(3) K-3 Illustrated by Gary Kelley. Twelve-year-old Calvin's farming family endures drought, dust storms, and poverty during the Dust Bowl, clinging to the belief that "next year" will be better. Rain comes too late for his parents to remain, but now-sixteen-year-old Calvin stays to revitalize the farm, looking forward to "next year." The poignant, poetic text and atmospheric dust-hued illustrations serve as a paean to farmers' indomitable spirits.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Ronald Himler. Orphaned and seriously injured during the Vietnam War, four-year-old Kim spends five years in an orphanage where she's sustained by the directors, her friend Vinh, and her dying mother's words: "Don't be afraid. I will always be with you." In this book based on real events, the eloquent illustrations and sensitive text temper Kim's suffering with her courageous spirit and caregivers' love.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Bill Farnsworth. This sobering story is about Eli, a young Jewish boy who learns how his great-grandmother's family, and thousands of others, were shot and killed by Nazis in Lithuanian forests during World War II. Farnsworth's somber oil paintings accompanying the text are notable for their depth of tone and realistic detail, though some of the scenes depicting people are static.

Reviewer: Amy Lois Cohn

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. In 1933, young James William learns about racism in a shocking way when his own father is revealed as a Klan member. James's disillusionment with his father remains unmitigated at the end of this tough, well-paced story. Cooper's soft-edged, mostly earth-toned illustrations include slightly static people and evocative backgrounds.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Roberto Innocenti. In this effective introduction to the Holocaust, the author tells the story of a woman she happened to meet in Germany in 1995. "Erika" knew nothing of her origins except that, as an infant, she was thrown from a train en route to a concentration camp. The spare, straightforward narrative effectively complements the handsomely composed, photorealistic black-and-white paintings.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2004