Many Happy Returns

Several favorites return in reissued editions. The New York Review Books is reissuing four children's book classics as part of its new Children's Collection. The Little Bookroom by Eleanor Farjeon, illus. by Edward Ardizzone, contains 27 heartwarming tales, first published in 1955. Many of the stories star standard fairy tale characters such as witches, fairies, princes and precocious young children, but they are also influenced by the urban, Christian and scientific aspects of early- to mid-20th-century life. (New York Review Books, $18.95 336p ages 9-up ISBN 1-59017-048-2; Dec.)

The Crane (1956) by Reiner Zimnik follows the life of a thoughtful worker whose dream is fulfilled when he is chosen to operate his town's crane: "He loved the way the girders hummed in the breeze.

He loved the night sky filled with stars. It was as beautiful as any dream, but it was better than a dream because it was real." Zimnik's charming pen-and-inks accompany episodes involving river pirates, shark attacks and the lingering horrors of war, as the devoted worker watches the world below him changing. ($16.95 98p ages 8-up-075-X; Dec.)

Compiling five favorite tales from Esther Averill's Cat Club series, first published between 1944 and 1953, Jenny and the Cat Club chronicles the feline heroine, Jenny Linsky, as she romps around Greenwich Village with her troupe of felicitous furry friends. Averill's illustrations should be as endearing to new readers as to those who enjoyed them during their first release. ($16.95 176p ages 5-up -047-4; Dec.)

Dino Buzzati's tale The Bears' Famous Invasion of Sicily completes the fall releases for the Children's Collection. The story, which also contains sections of poetry, details Leander, King of the Bears, and his subjects' forgotten ursine incursion from the fabled mountains of Sicily, as they attempt to overthrow the evil duke of Cormorant Castle. Buzzati's drawings retain a fun, retro-European feel, while his occasional full-color illustrations emphasize the town's red rooftops and celebrated architecture. ($18.95 148p ages 7-up -076-8; Oct.)

Jacqueline Woodson's The Dear One tells of 12-year-old Feni, who is stunned when her mother brings a pregnant teenage friend to stay with them. On the book's publication in 1991, PW wrote, "Woodson's deep understanding of and concern for the role of black women in society is evident as she eloquently introduces the reader to teenage pregnancy, alternate lifestyles and adoption in her moving, powerful story." (Putnam, $16.99 160p ages12-up ISBN 0-399-23968-5; Jan.)

In The Maldonado Miracle by Theodore Taylor, author of The Cay, 12-year-old Jose Maldonado travels alone across the border from Mexico to the United States to reach his father. On the way, he hides out in a church, where blood from his wounded shoulder drips onto a statue of Jesus. When the town is transformed by this "miracle," Jose finds it difficult to tell the truth. First published in 1973, this story inspired a Showtime movie with the same title. (Harcourt, $17 144p ages 8-12 ISBN 0-15-205037-X; paper $5.95 -205036-1; Oct.)

Moominvalley in November (1971) by Tove Jansson, the eighth book about the Moomins, winds up the series, as six friends of Moominpappa and Moominmamma travel separately to their home, only to find that the Finn family Moomintroll is gone. The lonely Snufkin, Fillyjonk, Toft and the others eventually find the companionship they're seeking in each other. (FSG, $17 176p ages 10-up ISBN 0-374-35013-2; Sunburst, $5.95 paper-45309-8; Oct.)

Ender's Game, first published 25 years ago, and three other novellas by Orson Scott Card comprise First Meetings: In the Enderverse. In "The Polish Boy" (2002), which occurs between the two Bugger Wars, the Hegemony tries to draft a boy genius, John Paul Weiczorek, to help ward off an alien invasion. In "Teacher's Pest," written especially for this collection, John Paul (now known as John Paul Wiggin) spars with the brilliant graduate student who teaches his class at the university. John Paul's son, Ender Wiggin, stars in "Ender's Game," as he trains in Battle School to lead an army against an alien army. And finally, in "Investment Counselor" (2000), Ender has been accused of mass murder and, traveling as Andrew Wiggin, he avoids detection with the help of a mysterious financial adviser. (Tor/Doherty, $17.95 208p ages 13-up ISBN 0-765-30873-8; Sept.)

It's a year of bad omens for the Seven Clans, the Cherokee tribe of To Spoil the Sun (1976) by Joyce Rockwood. Rain Dove is worried about the omens, but clan conflicts and her time to choose a husband occupy her thoughts. However, Rain Dove's worries seem well founded when strangers arrive, bringing smallpox to the tribe. (Holt, $16.95 192p ages 12-up ISBN 0-8050-7372-8; Oct.)

