(3) K-3 Illustrated by Albertine. Something's wrong with champion show horse Jumping Jack--he's stumbling around the course like an amateur. His rider, Roger Trotter, takes him to a vet and a psychologist, but an accident reveals what Jack really needs: glasses! Full-bleed color-saturated illustrations of strikingly black Jack humorously inserted into human-style doctors' offices are full of sly absurdities in this nicely set up, cunningly understated tale.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Albertine. While a little girl rides a train to her grandmother's house in the country, she ruminates on her dream to "know the entire world." Precocious children will be absorbed by her musings; parents will shudder to see a small child traveling alone by rail. The lime-green train ferries the girl through horizontally long black-and-white scapes that have the meticulous look of blueprints.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Albertine. After a man releases some birds from the back of his truck, he discovers that one has stayed behind. He devotes himself to helping it find its wings--and gets an unexpected payoff. All this is told through gently droll illustrations, although several pages feature elegiac sentences (e.g., "There are no greater treasures than the little things") that don't add much.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) PS Illustrated by Albertine. After watching a bicycle race, Marta the cow builds a bike of her own. She practices, and "thanks to her courage and hard work, she got better and better." Next year, Marta wins the race, beating the human cyclists and inspiring a cycling fad among cows. The droll text and loosely drawn illustrations are well matched in this free-spirited Swiss import.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn