(3) PS In the style of the traditional nursery song, this version presents a succession of animals and one human getting ready for bed: "Rock-a-bye Squirrel, / high in the tree, / in Mommy's arms, / cozy as can be." Captivating double-page spreads picture animals, including Robin, Caterpillar, Owlet, and Baby, lovingly rocked to sleep. The rhythmic cadence should likewise lull young listeners.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(3) PS This upbeat, feel-good rhyming riff on an iconic nursery rhyme debuts a kinder, gentler old woman. Ten diversely cast children and five pets make for a chaotic household, but this gray-haired granny handles every crisis with resourcefulness--all the while meting out kisses and cuddles. The colorful palette of the acrylic and collage art adds energy and appeal.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) PS An enterprising young knitter repeatedly asks a black sheep if it has any wool. Each time, the sheep happily obliges with the traditional three bags full; the following spread shows how the wool gets used. Cabrera's twist on the nursery rhyme is accessible and funny--preschoolers will enjoy, for example, the sheep's increasing nakedness, and embarrassment, as the wool is donated.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith

(3) PS Starting with the traditional song lyrics, this rhyme adds cheerful new verses as a puppy and kitten encounter monkeys, crocodiles, tigers, and more while rowing their boat; readers are encouraged to sing along and make each animal sound ("If you see the swimming mice, / Don't forget to squeak. / EEEEK!"). Bright acrylics with bold black outlines extend the fun. Sheet music is appended.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(3) PS "On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me... / a party in a pear tree." In this festive, playful rendition of the traditional carol, a boy gives a girl twelve days of presents, including four magic mice, seven skiing squirrels, and ten singing snowmen. The art has vibrancy and warmth, and the rhyming text is jovial. Sheet music is appended.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2013

(3) PS This successful interpretation of the familiar lullaby highlights the landscapes over which the star twinkles, from forest to ocean to desert. Depicted warmly in Cabrera's paintings, parent-child animal duos from each habitat smile up at the star, until the last verse zeros in on a human mother and baby. The original music appears on the inside back cover.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) PS Cabrera has set the familiar children's song in a richly textured jungle with a giraffe bus driver and a busload of wild animals. The golden-orange lion goes "roar, roar, roar" while the flamingos go "flap, flap, flap," and the chameleon plays "hide-and-seek, / All day long!" Young readers will enjoy singing along (sheet music appended) while delighting in the animals' antics.

Reviewer: Sophie Williamson

(3) PS This expanded version of the classic children's song follows two Dalmatian pups as they prepare for school, brave the cold (and walk past that titular bush), learn and play, return home, and get ready for bed. The winter chill is no match for the warmth radiating from Cabrera's illustrations, in which the pups' mom is a reassuringly steady (if blessedly on-the-sidelines) presence.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) PS In this interpretation of the traditional nursery rhyme, a bunny and a hen prepare a party for their pig friends. On each spread, "4 naughty little chicks" hide away, giving young children a chance to practice counting as they linger over the large illustrations, full of bright colors and thick brush strokes. A "funny surprise" ending adds a dash of gentle humor to the lively counting book.

Reviewer: Sethany Rancier Alongi

(3) PS The text follows Old MacDonald as he makes his way through a routine workday, accompanied by his wife, dog, and assorted farm animals, each of whom makes a distinct impression. Perhaps the most important member of this rural family is the last--the smallest and most surprising. Nicely textured childlike paintings in bold hues illustrate the day's events.

Reviewer: Cindy Lombardo

(4) PS Who is Kitty's favorite snuggling partner? It's not "Tiny Mouse with his teeny-weeny cuddle" or "Happy Frog with her squidgy, quidgy cuddle." Instead, as Kitty demonstrates on the last spread, "It's my new baby brother!" While the end is a bit of a let-down, Cabrera's well-chosen vocabulary and childlike paintings with visible brush strokes add pizzazz.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) PS To refresh this familiar rhyme, Cabrera dresses the members of her animal cast for different roles--doctor, ballerina, pilot, etc.--as each falls out of bed. Literal-minded readers will wonder where the costumes, props, and new backdrops (ocean, field, sky) keep coming from, but the energetic art, featuring thick brush strokes and a saucy palette, justifies the suspension of disbelief.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) PS A chipper monkey and his cheerfully illustrated animal friends invite readers to join them in singing verses of this perennial childhood favorite, beginning with the standard "clap your hands," "stamp your feet," and moving on to "spin around," "flap your arms," and, "say squeak squeak," culminating in a big ending reprise. The joy and energy of the song shine through.

Reviewer: Susan Halperin

(3) PS "Over in the meadow . . ." begins each of ten catchy rhymes based on a children's song and comprising exchanges between a mother animal and her offspring--from one turtle to ten rabbits. At book's end, readers are invited to count the babies in each family as they romp in the same meadow. Each cheerful two-page scene is slathered in primary- and secondary-colored paint and reminiscent of children's artwork.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) PS "I am Dog. This is my day." An exuberant Dalmatian puppy spends the day playing with his animal friends: "I swing from the trees with Monkey...swim underwater with Fish...run really fast with Cheetah," until the end of the day when he plays with Daddy. Large, bright, textured paintings invite preschoolers to participate in Dog's energetic activities.

Reviewer: Susan Halperin

(4) PS DK Toddler Story Book series. When Rory, who loves lions, tells his friends about the roar of a real lion he hears every night, no one believes him. Rory persists and finally discovers another boy roaring like a lion. The bright, bold illustrations are appealing, but it seems illogical that the other child would be outside at night roaring, while Rory is home in bed.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(3) PS DK Toddler Story Book series. Illustrated with big, eye-catching pictures, these lighthearted books key into toddler experiences and interests and have thick reinforced pages. Panda Big and Panda Small like different things, but both like being together; Baby Loves celebrates a baby's exuberance for life and his parents' for him; Caterpillar's Wish is to fly, which he soon does; a girl tries to coax her busy cat to the dinner table in I'm Too Busy; and after a pig swallows a magic acorn in The Pig Who Wished, she gets all her outlandish wishes and nobody seems to mind.

Reviewer: Suzy Schmidt