True Companions

Picture book companions assemble in force. Wildlife illustrator John Butler presents a similar array of irresistible baby animals that won over youngsters in Whose Baby Am I? for Who Says Woof?, another fun guessing game. Here, the cluck of a chick and a feather, or the neigh of a colt and a pile of hay provide clues just before readers turn the page. (Viking, $10.99 24p ages 2-5 ISBN 0-670-03655-2; Oct.)

Roslyn Schwartz's beloved mole sisters return in two paperback picture books. In The Mole Sisters and the Fairy Ring, the siblings discover a deserted fairy ring in a forest and take time out to revel in a game of make-believe. The girls then explore a cave with prehistoric origins in The Mole Sisters and the Way Home. (Annick [Firefly, dist.], $4.95 paper each 32p ages 2-5 ISBN 1-55037-818-X; -820-1; Nov.)

Following up on their How Chipmunk Got His Stripes, father-son team Joseph and James Bruchac and artists Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey present the tale of how Turtle outsmarts Beaver, who refuses to share his pond with Turtle in Turtle's Race with Beaver: A Traditional Seneca Story. (Dial, $15.99 32p ages 4-8 ISBN 0-8037-2852-2; Sept.)

After exploring an orchard in Apples, Apples, Apples! and the life of the Halloween squash in Pumpkin Day!, Nancy Elizabeth Wallace takes readers through a leaf's life cycle in Leaves! Leaves! Leaves! as Buddy Bear and his Mama take a leaf walk each season to observe the changes from spring buds to the bare limbs of winter. (Cavendish, $16.95 40p ages 4-8 ISBN 0-7614-5140-4; Oct.)

Following their Doodle Dandies and Good Mousekeeping, J. Patrick Lewis and Lisa Desimini present The Snowflake Sisters, a story in verse about two snowflakes who tag along on Santa's sleigh, manage a trip to Times Square in time to see the ball drop on New Year's Eve and wind up in Central Park, affixed to a snowman's shoulder, until spring brings a thaw. Lewis has his way with T.S. Eliot ("Let us snow then, you and I," says one snowflake sister to another), and throws in some other jokes. Desimini's collages include such dazzlers as a Times Square scene made of cut-up advertisements, intricate snowflakes constructed from New York City bus and subway maps and more. (Atheneum/Schwartz, $16.95 32p ages 4-8 ISBN 0-689-85029-8; Oct.)

Like his Sam the Sea Cow, author Francine Jacobs investigates the life of another sea creature, Lonesome George the Giant Tortoise by Francine Jacobs, illus. by Jean Cassels. Here she tells the true story of a 50-year-old tortoise from the Galápagos Islands. Even though goats have eaten most of the food on the island, and the other tortoises have died out, George has survived—the last known saddleback tortoise from Pinta Island. (Walker, $16.95 32p ages 4-8 ISBN 0-8027-8864-5; Oct.)

In the spirit of their Fabulous Fluttering Tropical Butterflies and Flashy Fantastic Rain Forest Frogs, author Dorothy Hinshaw Patent and artist Kendahi Jan Jubb take on another vibrant habitat in Colorful Captivating Coral Reefs. Their text and artwork depict the many species of fish who depend on coral reefs (4,000), what coral reefs are made of (mostly limestone) and how different reef animals are interdependent (e.g., "Some fish and shrimps... set up 'cleaning stations,' " eating parasites and bits of dead skin from the bodies of larger fish). (Walker, $17.95 40p ages 6-10 ISBN 0-8027-8862-9; Oct.)

Animal Facts

Kids are invited to help solve a mystery with a different creature in each of three Animal Detectives series titles by Jacqui Brown. In Who Sat on Me?, Polly the Porcupine sees only the "huge, gray bottom" of the retreating animal that sat on her. Kids can help guess whose bottom it is, as Polly meets Zara the zebra (whose bottom is "too stripy"), and Gustav the giraffe ("wrong color") and finally Ellie the elephant, who promises to be more careful next time. Hugo the Hummingbird is startled in Who Made Me Jump?; children can help him hunt down the owner of two red eyes, to answer the titular question. And in Whose Footprint Is That? Beatrice the Beaver identifies various types of footprints until she finds the large footprints of Ben the bear, who took one of the branches for her dam (he wanted a fishing pole). (Barron's, $5.95 each 32p ages 2-5 ISBN 0-7641-5659-4; -5660-8; -5661-6; Oct.)

With fascinating facts about farmyard fowl, Who You Callin' Chicken? by Thea Feldman, photos by Stephen Green-Armytage, features startling photographs of chickens with unusual combs and wattles, long or curly feathers, muffs, beards and more. This lighthearted "tale of feathers" uses everyday phrases and joke punchlines to deliver the facts about over 200 breeds of chickens. For a wide variety of outlandish fowl, the text asks "Check out all these weird-looking birds! What do you think they are?... It's the Pullet Surprise!" (Abrams, $14.95 32p ages 4-8 ISBN 0-8109-4593-2; Oct.)