(3) K-3 Illustrated by John Winch. Animals play a pivotal role in the lives of these twelve legendary men and women on the road to sainthood. Kimmel narrates their acts of piety and faithfulness (and includes a few frightening details of persecution and martyrdom) in a straightforward manner. A full-page illustration accompanies each vignette. An excerpt from St. Francis's "Sermon to the Birds" serves as a preface, and an author's note explains canonization.

Reviewer: Christina Dorr

(4) K-3 Illustrated by John Winch. Based on a true event, this sparse yet lyric narrative describes a wagon train that went astray in Death Valley in 1850 and Old Crump, the faithful ox that carried four children out on his back. Illustrations of the ragged, starving pioneers show awkward human figures but realistic, detailed desert animals; the California landscape is rendered in warm desert colors and often incorporates photos of the desolate terrain.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(2) K-3 Illustrated by John Winch. Told by the donkey that carried Jesus into Jerusalem, this anthropomorphic account of Palm Sunday is reverent in tone, restrained in execution, and thoughtfully designed. The text is rhythmic, with an aura of poetic feeling and musical intonation. The illustrations illuminate the donkey's emotions, from fear to love, as he hopes someday that Jesus will come to his home where "my hillside will be a throne for him."

Reviewer: Mary M. Burns | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2002

(3) PS Illustrated by John Winch. Rhyming couplets ask a variety of animals--chipmunk, mouse, fawn, wren, rabbit, spider, pony, goat, and sheep--where they sleep, and each responds in turn. Meanwhile, the earth-toned illustrations (cut paper with detailed oil accents) depict the animals' gradual approach toward an unnamed child asleep in a manger. The Nativity element gracefully ties the otherwise arbitrary group of animals, and the book, together.

Reviewer: Emma Loy-Santelli