Causes celebres are as commonplace among First Ladies as red suits and pearls, but few are as accessible to children as the wildflower-planting campaigns of Lady Bird Johnson. Appelt traces Johnson's botanical passions to her rural, East Texas childhood, finding parallels between the solace her subject drew from nature after her mother's death and her launch of the Highway Beautification Act to soothe a nation grieving for JFK. Psychological correlations of this sort appear throughout, and Appelt doesn't provide specific evidence to back them up; however, source citations for quotations and bibliographic resources are listed. Newcomer Hein's figures are awkwardly handled, but children will pore enthusiastically over her riotous, millefleur landscapes, each bloom so meticulously rendered that bluebells can be distinguished from bluebonnets by using the identification key provided. This is ideally suited for children lucky enough to attend schools where gardens are part of the curriculum; elsewhere, a stroll through Hein's stunning gouache meadowlands may be the next best thing. An endnote describes the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center that Johnson founded in 1982.

In her urban microcosm, Madlenka walks around the block to share news of her loose tooth. She's greeted by a French baker, an Indian news vendor, and a Latin American greengrocer, among others. Luscious with visual imagery, the imaginative book has much for small children to enjoy now and plenty to appreciate more fully later. Sís has woven an intriguing adventure within the compass of a small child's own world.

<p>This warmly attractive volume tells a graceful braid of stories: the life of Lady Bird Johnson, the wife of a president; the tale of a lonely child who found solace in the landscape and flora of east Texas; and the work of a First Lady who sought to bring beauty of the wilder sort into the highways of America. Lady Bird grew up in a rich and privileged household, but she lost her mother before she was six. She went to collegea"unusual for a woman in 1930a"and there met and married Lyndon, following him on a political trajectory that led to Congress, the vice-presidency and then to president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. She filled Washington with more cherry trees and with the daffodils she had loved as a child and urged the passing of the Highway Beautification Act. Now, more than 30 years later, interstate highways are free of junkyards and an endless procession of signs; instead, the native wildflowers Lady Bird loves are growing everywhere. Hein's delicate pictures are in bright, clear colors and her flowers instantly recognizable in broad vistas and intimate close-ups. (author's notes, endnotes, bibliography including Web sites) (Picture book/biography. 6-9)</p>