(4) PS Illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas. "Mommy, what age was I cutest of all?" A mom responds to the question with on-the-beat (if not fresh) rhymes that describe her indeterminately gendered child's lifelong cuteness. She ultimately reassures her kid, "Of course, you're my baby, no matter what stage, / I'll love you forever, whatever your age!" This heartwarming fluff (not to be confused with Munsch's Love You Forever) is further puffed up by cotton-soft illustrations.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Christine Davenier. The narrator says she hates rain, but after her friend describes its virtues (e.g., the street steams "like plates of fresh, hot pasta!"), the narrator is sold. The giddy story, told almost entirely in dialogue, is as much a celebration of imagination and friendship as of rain. Davenier captures the girls' exuberance with her unmistakable ink and watercolor art.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Brand New Readers series. Illustrated by Janie Bynum. In this series designed for beginning readers, the books all have four stories, each one preceded by a few lines of plot summary. The stories consist of eight short, repetitive sentences with a humorous twist at the end, which supplies added motivation to keep reading. Simple clear illustrations enhance the humor. A page of tips for adults completes the package. [Review covers these Brand New Readers titles: Edna Elephant, Ethan Out and About, and Mouse Has Fun.]

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) PS Illustrated by Melissa Sweet. A raccoon doesn't want to help his mother do chores--until she convinces him that imagination can turn toy tidying into cattle herding, tooth brushing into lip synching, and so on. Young readers will respond to Mommy's resourcefulness as well as to the affection undergirding this book-length mother-son dialogue. The illustrations of both the mundane and the fantastic worlds teem with eye-catching details.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) PS Illustrated by Tracy Dockray. A mother and daughter talk about how the young girl is "little enough to ride piggyback to the stairs" yet "big enough to hop all the way down." Some comparisons are moralistic--she's "little enough to jump on the bed" yet "big enough to make it when [she's] done"--but most will speak to preschoolers. The illustrations successfully show the juxtaposition between big and little.

Reviewer: Kristen Oravec

(3) PS Illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton. A boy tells his father what he would do if he were the father, and a girl tells her mother what she would do as mother. Lively illustrations, reminiscent of Sendak's early work, alternate between the real world, in which the parent is caring for the child, and the child's imaginings. Although not entirely original, the books neatly capture the things that matter to young children.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) PS Illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton. A boy tells his father what he would do if he were the father, and a girl tells her mother what she would do as mother. Lively illustrations, reminiscent of Sendak's early work, alternate between the real world, in which the parent is caring for the child, and the child's imaginings. Although not entirely original, the books neatly capture the things that matter to young children.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(4) PS Illustrated by Melissa Sweet. This series of questions and answers between a mother kangaroo and joey begins with "Will I always be little?" The mother lovingly and patiently answers all questions, reassuring her child that she will always be there. The warm multimedia collages, combined with traditional watercolors, are more successful than the saccharine text on a well-worn theme.

Reviewer: Susan Halperin