(4) K-3 Illustrated by Marco Ventura. In 1784, a thirteen-year-old boy named Edward Warren was the first person in the U.S. to go aloft in a hot-air balloon, one constructed by Peter Carnes outside Baltimore. From this single fact, Van Leeuwen has imagined an empowering story of a blacksmith's apprentice whose zeal for the project is rewarded by circumstances. Illustrations in oil are detailed and handsome, if stiff.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Marco Ventura. Compared to his usual quiet life as part of a toy farm set, a small wooden dog finds it thrilling to go on excursions via the pocket of the boy who owns him. Though unsettling and not particularly attractive, the hyper-realistic paintings facilitate the book's blurring of fantasy and reality, which peaks when Blue Dog and a live dog, the boy's new pet, exist contentedly side by side.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann