(3) PS Illustrated by Nick Maland. "Once I was slow. / I couldn't catch up. / You waited for me." A small creature describes all of the things that his friend, a bear with a fancy for snazzy shirts, has done for him, including forgiving him after an argument. The spare, unfussy text and the loose, bold images of the tastefully anthropomorphized friends steer clear of sentimentality.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Nick Maland & Nick Maland. "You don't want to think about dragons, but you do--all the time." Actually, "dragons" is code for fears or worries in this surprisingly palatable exercise in bibliotherapy, the gist of which is, the more you try to ignore your fears, the larger they loom. The text pointlessly and jarringly switches from the plural "dragons" to the singular and back, but the book's conversational tone and refined art are engaging and reassuring.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann

(3) K-3 Photographs by Gisèle Wulfsohn. This photo-essay set in South Africa contains a traditional counting theme ("One child, one seed...Two hands to plant the seed") in the context of a (somewhat digressive) description of a family's farm. Clear color photos in an open, attractive design range from decorative to informative; the book ends with a map showing South Africa and a recipe for a pumpkin-and-cornmeal dish.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Sue Hendra. When Henry, a forest creature, decides to sing, the others protest that he's no good. Disturbed by their quarreling, the Maker of All Things asks the creatures to think about what voices are for. Although somewhat moralistic, the story and its illustrations, with their bright flat areas of color and imaginative nonspecific animals, have humor and a light touch.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Nick Maland. After discovering that he can fly, a peasant boy leaves his family's cottage, only to crash in a blizzard. He is rescued by a showman, who costumes the boy in elaborate wings and adds him to his troupe as the Eagle. When the appeal of show business yields to a longing for home, the Eagle sets himself free by trickery. There are some gaps in the narrative; however, the delicately colored crosshatched illustrations enhance this home-is-best tale.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian