(3) PS Illustrated by Kimberly Gee. "Four are eager, up since dawn. / Three just sit and yawn and yawn." Spare, trip-proof rhymes describe the morning routine before the first day of school as experienced by a bevy of what appear to be new kindergartners. Together, Ashburn's rhymes and Gee's tidy thumbnails of twenty-odd individualized kids make the point that it's okay to march to one's own beat.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Robyn Ng. A stylish little girl plucks her favorite sun hat from the "Summery Things pile" and, "with a little of this...and a little of that," repurposes it throughout the year. Ashburn's peppy text with (irregular) internal rhymes matches the levity and frilliness of Ng's delicate mixed-media art. A lively offering for young fashionistas and DIY-ers.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Brett Helquist. Jack assembles a fort out of household items without asking permission. One by one, his family members reclaim their possessions, taking down the fort. Luckily Grandma is willing to share, helping Jack see a more effective approach to building. The cumulative "House That Jack Built" rhymes are peppy, and Helquist's homey oil paintings in muted tones capture the action of imaginative play.

Reviewer: Shara Hardeson

(4) PS Illustrated by Sergio De Giorgi. "The Itsy-Bitsy Skid Steer," "Crumbling Bridge Is Falling Down," "Twinkle, Twinkle, Wrecking Ball"--it had to happen: someone would think to rewrite the Mother Goose classics in the construction-work vein; that the illustrations feature an all-animal crew is gravy. Too bad the execution isn't better: the rhymes sometimes feel stiffly constructed (so to speak). The well-composed art has a squeaky-clean look.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Julia Denos. A girl wears her "favoritest" dress on her favorite day, Tuesday. When she outgrows the dress, Mama, with a "SNIP, SNIP, sew, sew" makes a shirt for the girl's new favorite day, Wednesday. The garment's subsequent iterations are each cherished until just one scrap--used creatively--remains. Though Ashburn's rhymes occasionally falter, their lightness is mirrored by Denos's girly mixed-media illustrations.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(3) PS Illustrated by Kelly Murphy. In this variation on "Over in the Meadow," a little dragon and its mother prepare a surprise for a medieval castle's inhabitants. The textured acrylic, oil, and gel illustrations include many humorous details. With its ready-to-count items--from one baby dragon to ten jesters--and lilting rhymes, the book is well suited to both group and individual read-alouds.

Reviewer: Bethany Templeton Klem