THANK YOU, SARAH: THE WOMAN WHO SAVED THANKSGIVING
by Laurie Halse Anderson
illustrated by Matt Faulkner
Simon & Schuster;ISBN: 0689847874;$16.95;2002

Sarah Hale's 38-year crusade to make Thanksgiving a national holiday is energetically detailed through anecdote and illustration in this amusing, true tale of dogged persistence.

Suggested for ages 7 - 10
Subjects: Thanksgiving | Women

LITTLE RAT SETS SAIL
by Monika Bang-Campbell
illustrated by Molly Bang
Harcourt Brace;ISBN: 0152162976;$14;2002

Little Rat reluctantly enrolls in a summer sailing class and, with a few modest successes, conquers her fears and decides to sign up again next year. Supportive adults, a lively telling with correct sailing terminology, and bright illustrations add to the subtle message.

Suggested for ages 6 - 8
Subjects: Boats | Courage

A WEEK IN THE WOODS
by Andrew Clements
Simon & Schuster;ISBN: 068982596X;$16.95;2002

The fifth grade's annual camping trip in the New Hampshire woods tests Mark's values and his survival skills, as well as those of his science teacher. Both characters grow and come to like and respect one another in this convincing, fast-paced novel.

Suggested for ages 8 - 12
Subjects: Nature | Respect | Survival | Teachers

GEORGIE LEE
by Sharon Phillips Denslow
illustrated by Lynne Rae Perkins
ISBN: 0688179401;$15.95;

Disproving that "there's nothing to do in the country," J.D. has a series of small adventures while spending the summer on his grandmother's farm with a cow named Georgie Lee. A perceptive, gently humorous, and warmly satisfying short novel.

Suggested for ages 7 - 9
Subjects: Cows | Farm life | Grandmothers

SUMMERSAULTS
by Douglas Florian
ISBN: 0060292679;$15.95;

Celebrate summer with short, witty, always on-the-mark poems illustrated with childlike, full-color watercolor and pencil paintings. Alas, all good things must end, and so do the delights of summer with, "Three words /Most cruel: /Back to school."

Suggested for ages 5 - 10
Subjects: Poems | Poems | Summer

WHAT CHARLIE HEARD: THE STORY OF THE AMERICAN COMPOSER CHARLES IVES
by Mordicai Gerstein
Frances Foster;ISBN: 0374382921;$17;2002

Bright, lighthearted illustrations capture the lovely cacophony of the world-its clattering, busy dissonance as well as its melodies and harmonies-in this brief, affectionate picturebook portrait of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Charles Ives and his inspiring father.

Suggested for ages 7 - 10

ACTION JACKSON
by Jan  Greenberg and Sandra Jordan
illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker
Roaring Brook;ISBN: 0761316825;$16.95;2002

Lively text and vigorous illustrations reflect perfectly the life and style of Jackson Pollock, who dripped, poured, and flung paint on canvas and described his art as "energy and motion made visible." Detailed documentation adds to this picture-book biography's usefulness.

Suggested for ages 8 - 11
Subjects: Artists

THE VILLAGE THAT VANISHED
by Ann Grifalconi
illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Dial;ISBN: 0803726236;$16.99;2002

The resourcefulness, bravery, and faith of a girl, her mother, and an elder save the people of an African village from slavers. Textured illustrations and eloquent prose create a taut, affecting book.

Suggested for ages 7 - 10
Subjects: Africa | Fear | Freedom | Slavery