(3) K-3 Illustrated by John Rocco. Noah's parents prepare for a four-day storm by filling water jugs and boarding up their city home's windows. Meanwhile, Noah turns his red wagon into an ark for the creatures living in the yard, including salamanders, toads, mice, and hummingbirds. The magical realism in Rocco's illustrations offers readers a satisfying fantasy as Banks presents a new way to think about an old biblical story.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) PS Illustrated by Simone Shin. A young child likes playing loudly but learns to enjoy quieter activities, too. Poetic text oscillates between the capitalized onomatopoeia of raucous play-imaginings and soothing, rhythmic rhymes of quiet-time ("A book's pages make a breeze, / a quiet shuffle across quiet knees"). In a palette of hushed blues, browns, and reds, the expressive acrylic and digital-media pictures depict "the quiet" coming and going as a weaving dust-like trail.

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Naoko Stoop. In Banks's gentle story about a loving, if unconventional, parent-child relationship, an Arctic wolf pup stranded on an ice floe is rescued by a polar bear who recognizes what he needs: "I am not your mother...but I can cuddle you and keep you safe." Stoop's captivating mixed-media-on-plywood illustrations, with their delicate lines and visible woodgrain texture, capture both the characters' trusting bond and the harsh setting's beauty.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2018

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Boris Kulikov. A how-to manual for finding an elephant begins with a little boy's instructions to pack your binoculars, blanket, and flute, and moves on into an imaginary jungle populated with a variety of animals. Although the search seems fruitless, there's an elephant cleverly hidden in every picture. The story drags a bit toward the end, but Kulikov's illustrations are a visual feast for keen observers.

Reviewer: Janet Dawson

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Boris Kulikov. Max (Max's Words, etc.) and his older brothers drive to Shapeville and help the townspeople rebuild after a storm; in Count Town, the three hunt for the numbers needed for a rocket launch countdown. Banks's playful writing is clever and brisk, and math is everywhere in Kulikov's whimsical art. This is a book that inspires love for math.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2015

(2) 4-6 Lester and George, sixth-grade dog owners, devise an experiment based on scientist Rupert Sheldrake's (real-life) book Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home. Their growing friendship helps both boys cope with losses. Banks brilliantly evokes boytalk and boythink; a level of scientific richness is added through George's correspondence with Sheldrake on such topics as animal intuition and the challenges of data collection.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2015

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Lauren Castillo. A small smoky-gray cat follows a family on its trip through Europe. She hitches rides, cadges food, and invites herself behind the scenes. Banks's text is confident and rhythmic, dotted with rhymes and half-rhymes that bounce off the tongue. Castillo's drawings capture both the grandeur of great cities and their human dynamism. An appended spread identifies the cities and the sights.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2014

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Gabi Swiatkowska. Whimsical textual and visual touches elevate two stories about manners. In Papa, Alice learns when she asks for things with a "please," her parents respond positively. In Mama, her parents teach her to say "please" and "thank you" on a birthday trip to the zoo. Swiatkowska's occasionally surreal mixed-media illustrations feature characters in from a bygone era in old-fashioned attire. Review covers these two titles: Please, Papa and Thank You, Mama.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Gabi Swiatkowska. Whimsical textual and visual touches elevate two stories about manners. In Papa, Alice learns when she asks for things with a "please," her parents respond positively. In Mama, her parents teach her to say "please" and "thank you" on a birthday trip to the zoo. Swiatkowska's occasionally surreal mixed-media illustrations feature characters in from a bygone era in old-fashioned attire. Review covers these two titles: Please, Papa and Thank You, Mama.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(4) PS Illustrated by Georg Hallensleben. A boy asks his mom to read his favorite bedtime book, in which a bear prepares for hibernation; as she reads, the boy prepares for (and submits to) sleep. The parallel-experience concept is solid, but sometimes the story's "meta" visual element ("The bear...crossed the page") is just plain confusing. Regardless, Hallensleben's paintings of wintry scenes are consistently sumptuous.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Peter Sís. Baz is apprenticed to a weaver whose cruel treatment causes Baz to question his fate. When the weaver trades Baz to a traveling magician, the boy's education begins in earnest. Banks's lyrical, imagistic, and thought-provoking text won't appeal to everyone, but middle-graders navigating their own metaphorical path toward illumination may find Baz's voyage inspirational. Sís's spare, delicate spot illustrations beautifully reflect the shifting mood.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2012

