Gay humorously contrasts the children's impressions of the sea in pictures and dialogue that capture Sam's experience of its frightening enormity, as well as Stella's joy in its secret treasures. To fend off the prospect of a swim, Sam keeps asking Stella anxious questions like "Does a sea horse gallop?" Stella's replies are as authoritative as they are imaginative: "'Yes!' cried Stella. 'And you can ride a sea horse bareback.'" Gay's whimsical watercolors show Stella swimming alongside tropical fish and holding onto the back of a child-sized pink sea horse, while Sam hangs behind, a tiny speck in a water ring on the distant shore. Ultimately, of course, Stella's irrepressible enthusiasm wins over Sam's sober hesitancy, and in the final image of this charming picture book the two of them float happily in a luminous blue green sea. (Baby to age 4) --Lisa Alward

"With milk?" asks Sam.

"Yes," says Stella. "And sugar."

The two venture out into the white wonderland, exploring the tastes and textures of snowflakes and snowballs, the thrill of sledding ("I think I'll walk down," says Sam), and the magic of snow angels. Worldly Stella instructs her cautious little brother in all the ways of winter in the way only a big sister can.

Readers will be gratified at the return of Stella, Star of the Sea's adorable, true-to-life siblings. Popular award-winning author-illustrator Marie-Louise Gay has created another breathtakingly cute picture book about confident, carrot-top Stella and her earnest but uncertain little brother. Gay's watercolors of blackbirds on denuded tree branches, a brown pup wading through belly-deep snow, and the beaming siblings flailing their limbs to make snow angels are simply perfect. And her kid-dialogue is perfection squared. (Ages 3 to 7) --Emilie Coulter