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Wallner, Alexandra. Beatrix Potter.

Wallner, Alexandra. Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Wiesner, David. Tuesday. New York: Clarion Books, 1991. 30 pages. Caldecott Medal Book. ISBN 0-305-55113-7.

This is a "picture book" in the truest sense - the whole story is told by pictures! There is no text - only notes to tell what time of night it is. The premise of this story is what happens after children go to bed at 8 p.m. on Tuesdays. This Tuesday it is flying frogs! They soar through the air on their lily pads, over housetops, through clotheslines, onto snoozing Grandma1s house to watch the late show... they even get chased by a dog. Finally toward sunrise the lily pads lose their magical flying powers, sending the frogs back to the pond. And leaving the citizens of Somewhere, U.S.A., to wonder how their streets got covered by wet lily pads.

Or at least that is my interpretation. The beauty of this story is that each reader can make up his own story because there is no text dictating the storyline. The pictures are detailed and beautifully rendered in watercolor, providing many possibilities for the reader to use his imagination.

Wisniewski, David. Golem. New York: Clarion Books, 1996. 30 pages. Caldecott Medal Book. ISBN 0-305-72618-2.

Set in Prague in 1580, a Jewish Rabbi creates a Golem to protect the Jews from persecution. He fashions a man out of clay and using mystical, religious powers, brings it to life. The Golem is to live as long as the Jews are in danger and is adorned with the symbol for truth on his forehead. The savior giant wonders at the marvels of the Earth and being alive, but the Rabbi hurries him along to fulfill his destiny. Then an unexpected thing happens - each day he grows stronger and more violent, so instead of simply catching the evil-doers, he is attacking people. City officials implore the Rabbi to destroy the Golem, and finally he does. Golem doesn1t understand what he did wrong; he loved being alive and begs to be allowed to live.

There is a moral in this story but it is hard to find even as an adult, so it may be lost on children. The religious overtone are cause for caution as well. The cut-paper illustrations are excellent, effectively conveying the mood of each scene.

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Young, Ed. Lon Po Po. New York: Philomel Books, 1989. 31 pages. Caldecott Medal Book. ISBN 0-399-21619-7.

This is a Chinese version of the folk tale about Little Red-Riding Hood. It is believed to be over 1,000 years old and has been passed down via the ancient art of oral storytelling. A mother is going to her mother's house for the grandmother1s (Po Po) birthday. She tells her three daughters to make sure they lock the door once the sun goes down and not to let anyone in. Of course, there is a knock at the door - it is a wolf pretending to be their Po Po. The two younger girls open the door and let the wolf in. It is the eldest, Shang, who realizes it is really a wolf and saves the girls. She tricks the wolf into going outside with them to get some gingko nuts from the top of the gingko tree. The wolf can't climb the tree, so the girls must pull him up in a basket. The first two times they "accidentally" drop him. The third time kills him when he hits his head and breaks his heart. The girls go inside, lock the door, and await the return of their mother.

This story is uplifting and original because the girls save themselves; they don't wait for help like in the Western version of this tale. It teaches self-reliance and cleverness. The children will be drawn into the story through the beautiful paintings which really show the emotion and action of the story.

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Zelinsky, Paul O. Rapunzel. New York: Dutton Children1s Books, 1997. 36 pages. Caldecott Medal Book. ISBN 0-525-45607-4.

This is a retelling of the classic Grimm Brothers Fairy Tale about Rapunzel, the girl with long hair who was locked in a tower by an evil sorceress. A prince manages to find her and they marry. When it becomes evident that Rapunzel is with child, the sorceress banishes her to a barren land and causes the Prince to go blind. Eventually the two find each other; Rapunzel1s tears cure her husband1s blindness. They live "happily ever after" with their twin children, a boy and a girl.

Zelinsky manages to make this fairy tale not so contrite by changing the language, thus raising the level of the writing. It becomes a story about temptation, possessiveness, and fate, instead of a sugar-coated Disney movie. The beautiful drawings draw the reader in and are reminiscent of Medieval or Renaissance art, probably about the time this tale was first told. The author's note after the story is especially interesting, detailing the many variations of the story of Rapunzel and how they are all (likely) related.