(3) K-3 Write Me a Poem series. Illustrated by Monique Felix & Etienne Delessert. This generally accessible series introduces the concept of writing poetry (Who) and highlights techniques poets use to convey images (Picturing), emotions (Poking Fun), and sound (Rhyme). Excerpts from classic poems (often with sophisticated vocabulary) serve as examples. Full-page illustrations, alternately elegant and cartoonish, match the feelings of the poems. Writing activity appended. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Write Me a Poem titles: Finding the Rhyme in a Poem, Picturing Words in a Poem, Poking Fun in a Poem, and Who Is a Poet?.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(3) K-3 Write Me a Poem series. Illustrated by Etienne Delessert. This generally accessible series introduces the concept of writing poetry (Who) and highlights techniques poets use to convey images (Picturing), emotions (Poking Fun), and sound (Rhyme). Excerpts from classic poems (often with sophisticated vocabulary) serve as examples. Full-page illustrations, alternately elegant and cartoonish, match the feelings of the poems. Writing activity appended. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Write Me a Poem titles: Finding the Rhyme in a Poem, Picturing Words in a Poem, Poking Fun in a Poem, and Who Is a Poet?.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Etienne Delessert. A pine tree in the Arctic north observes the seasons changing around it along with the animals that come and go. Frisch's text, while lyrical, takes itself too seriously in its earnestness. Delessert's illustrations are refreshingly subdued. A calendar, inexplicably from 1945 and with someone's scribbled appointments on it (a musical theater lover) tracks the seasons.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Etienne Delessert. Though he maintains that "I still hate to read," erudite fourth-grader Victor describes his secret passion for the books that unleash his imagination. This ode to reading can be heavy-handed at times, and some of the literary allusions are likely beyond the intended audience. The varied, often fantastical illustrations set against plenty of white space speak to the power of imagination.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Etienne Delessert. Innocenti's Cinderella is set in 1920s London and features brown-toned retro illustrations with clever details; Delessert's Beauty is dreamlike and psychologically suggestive, with illustrations of pudgy beast-headed birds and recurring beast silhouettes. These new editions are covered in high-quality paper and employ luxurious art treatment; the pages are text-heavy, but the old tellings have charm.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam