(4) K-3 Illustrated by Barbara Lavallee. A wool-bodied woman marries a human male, then knits wool babies and clothes using yarn from her body. When her husband notices that she's become "nothing but a pillow," she must knit herself back into existence. Gauch's upbeat tone and Lavallee's cheery watercolors communicate a lightheartedness that undermines a strangely dark story about, it would seem, a mother's selflessness and ensuing unraveling.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Margot Tomes. During the American Revolution, a Vermont farm boy tries to find some way to help stop the British from capturing his town's ammunition stores. With a minimum of words, Gauch brings a small episode in American history vividly to life, ably assisted by Tomes's appealing illustrations.

Reviewer: Terri Schmitz

(2) 1-3 Illustrated by Margot Tomes & Margot Tomes. This is a welcome reissue of the story, based on legend, about a real colonial girl named Temperance Wick and how she concealed a horse in her bedroom to protect it from mutinying American soldiers. The book presents a realistic and humane view of the Revolutionary War and of the people who fought it. Tomes's illustrations capture the humorous quality of the storytelling.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc. | Horn Book Magazine Issue: October, 1974

(2) 1-3 Illustrated by Stephen Gammell & Stephen Gammell. A welcome reissue of a book originally published in 1975, this fictionalized account of Gettysburg is brought vividly to life by the action-filled illustrations.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Satomi Ichikawa. In the latest in the series, Tanya confides her dreams of dancing en pointe like the dancer in The Red Shoes. She finally gets her wish but discovers that the seemingly effortless beauty of the dance requires much work (and produces many blisters). The use of the present tense underscores the conversational tone, adding verisimilitude matched by Ichikawa's marvelously agile, expressive illustrations.

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

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by David Christiana. Gossamer watercolor artwork animates this fanciful tale about a marionette maker who listens to the wood before carving to discover "who and what each marionette wanted to be." When he jumps ahead in this process one day and decides for himself to turn a mute piece of teakwood into a ballerina, he learns that a toy's true nature is not easily circumvented.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Satomi Ichikawa. In this sixth book about the budding ballerina, Tanya struggles with the lead in the spring recital. The process of changing from being "only Tanya" to evolving into the role of a beautiful swan parallels in outline the plot of the fairy tale. Lyrical illustrations dominated by blues and whites complete the transformation for Tanya and the reader.

Reviewer: Amy Kellman