One Christmas Dawn

A 10-year-old girl's Christmas wish comes true when her father returns home from his faraway work in time to celebrate with the family. With evocative turns of phrase, Ransom (More Than a Name) whisks readers back to the coldest winter in Appalachia: ""the mountains held us in, like hands."" Her version of a mountain legend nearly sighs with longing before it begins to tingle in anticipation of a poignant reunion. Fiore's (Dear Willie Rudd) frosty, rustic landscapes and homey interiors lit by the glow of kerosene lamps recall a bygone era; his finely calibrated use of color give his pictures a force equal to that of the text. Ages 4-8. (Oct.)