(2) K-3 Based on a Scandinavian folktale, this lesser-known d’Aulaires’ picture book, first published in 1943, recalls Aesop’s fable “The Milkmaid and Her Pail.” An old woman walks into town to sell a basketful of eggs laid by her one reliable hen. Along the way, she speculates how she might turn the profits into, first, a few more hens, then a whole henhouse full, and so on until she has become a wealthy lady who turns her nose up at everything--and as she turns her own nose up while she imagines, the basket of eggs on her head crashes to the ground. She laments her lost future for a moment but then heads home grateful­ for all she has already. Not unusually for its time, the book’s pages alternate between full-color art (in what looks like pastels) and black-and-white (in pencil). Both hold viewers’ attention­ with their homey details, appealing farm animals, and apple-cheeked, upbeat protagonist.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2023

(2) 4-6 The classic East of the Sun and West of the Moon has a new name but includes the same twenty-one, thoughtfully collected folk stories. Each is accompanied by an oversize, textured (sometimes dramatic, sometimes cheeky) black-and-white illustration in the style for which the couple is known. An introduction by the pair relates their folktale-adaptation process and personal connection to the land.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2039; November, 2016

(1) K-3 This is a spirited and direct account of Leif's voyage with his father to Greenland and his own subsequent voyages to Norway and Vinland. The book's great distinction lies in its stunning lithographs of dragon ships and Viking homes, of the Norse heroes' deeds of daring and zest for living.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc. | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2041

(3) K-3 This imaginative tale follows young Ola, who skis away from his forest home and encounters animals, other children, a wedding party, a peddler trading with an indigenous tribe, and Arctic fishermen who share folktales with him. In this well-designed reissue, Scandinavian culture comes alive in the decorative simplicity of the detailed black-and-white and color illustrations and lyrical text by these master storytellers.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2014

(2) K-3 A distinguished book full of color, fun, and the charm of ways that are just different enough to be fascinating. We see Lise and Lasse driving their reindeer, tumbling in and out of their sleds, and going to school. The children's joy from living in the land where the beautiful Northern lights play in the sky comes shining through, but the text will seem long to twenty-first century children.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(2) K-3 With this book the d'Aulaires made their entrance into the field of animal stories. Foxie, a dog with a head like a fox and a curled-up tail, is lost by his boy master. He's found by a man who exhibits trained dogs, and their show reunites Foxie with his old home and friends. Foxie's adventures are illustrated in delightful color.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc. | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 1949

(3) K-3 Originally published as Animals Everywhere, this spectacular accordion-style book folds out into an eight-foot-long panorama. On one side, color lithographs show animals from various climates; on the other, the same animals are shown from behind in black and white. The front side has simple lines of text while the back identifies the animals with one of their characteristics.

Reviewer: Terri Schmitz

(2) K-3 A monstrous chicken belonging to mountain trolls threatens four siblings. As in all good folktales, the chicken and trolls are no match for the clever children, and the monsters are vanquished in a most satisfactory way. The d'Aulaires illustrate this rousing Scandinavian folktale in exuberant pictures using both sketchy black-and-white lines and mottled color.

Reviewer: Terri Schmitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: February, 1977

(2) PS An old car and a shiny new one race on a "magic moonlight night." In the glowing lithographs everything is animated: the sunflower by the garage, headlights with their suggestion of eyebrows, the moon's smiling or frowning face. The text is full of movement, too, with whizzing and honking and a turtle that "tiddly-winks" out of the way.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc. | Horn Book Magazine Issue: April, 1955

(2) K-3 "In the old days...the mountains belonged to the trolls, who were as old and moss-grown as the mountains themselves." Lovers of folklore are well-served by the republication of the d'Aulaires' notable collection of Norse folktales. Their masterful examination of the lore of trolls is both fascinating and eerily beautiful, adorned with the stone lithographs they used to such great effect.

Reviewer: Terri Schmitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: December, 1972