(4) K-3 Illustrated by Greg Shed. One hot day, Molly encounters a girl called Miracle outside the store where they both want to buy an ice pop. Realizing Miracle doesn't have enough money, Molly secretly enlists Granddaddy's help. Soon the two new friends are sharing their treats. Though the realistic gouache paintings for this feel-good story sometimes look posed, they do evoke a bygone small-town summer.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Greg Shed. In rhyming verse, a girl and her family work to harvest wheat. An impressive amount of information about harvesting before the advent of farm machinery is conveyed by the verse, meant to mimic a harvesting call-and-response song, but the repetition of the chorus phrase "bringing the harvest home" becomes tedious when read aloud. Vivid gouache illustrations depict the family's work.

Reviewer: Jim St. Claire

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Greg Shed. This first-person text recounts the story of the first Thanksgiving from a Native American viewpoint. Squanto's tale is told with respect and dignity, without glossing over the more difficult aspects of his life or the relationship between the native inhabitants and the colonists. The gouache paintings display a proud Native American past. Glos.

Reviewer: Kristen Oravec

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Greg Shed. After a girl rescues a larva from a hungry jay, she and her grandfather make a home for it and watch it change into a Painted Lady butterfly. The poetic text is accompanied by handsome paintings that convey the girl's feelings about keeping and eventually releasing the butterfly. Bunting includes detailed instructions for making a butterfly house.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(4) K-3 Each year when the carnival comes to town, Etta vows to ride the Ferris wheel, but when the times comes, she's always too afraid. A quietly intense first-person narrative gives new life to the well-worn theme of learning to overcome one's fears. Sun-burnished gouache illustrations rendered on canvas add a reassuring, if occasionally overly nostalgic, feel.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(4) K-3 Sepia-steeped gouache illustrations and a nostalgic text tell the story of a farm boy who goes on a surprise trip to the city to watch a Reds game and buy a baseball glove. After the boy loses his money, stoic Dad hands over funds intended for buying new boots so his son can realize his dream. The sentimental story will likely be of more appeal to adults than children.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Greg Shed. Brief, rhyming verse describes a child's experiences as the calendar cycles from January to December: "In January out I go / to welcome winter's icy blow.... / In September, / summer calls its ending / with blue haze / and chrysanthemums blending." Awkward verse and scansion occasionally mar this poetic paean to the seasons. Lovely, light-dappled paintings depict two children sledding, catching fireflies, picking pumpkins, and enjoying other idyllic seasonal activities.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute