Welcome Back!(Children's NOTES)(American Tall Tales)(Mr. Pine's Purple House)(The Magic Shop)(The Power of One: Young Readers' Condensed Version)(Children's Review)(Book Review)

A host of old standbys are being reissued this winter. "American folk heroes of the 19th century spring to life in these splendidly retold sagas," said PW upon the 1991 publication of Mary Pope Osborne's American Tall Tales, illus, by Michael McCurdy. The gifted raconteur retells the legends of familiar figures (Davy Crockett, Paul Bunyan, Johnny Appleseed, Pecos Bill), as well as lesser-known personalities. McCurdy's elaborate full-color wood engravings, in their robust stylization, dramatically render the grandeur of the yarns. (Knopf, $19.95 128p ages 9-14 ISBN 0-679-80089-1; Jan.)

Francois Roca's dark-hued illustrations adeptly convey the sense of eerie mystery …