"At school John Ronald made good friends. The boys held secret parties in the library with tea and biscuits. The librarian scolded them for dropping crumbs on her books."

Excellent text; superb notes; good illustrations. Conclusion two-page spread of the dragon Smaug artfully unites text and picture.

Historical fiction picture book about WW2 homefront. Good for cross-curriculum educational use. Historical notes at end.

Pros & cons. Sone beautifully poetic passages and some unsubtle repetitively-stated interior conflicts.

Cute; seasonal; clever. Good vocabulary choices. Good use of the folklore trope "protagonist helps characters who repay the favor later on" in a contemporary story. Very clever ending as the witch gets a new "modern" broomstick.

This one proves the exception to the rule: forced rhymes can sometimes get published.

Excellent text; mix of outstanding and fair illustrations.