(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Sebastian Meschenmoser. Meschenmoser's illustrations--copious spot vignettes in watercolor and occasional lush full-page and double-page-spread oil paintings--convey both the humorous high jinks and the warmth of Grahame's classic animal fantasy. There's no shortage of illustrated editions of The Wind in the Willows, but this weighty volume is a fine one.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(3) K-3 Translated by David Henry Wilson. Illustrated by Sebastian Meschenmoser. One rainy morning, dog Pug Man wakes up in a funk: "Wet newspaper, no breakfast, and no coffee." An irritatingly perky fairy appears, offering the customary three wishes. Happily, this rule-fracturing book dispenses with custom--there's nothing cute about Pug Man, who is sitting on the toilet in one of Meschenmoser's deliberate, sketchlike illustrations--and his third wish is a doozy.

Reviewer: Nell Beram