(3) K-3 Illustrated by Catherine Deeter. In honor of the centenary of Langston Hughes's birth, Alice Walker's first book for children has been reissued as a picture-book biography, with new full-color paintings. Walker knew and revered Hughes, and while this simply told biography is a sympathetic portrait of the man, it doesn't shy away from his difficult childhood and his encounters with racism throughout his life.

Reviewer: Terri Schmitz

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Catherine Deeter. After two dogs, Rex and Ethel, die on the very same afternoon, their young owners, friends and next-door neighbors, build a safe haven for wild animals as a memorial to them. Although the lyrical text uses poetic phrases (the girls share "moments of red apples"), it lacks emotion, and the coincidence of the dogs dying at the same time seems far-fetched. Realistic acrylic paintings depict the multiracial neighborhood.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley