THE LITTLE HUMPBACKED HORSE

A felicitous conjunction of words and pictures—Winthrop (I'm the Boss!, 1994, etc.) adapts a Russian folktale and unerringly leads readers through its enchantment to a satisfying conclusion, each step glowingly complemented by Koshkin's paintings. A simpleminded peasant boy's goodness leads him to capture the thief who comes in the night to rob the family haystack. She strikes a bargain for her freedom with the boy, Ivan, for in exchange for his gift of three nights' rest, she will give him three colts, one of which is the little humpbacked horse. The splendor of the other two horses leads Ivan's brothers to take them to the market for the Tsar's use. But their scheme backfires; the horses will obey only Ivan, so the Tsar makes him Master of the Stables, giving him red shiny boots and all the food he wants. Along come the requisite three impossible tasks, and with the advice of the little humpbacked horse, Ivan succeeds. In the end he comes to his ultimate happiness, his lovely Tsaritsa, in a book in which there are no false steps. (Folklore. 7-11)