Age 04-08. 5 stars. This story, told in the voice of a nine- or ten-year-old boy, tells of his weekly trip to his grandmother’s home… While the mood is somewhat idyllic, the story portrays a timeless relational scene where two family members care for one another in a stable, loving relationship. I especially appreciate the way the boy models cheerful manual work in service of someone else. A wonderful read

Age 04-08. 5 Stars. Nora and her grandfather, with the help of two horses, tap the maple trees on their Vermont farm and boil the sap into syrup… The relational bond between grandparents and grandchild is nearly tangible, and Nora’s participation in this exciting grown-up work is an excellent example of the privileges that come with responsibility. This is an excellent story for helping children understand how maple syrup is made.

Age 00-04. 5 Stars. The story is told with well-paced, pleasant repetition and a funny, dramatic climax with a visual joke at the end, as Baba inspects the mysteriously enlarged mitten. Nicki is a likable and energetic child with a nurturing, sensible adult caretaker, and the animals are rendered in their animal characters, with only a shade of human personality. But it is the gorgeous illustrations that really make this story… This story will surprise and delight children from a wide range of ages, from toddlers (there is a simplified board book version just for them) to readers.

Age 04-08. 4 Stars. This is a compelling story about courage and forgiveness told within a Native American perspective. On Christmas Eve a young child and his grandmother are robbed of both their coats and Grandmother’s moccasins by three drunken youths, and walking home barefoot in the snow Grandmother loses two toes to frostbite. She spends the final quarter of the following year preparing extraordinarily beautiful beaded moccasins to give to her assailants at Christmas…. Because this story illustrates so beautifully the power of faith-filled forgiveness, I recommend it despite its inclusion of symbols which have traditionally been associated with tribal religion.