The lamb who came for dinner

by Steve Smallman

Wolf is very hungry. He really doesn't want plain vegetable soup on such a cold winter's night. Luckily, the morsel of his dreams happens to knock on the front door. Can the big, bad wolf follow through on his dastardly plan when the sweet, timid lamb starts to warm his heart?

So often, wolves are depicted as horrible creatures in children's literature. It's nice to see one experience a bit of remorse before carrying out his scheme. This would be a fun story time read. In fact, the only thing I didn't enjoy was the fact that the wolf's name becomes, "Woof". I'm a stickler for using that "L" when pronouncing "wolf". Joelle Dreidemy's illustrations are sinister and sweet in all the right places. I particularly enjoyed the wolf's stripey socks.

Ice

by Linda Howard

I enjoy Linda Howard's writing. Years ago, I got caught up in her tales for the romance aspect. As she has progressed toward the mystery genre, I've followed happily along. This time, the story wrapped me up and I enjoyed finishing a book in a day. Since I was studying for class, I can't remember the last time I had the time to do that.

Howard will captivate you with a story about a woman who lives on a mountain, and must be rescued before the big ice storm rolls in. When her rescuer arrives, he finds her held captive by two homicidal drug addicts. The woman shows more gumption than expected as the two battle to survive against the elements and addicts. Although, Howard includes romance in this story, it really doesn't add to the plot. Luckily, the romance is limited enough that the rest of the plot overrides it and makes the book rounded enough to satisfy both mystery and romance fans. A savvy reader might even pick up some survival tips.