Magnificently illustrated picture books, such as Graeme Base's The Water Hole, Elizabeth Rosen's Two Scarlet Songbirds, and Micheal Garlands' Mystery Mansion, affirm the beauty, depth, and wonder of life both to children and to those who see the books through the eyes of children. Surreal as this beauty initially appears against the backdrop of inhuman horror imposed upon it, as upon all other mediums of expression, by the events of September 11th, its value to children, and to those who love them, settles in ever more strongly the more one focuses upon it.

    The Water Hole and Mystery Mansion have a great deal in common. Exquisite, multi-layered drawings, hidden animals and puzzles, and a complimentary story line. The Water Hole, eagerly awaited by the many people who loved Base's earlier works such as Animalia, The Eleventh Hour, and The Sign of the Seahorse, functions simultaneously as a simple counting and storybook, and a difficult and intricate hidden picture puzzle.

    On each page an increasing number of animals come for a drink at a steadily shrinking water hole. Each page is set in a different habitat and bordered by small representations of animals that live in that habitat. The careful viewer will realize with a jolt that each animal depicted on the border is also represented in the larger drawing, camouflaged with remarkable skill. The intricacy of the drawings, combined with their sheer gorgeousness when taken as a whole, marks The Water Hole as destined to be another Base classic.

    Mystery Mansion is a delightful puzzle adventure in which a young boy named Tommy is drawn from place to place, indoors and outdoors, around his Aunt Jeanne's estate, by rhymed puzzles left for him by his Aunt, who is hidden on each page, watching Tommy's progress.

    Young readers may find over four hundred hidden animals to count, hidden letters which require unscrambling, and negotiate mazes and other obstacles. The drawings are exceptionally vibrant, and in conjunction with the gentle tones of the text, exude a sense of charm and wonder which is immediately and continuously striking.

    Two Scarlet Songbirds: A Story of Anton Dvorak, depicts the creation of Dvorak's American Quartet. The story is based on an historical footnote. Dvorak, a Czech composer living in New York, homesick for the countryside, went out to visit Spillville Iowa, a farming community settled by Czech immigrants. Dvorak, inspired by his new surroundings, swiftly composed the American Quartet. The third movement in particular was inspired by the Scarlet Tanager, a bird whose song struck a deep chord in Dvorak.