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Boris Kulikov. Young Max (Max's Words, Max's Dragon) surprises and entertains his two older brothers by creating an ever-changing world of words with his alphabet blocks. Banks's text creates an adventure in anagrams while Kulikov follows along with his comic-action castle-themed landscapes. An entertaining ride for readers who can follow the wordplay.

Reviewer: Hannah Rodgers Barnaby

(3) PS Illustrated by Gabi Swiatkowska. A girl watches her pregnant mother knit a layette and wonders what the future will hold ("Will this baby like the stars?"). The art is as metaphorical as the text: in one typically lovely spread, the girl imagines that her new sibling balances on a strand of yarn that connects their mother's knitting needles with the moon.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Boris Kulikov. Eraserheads Owl, Crocodile, and Pig have the important job of removing mistakes. All is well until the day Crocodile erases too much. Trapped in a boy's drawing, the Eraserheads use their skills to escape wild beasts, and they discover that without mistakes, "There'd be nothing to learn." Kulikov's richly imaginative illustrations make good use of perspective to pull readers into Banks's tabletop adventure.

Reviewer: Carrie Harasimowicz Sullivan

(2) K-3 Monkey Reader series. Illustrated by Tomek Bogacki. In this second book about monkey siblings (Monkeys and Dog Days), big-brother Pete builds a model of the universe. While impressing little bro Max with scientific knowledge, Pete also makes him feel insignificant (like "a speck in the universe"). Bogacki's illustrations, with soft colors and blurry lines, convey gentle feelings even amidst brotherly discord. Banks does a fine job combining facts with story.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2009

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Georg Hallensleben. Text and art depicting carolers, Nativity scenes, and cookie baking alternate with excitement building among the farm animals. What are they waiting for? The book provides hints, and readers will find the Christmas Eve birth of a foal worth the anticipation. Banks's narrative is full of sensory detail, and Hallensleben's paintings, with their luminous color and thick brush strokes, capture the season's warmth.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2009

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Lauren Castillo. A little girl and her father prepare for a day of fishing. Papa picks up earthworms with his fingers--"That's his way"--while the girl uses her shovel--"That's my way." The soothing text and serene illustrations in a palette of blues, greens, and browns reflect the peaceful quietude of a day on the lake, then home by sunset.

Reviewer: Lisa Catherine Findlay

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Boris Kulikov. Max (Max's Words) collects rhymes: "My dragon's trying to practice flying." His older brothers, drawn into Max's imaginative play, chime in with rhymes of their own. The playful couplets will have listeners and early readers anticipating each new pair. With illustrator Kulikov, details are everything: Max's Croc shoes, the brothers' cargo shorts, and the lizard amiably tailing Max.

Reviewer: Robin L. Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2008

(3) K-3 Monkey Reader series. Illustrated by Tomek Bogacki. Monkey brothers Max (younger) and Pete (older) demonstrate their ability to care for a new pet dog. But when the novelty wears off, Max ends up doing most of the work. This four-chapter easy reader teaches about responsibility and pet care in a realistic and nondidactic way. The tenderly expressive monkey-brother illustrations complement the story well.

Reviewer: Sethany Rancier Alongi

(2) 4-6 Quirky Lenny Brewster irritates most people, except Muriel, a kind counselor, and Van, Lenny's first friend, who has leukemia. With Muriel's guidance, Van becomes Lenny's pathway to empathy and maturity. Banks's spare prose keeps this story from being sentimental or manipulative. Both Lenny and the reader will hang on to Muriel's quiet wisdom long after the story is over.

Reviewer: Robin L. Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2008