(3) K-3 Illustrated by Kristyna Litten. Bear has many talents; riding a bike isn't among them. He reads up on riding and otherwise obsesses, but ultimately it's his heart, not his intellect, that comes through when he must ride a bike to save a young goat. Anxious kids will appreciate the book's don't-overthink-it message, plus there's a wealth of visual texture (a checklist, a graph) within.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Mary Peterson. Wooby lives a quiet, rather lonely life in a neighborhood where people keep to themselves. When flamboyant, unconventional Peep moves in, Wooby expects trouble--and gets it. However, the two do have something in common, and they become friends in the end. Detailed cartoon-style illustrations and comical commentary from the animal neighbors add pizzazz to a familiar story line.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) 4-6 When twelve-year-old Paris's peripatetic parents say they're finally settling down, she decides to make friends at her new school. Unfortunately, this means being pushed around by a bully who insists Paris take part in a dare involving a dead girl. Liu's story, refreshingly, features a Chinese American narrator whose ethnicity is not at the story's center.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander