive, is stilted. Some of the accompanying paintings showing sweeping vistas and quiet, thoughtful portraits are based on existing images of Sitting Bull. An author's note provides additional (though vague) history.

Reviewer: Amy Lois Cohn

(4) 4-6 Life and Times series. Life in ancient Egypt isn't easy, but it gets harder for thirteen-year-old Maïa when she justly accuses her uncle of stealing from the temple. Fearing the wrath of the temple priests, Maïa hides but ultimately comes forward to ask that her uncle be shown lenience. While some elements seem unlikely, the setting is fascinating and Maïa is a satisfyingly complex character.

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Mark Hess. Narrated by young Ned, whose mother runs the boarding house where Thomas Jefferson stays in 1776, this story shows Ned's conversion from loyalist to rebel. The boy is influenced by Jefferson's personality, his spoken and written words, and a popular move toward that position. Finely detailed, if slightly static, illustrations interpret the text, which conveys a child's perspective effectively but ends somewhat abruptly.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(4) 4-6 Dear America series. Set in western Massachusetts in 1774, this story in diary form chronicles the persecution of British Loyalists. Level-headed and compassionate thirteen-year-old Prudence recounts the hardships Tories face. Subplots, such as Prudence apprenticing her midwife mother, don't have a chance to flourish, but readers will still enjoy the story and its details of daily life. A historical note and illustrations are appended.

Reviewer: Hilary Breed Van Dusen

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Wendell Minor. Abraham Lincoln remembers how he viewed the world as a young, poorly schooled Kentucky boy and reflects on his work as a storekeeper, a lawyer, and finally a politician. Illustrated with large pictures that set the scene and convey character, the free verse text portrays what Lincoln's emotional response to events may have been, rather than offering specific facts about his life. An endnote provides some background material.

Reviewer: Anne St. John

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Salley Mavor. A little girl describes her day, focusing on one particular object or idea that is the "heart" of each segment. While the concept sometimes feels forced, the satisfying conclusion neatly summarizes the day's highlights. The illustrations, remarkably detailed three-dimensional collages composed of fabrics and found objects and enhanced with needlework, invite careful scrutiny.

Reviewer: CHristine Sarrazin

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Raul Colon. In a series of free-verse poems, Emma, the wooden doll narrator, longs for adventure beyond the miniature world of the dollhouse inhabited by her family, Cook, and Butler. When Baby disappears, a menacing cat is first suspected and then welcomed as a rescuer, and Emma gets some desired excitement. Sepia-toned scratchboard illustrations show the characters to be lifelike, yet convincingly wooden.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) YA In a series of free-verse poems, Turner captures the hurt and confusion she felt as a young child when a neighbor boy molested her repeatedly over the course of one summer. Her deep-seated fear of revealing her secret, as well as her intense need to tell, is palpable, and the metaphor of learning how to swim, which is woven through the entire text, provides structure and adds depth.

Reviewer: Anne St. John

(2) PS Illustrated by Dennis Nolan. A flowering plant dug from Ma's garden and set in a wooden box becomes a beacon of hope in this broadly sketched account of a family's arduous wagon trip to California. Using young James as first-person narrator, Turner provides just enough detail to convey the long, bumpy trek. Nolan's fine pencil portraits are both realistic and evocative.

Reviewer: Margaret A. Bush | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 1999

(4) 4-6 Dear America series. Separated from her family, Sarah Nita suffers cold, hunger, and fear on the Long Walk, when soldiers force the Navajo to walk hundreds of miles to imprisonment at Fort Sumner. Despite the enforced optimism of the series, the supplemental information and photos reassure readers of the book's general accuracy. Sarah Nita's invented fables add interest.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(4) PS Harper Growing Tree series. Illustrated by Rick Brown. Young children on an excursion in the country pretend they are different farm animals, including a sheep, a pig, a horse, a calf, a cat, and a dog. The awkwardly rhymed text shows a simple way to imitate each animal, including their sounds. Cartoon watercolor illustrations pictured on heavy paper accompany this average fare for preschoolers.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(3) K-3 A poetic text encourages readers to find angel shapes in the natural world around us: in sunflowers, wood, milkweed, fire, ice, etc. The angels in Ehlert's collages, made mostly of cut paper, but also including wood grains and natural fibers, are sometimes quite subtle; the images are varied and rich. The whole approach inspires the investigation and appreciation of nature.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.