(4) K-3 Illustrated by Angelo Rinaldi. This ode to horses begins with a pregnant mare's foaling, then focuses on her colt's first year. The text is spare (sometimes to the point of confusion). Lush, full-bleed, textured oil paintings with realistic-looking details, both expansive and small, evoke the bond between a new horse and the girl who loves him.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Angelo Rinaldi. In this second-person account of a day in the life of a cow, a dairy cow comes in from the fields for milking, grazes, wanders down to the river for a drink, and passes the hours until it's time for the evening milking. The spare text is poetic but refreshingly frank ("Gently the farmer cleans your udders / and puts tubes on your teats"), and the artist expertly captures texture, light, and shadow in the oversize paintings.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Angelo. These twenty poems celebrate the relationship of a teenaged African-American girl and her grandmother, who defies the warm-fuzzy stereotype to demand good behavior and occasionally to step out with a "gray-haired mister." Gradually the verses reveal a deep, if unspoken affection; keen observation and lack of sentimentality are reinforced by expressive pencil drawings.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(2) YA Illustrated by Angelo. In unobtrusive language that is as transparent as it is luminous, Ludie's teenaged daughter voices her ambivalent feelings about her absent mother. Each of thirty-four free-verse vignettes adds another defining moment in the girl's life, another dimension to her character. Johnson's exploration of a young person's coming to terms with a perceived rejection by an absent parent is subtle and beautifully wrought.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2001

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Angelo. The many twists and turns of family relationships are crystallized in these poems that sensitively speak of parental love, divorce, fun times shared, and more. Grimes's experiments with rhythmic patterns add interest to this autobiographical collection. Insightful, realistic pencil sketches extend the text in this appealing volume, which features an introduction titled "Where Do Writers Come From?"

Reviewer: Henrietta M. Smith