Some of our favorite reads of late:
Bog Baby is a bit odd (do you believe in bog babies? why do they look like little imps?) but once you get beyond the oddness of the bog baby itself it is a very sweet story about loving something and having to let it go.
Lost and Found in which a penguin is lost, and a boy tries to take him home to the south pole in a row boat. But what he was really looking for was a friend!
The Magic Gold Fish is a retelling of the Russian folktale of the fisherman who catches a magic fish, and the wishes his wife makes him ask for. Demi's illustrations are done in her trademark highly-stylized ink drawings.
The Flying Witch is another Baba Yaga story, this time retold by Jane Yolen. As usual, Baba Yaga is scary and wants to eat little children. Unusually, this time the little girl in the story convinces Baba Yaga that turnip soup is better and easier to catch than children and everyone is happy in the end.
The Valiant Red Rooster is a retelling of a traditional Hungarian tale. This version features extravagant and repetitive language that make it fun to read aloud, but the illustrations weren't to my taste, with exaggerated and florid figures for the sultan and the rooster.
Mathilda and the Orange Balloon is sweet and appropriate for younger children. Can a sheep be like an orange balloon?
Love and Roast Chicken was a lot of fun. I like trickster tales, and this one gives it a twist, as the fox is the hapless foil to the tricks of a guinea pig.
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