(4) K-3 Illustrated by Jaime Kim. An engagingly poetic, somewhat nostalgic text and cheerful, cartoonish drawings help capture the joys of summer (seemingly in the suburbs)--from the end of school to the jingle of the ice-cream truck to camping outdoors. The "when...then" structure of the story is not always steady.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Jana Christy. In Brenner's inviting story, chilly weather, holiday decorations, delicious baked goods, and all the other trappings of Christmas act as guideposts for a brother and sister as they eagerly await Christmas morning. Soft-focus digital illustrations in vibrant hues reflect the season's coziness and industry. Those looking for an accessible book about secular celebration of Christmas will enjoy this warm-hearted offering.

Reviewer: Sara Danver | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2014

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Holly Meade. The book describes events and milestones alerting children to the impending arrival of Halloween. These include raking the yard, decorating the house, deciding on and making a costume, carving pumpkins, and of course trick-or-treating. The text's comfortable pattern and cozy watercolor and collage illustrations support the story's anticipation of holiday fun.

Reviewer: Alissa C. Salamone

(4) PS Illustrated by Denise Ortakales. "Good morning, sun. / Good morning, sky. / Good morning, orange butterfly." A little girl goes around her garden greeting flowers, berries, birds, and bugs. Although the text is joyful in tone, the frequently uneven rhyme schemes make it a challenge to read aloud. The cut-paper illustrations seem to pop off the page, with each flower and insect carefully detailed and identifiable.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Tom Leonard. These books offer readers a focused look at a tide pool and at the rotting hole in a tree. The detailed pictures and second-person text work well together to show how the animals that inhabit these two microcosms adapt to the coming and going of the tide and to the demise of the tree from the inside out. Review covers these titles: One Small Place by the Sea and One Small Place in a Tree.

Reviewer: Hilary Breed Van Dusen

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Tom Leonard. These books offer readers a focused look at a tide pool and at the rotting hole in a tree. The detailed pictures and second-person text work well together to show how the animals that inhabit these two microcosms adapt to the coming and going of the tide and to the demise of the tree from the inside out. Review covers these titles: One Small Place by the Sea and One Small Place in a Tree.

Reviewer: Hilary Breed Van Dusen

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Bruce Whatley. In this reworking of the Christmas carol, children bring animals, not apples, for their teacher, who sings of "Three fat rats, / Two buzzing bees / And a python that didn't squeeze me." It's pleasant enough to watch the menagerie grow in Whatley's colorful, occasionally stilted illustrations, but one might wonder how the rats survive for all those days with a python slithering about.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann

(4) PS Illustrated by Akemi Gutierrez. A young boy befriends an elephant at an animal park, where they compare their bodies and other facts, including how they spend their time, what they weighed at birth, and (a guaranteed preschool crowd-pleaser) where they "pee and poop." Some of the information may be beyond the ken of the book's intended audience, but much will prove interesting, and the cartoonlike gouache illustrations are appealing.

Reviewer: Hilary Breed Van Dusen

(4) K-3 Bank Street Ready-to-Read series. Illustrated by Jack Ziegler. Annie wants to buy a pet with her birthday money but spends it all on pet supplies before she ever has the chance. Luckily, adopting a dog from the animal shelter is the perfect solution. Despite the book's institutional look, the breezy, cartoonlike watercolors combine with a text that has just the right pattern of repetition for a reader who has mastered the basics.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Olivier Dunrea. The choice of subject, emphasis on West's early years, and careful selection of childlike incidents all make this biography of "the father of American art" appropriate as a picture-book treatment and appealing for the intended audience. The result is a handsome interpretation cast in a well-designed format with simple two-line black borders framing the text and flattened, angular illustrations.

Reviewer: Mary M. Burns | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 1999

(3) K-3 Bank Street Ready-to-Read series. Illustrated by John Emil Cymerman. Her lone cat is no match for a houseful of mice, so Nita rounds up some hungry felines, which soon overrun her home. The circular tale continues with dogs chasing away the cats, alligators scaring off dogs, and so on, until a mouse's services are needed. The predictable plot and repetition of key words make the text particularly appropriate for beginning readers. Lively full-color illustrations offer visual clues.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(4) K-3 Bank Street Ready-to-Read series. Illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully. A young girl is intrigued by the lodge beavers have built on her family's dock. Her angry parents, however, call the game warden, but that night the dock floats downriver during a storm. The family builds a new dock: "only this time--no beavers allowed." Text and illustrations are clear and simple, but the story won't appeal to wildlife fans accustomed to more animal-friendly tales.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander