Age 04-08. 5 Stars. Paul Zelinsky has brought the traditional Rapunzel, popularized by the Brothers Grimm, to life in gorgeous oil paintings. His writing is careful and gripping, and his stylized visual interpretation of the story is stunningly beautiful.

Age 04-08. 5 Stars. Everyone should have at least one Noah’s Ark story, and Peter Spier’s version is one of the best available. It is especially well suited to children, with its wordless format and careful attention to visual detail.

Age 04-08. 4 Stars. This is a beautiful story for the budding naturalist and the compassionate reader…. When a great snow falls, the animals of the forest cannot find food. But when an older couple scatter seeds, nuts, and bread crumbs outside their cottage, the animals throng around their home, finding enough to eat until the weather thaws…. While feeding local wildlife may not be wise in all situations, this simple story presents a picture of responsibility toward animals that reflects God’s command for people to subdue, fill and steward the earth.

Age 04-08. 4 Stars. Alvin Tresselt has a gift for describing natural phenomena in a way that is easy for children to understand… This pleasant story captures the experience of a small community’s winter, told in evocative, almost poetic prose… Some children may not appreciate the simple pictures, but the quality of the writing makes the book worth reading.

Age 00-04. 4 Stars. This story really captures a child’s wonder at experiencing snow for the first time. The collage-type art is interesting and unusual, and it makes a very nice addition to your winter reading basket. Probably best for the 2-4 age range, although older children are also able to appreciate it.

Age 04-08. 5 Stars. This beautifully written story follows a year in the life of a 19th-Century New England family….. The hard work of colonial life is made very attractive in this story, as the children cheerfully pitch in and the family works together to build their life and homestead. The rhythmic text is gentle and spare, with just the right tone of anticipation for what will come next. Cooney’s beautiful paintings, with earth-toned colors and straight lines, evoke a feeling of peaceful simplicity that encourages the reader to look back to those bygone days with romantic nostalgia. A beautiful book.

Age 04-08. 5 Stars. An entrancing wordless fantasy about a boy who finds a magical camera at the beach…. The stunning imagery of this story is playfully surreal, and some children may be uneasy with the way it plays with reality. But for those who can enter into its fantasy world, the story is wonderfully enthralling, and any child who experiences it may find themselves looking for a camera in the waves the next time they visit the beach.

Age 00-04. 5 Stars. A beautiful story of a father and child out owling on a winter night…. The sound of the owl’s call, and her father’s answering call, will echo in a child’s memory after experiencing this book…. This book marvelously captures the wonder and beauty of God’s creation, experienced in the context of a secure father-child relationship, with a warm home waiting at the end of the excursion. It’s well worth acquiring.

Age 04-08. 4 Stars. A sweet story combining very nice artwork, enjoyable dialogue, a bit of wildlife observation, and a look at Boston’s landmarks…. The duck family are anthropomorphized enough to express some human virtues in their orientation toward family… The story also introduces the tension that sometimes exists between present human development of our environment (by which I mean to include our cities) and the well-being of animals under our dominion, raising the question of how we ought to provide for animals that make their home within our dangerous city landscape. This is an excellent addition to our home library.