(3) 4-6 In this companion to Morpurgo's Greatest Animal Stories, the popular English author selects twelve classic "magical" stories, mostly tried-and-true folktales and all European except for the Japanese "Yoshi the Stonecutter." With many different retellers and illustrators, beginning comments from Morpurgo before each story, and a handsome open format, this collection is good for both storytime or individual reading.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) PS Illustrated by Rafael López. López has adapted the well-known spiritual to invoke a humanistic theme: "We've got everybody everywhere in our hands." His exuberant mixed-media illustrations include digital elements and convey the happiness of a diverse set of international children and animals frolicking in all kinds of environments. Musical notation appears at book's end. Also available in a bilingual English/Spanish edition.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) YA High-school senior Maya, daughter of a Muslim Indian-American family in suburban Chicago, longs to find her own romantic partner and attend NYU film school, in defiance of her parents. Her family problems are also affected by increasing hate crimes against Muslims after 9/11. Maya's convincing first-person narrative touches on intercultural teen dating, school life, generational conflict, and current social issues.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Julie Morstad. During a girl's immigration to America, she loses her favorite flowered dress, handsewn by her mother. Years later, she spots the same dress in a shop and buys it for her own daughter. A warmhearted, quietly told story, with expressive, delicate-lined illustrations showing the girl's Mediterranean-looking island home, the child's shipboard experiences, and the imagined travels of the dress.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Daniele Fabbri. Bezalel, an Israelite slave in Ancient Egypt, collects unusual things. When the Exodus begins, the boy insists on bringing his Beautiful Things Box with him. When God asks Moses to build a mishkan, a house filled with beautiful things, Bezalel is the only one ready to provide treasures. Soft paintings convey a sense of wonder in this unusual retelling of a biblical story (discussed in the author's note).

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) YA Two teens originally from Mumbai--troublemaker Zarin (a half-Hindu and -Parsi girl) and Porus (a Parsi boy)--die in a car accident in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Told from their points of view before and after death, together with the narratives of local Muslim teenagers, this novel about the constraints of gender, sexual assault, and family conflicts in a theocratic world is complex and multifaceted. Glos.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 Translated by Michael Neugebauer. Illustrated by Zaü. In terse, first-person sentences, a boy describes the emotional ups and downs during his regular visits, accompanied by his quiet mother, to his incarcerated father. The French import is illustrated with strong, expressionistic sketches in black, gray, and white on cream-colored backgrounds. With few books on the topic, this unusual, mature picture book should find its place in libraries.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) 4-6 When Tash's Tibetan Buddhist parents are arrested for religious and political activity by the occupying Chinese soldiers, Tash escapes with her friend Sam and two yaks. They make a dangerous trek through the Himalayas to the exiled Tibetan community in India, where she meets the Dalai Lama. The exciting adventure story would benefit from more in-depth information about Tibet's current situation and a map. Brief facts are appended.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Julie Flett. In the Nicola Valley, British Columbia, where Interior Salishan peoples live, Nikki and friends forage for wild plants with relatives, including Yayah (grandmother). Yayah emphasizes the importance of plant identification and naming in their endangered Indigenous language, Nłe?kepmxcín. Using the text's pronunciation guidance and the glossary, interested readers will learn along with the young characters. Quiet collage-like art emphasizes the land's natural riches. Author's note included.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Keum Jin Song. In 2016, South Korean church members, originally refugees from North Korea, sent rice bags attached to helium balloons to North Korea to feed starving people. In this fictionalized story, a girl tries to convince other children who feel North Koreans are "the enemy" to join the effort. Slick digital illustrations contrast the lush South Korean countryside with barren North Korea. Includes extensive background material. Reading list.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 Illustrated by David Roberts. The humorously detailed watercolor and pen-and-ink illustrations almost upstage this engaging reimagining of Andersen's tale, inspired by the author's reading of the story as a book-starved child during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. A young emperor concocts a plan involving ridiculous rice-sack clothing to fool his vain, greedy ministers and reclaim some of their ill-gotten gains for his people. Appended with an author's note and craft instructions.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) 4-6 Using traditional legends, the limited historical facts available, and quotations from Confucius's own writing, Demi has created a readable picture-book biography that emphasizes the sage's philosophy and educational teachings--ideas that still live on twenty-five hundred years later. Demi's signature paint and ink illustrations--with their diminutive figures, intricate detail, and gold borders--are full of action. Bib.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Luisa Uribe. Jugaad, Hindi for "the ability to get by without lots of resources"; poronkusema, an imprecise Finnish unit of distance that literally means "the distance a reindeer can walk before needing to use the bathroom." These and twenty-seven other unusual, untranslatable foreign words are introduced in this delightful book. Each two-page entry includes cultural background (in tiny print) and lively retro illustrations. Pronunciation guidance appended.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 Translated by Paul Kelly. Illustrated by Florence Koenig. Friends Anna, a servant, and Johanna, the master's daughter, discover a secret on their shared twelfth birthday in seventeenth-century Delft. The picture book's plot, explained in the author's note, is based on two Jan Vermeer paintings, The Milkmaid and The Lacemaker. Lush acrylic paintings use some of Vermeer's imagery. More information about Vermeer and reproductions of the source paintings are included.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Ruth Jeyaveeran. In Kathmandu during the Festival of Lights--called Swanti, Tihar, or Deepawali in Nepal (Diwali in India)--two brothers look for a kukur (stray dog) to honor during the celebration. Coauthor Amish Karanjit, Engle's son-in-law, lived through the 2015 earthquakes in Nepal, when rescue dogs played an important role in finding survivors. The interesting holiday story is illustrated with cultural specificity. Suggested activities are appended. Reading list. Glos.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) PS Complete with capes, masks, and medals for capturing the Big Bad Wolf, "THE THREE LITTLE SUPERPIGS" have built a whole brick town for their fairy-tale friends and continue to fight "nursery rhyme bad guys." When Wolf breaks out of prison, the pigs must face their adversary a second time; once again, the third pig has the solution. The electric-bright digital illustrations contain lots of visual gags in this amusing folklore takeoff.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Kyrsten Brooker. Hannah is upset because she must move to a new town. As her grandmother describes her own move long ago, a striking oil-paint and collage spread shows a Jewish family from Europe being welcomed by Canadian relatives; "Definitely some bitter but even more sweet," she tells Hannah. An afterword explains the symbolism of bitter and sweet in Jewish tradition, but the feelings about moving are universal.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Ronojoy Ghosh. In singsongy four-line rhyming stanzas, a diverse group of children explain why their families came to Australia. All speak enthusiastically, but the book's super-upbeat text can be simplistic: "My country was Afghanistan-- / we fled when I was small. / Our boat capsized, but we were saved-- / now we're Australians all." There is no explanatory material. The bright, naive-style illustrations show different Australian landscapes.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Stevie Lewis. Stone lions Patience and Fortitude stand guard at the New York Public Library. One morning Fortitude wakes up to find Patience missing. He searches the library, encountering other artworks, and finally finds Patience in the children's room. In this NYPL-tour masquerading as a story, Funk's rhyming text occasionally stumbles, but Lewis's brown-and-tan-hued digital illustrations have cool retro flair. Information about the library is appended.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Sybille Schenker. In another sumptuous presentation (Little Red Riding Hood), Schenker uses a limited palette of green, black, white, and gold; clear acetate overlays; strongly-lined die-cut designs; and a hand-stitched binding to create a very special volume. Retold in a fuller version than usual, this telling includes the prince's faithful servant, Heinrich, who placed iron bands around his body to keep his heart from breaking when his master was transformed into a frog.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt