(2) PS Illustrated by Fiona Woodcock. A little girl wakes up joyfully, flinging out her arms in anticipation of the day. After waving goodbye to Mommy, she has breakfast with eggs sunny-side up, and Woodcock's mixed-media illustrations employ cheery shades and patterns, the sunny yolks echoed in yellow flowers on the table. The happy mood continues until she and Daddy pull up the shade "to let the sunshine in, and find / drips of gray sky covering everything." The room itself becomes a washed-out gray, reflecting the little girl's mood as she stomps angrily: "I don't want to be / stuck inside all day. / I want to go / outside and play." After some comforting from Daddy, she finds imaginative ways to play, such as making make-believe muffins and pies, and pretending to feed baby birds with "yarn worms." With each attempt, the illustrations' colors regain their warmth. But each time she looks out the window and sees the "drip drip drop," the room is suffused with gray once again. Finally, the clouds pass, and the girl gets some outdoor playtime before dinner (which includes a well-deserved treat) and bed. Davis's verse is a little choppy in places but captures the child's strong feelings well. It's a slice-of-life story that truthfully reflects the disappointment of a long, rainy day interspersed with moments of happiness and warmth, and it may resonate with families who have spent many days stuck inside during the pandemic.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2021

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Fiona Woodcock. "How do you budge an unbudgeable curmudgeon...?" Such is the challenge for a girl at home with her apparent brother (they're both redheads), who resembles the Muppets' Animal and won't relinquish her backpack. She tries politeness, food, and distraction, but an unlikely strategy yields his change of heart--and face. Assonance, unpredictability, slapstick-tinged art--it's a picture book triple play.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Fiona Woodcock. Snow-loving polar bear Miki finds a playmate--a girl who first appears to him as "a dot in the snow" (because of her red parka). When the snow obscures their path, a "Mommy Dot" rescues the girl, and Miki goes home to his own mother on the ice. The book's appeal isn't the story, which is rather slight, but the cross-species friendship and Woodcock's lovely, gauzy-white-surfaced illustrations.

Reviewer: Nell Beram