(4) PS A nameless narrator tries to pick a favorite color, but "it's very hard to say." The strength of this concept book is photographer Alda's crisp pictures of, among other colorful images, a city block of bright-hued apartment façades, vivid red flowers, and lush green grass. Somewhat shakier is her rhyming text with a twist ending that doesn't pack much of a punch.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(3) PS Alda presents twenty-eight photographs of everyday scenes that, on closer inspection, resemble a face. Some are easy to see while others will take more imagination. The book's sequence works well most of the way through, and the succinct rhyming text provides clues that can help preschoolers identify the faces.

Reviewer: Lolly Robinson

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Lisa Desimini. When Iris's illness threatens to keep the family from Grandpa's party, her twin brother gives her a hard time. Kids will identify with both sibs, but the text's intermittent rhymes ("Her head was hot. / She threw up in a pot") are more disruptive than engaging. The appealing cut-paper and digital art makes playful use of perspective.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Maryann Kovalski. In this story set in Manhattan's Lower East Side in the 1930s, a young girl from Italy plants morning glories to help cheer up her homesick mother. Soon the vibrant flowers spread all over the city and revive the poor immigrant neighborhood. Energetic illustrations perk up the humdrum text.

Reviewer: Kristin Cashore

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Eve Aldridge. Bespectacled and fleet of foot despite her cane, Granny Annie runs pell-mell past a fishing hole, through a grove of trees, and across a field with Ruth, Joe, and Charlie in pursuit. At ocean's edge, the kids discover what the big hurry was: Granny's keen to watch the setting sun. The lively and humorous watercolor pictures are sometimes awkwardly rendered, but they complement the story of hurrying up to slow down.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(1) PS Lush, colorful photos of everyday objects show the numerals 1 through 10 and back again in a simple and accessible format. Children should be able to find most of the hidden numerals, once they catch on to the idea, and the objects themselves are easily recognizable (a bendable straw for 7, for instance). Author's notes in the back clarify the images for those who are in doubt.

Reviewer: Lolly Robinson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 1998