(4) PS Illustrated by JT Morrow. In this new story about Llama Llama, he and his classmates are learning to read. They start by identifying letters, then gradually (though it looks like the same day) are able to read simple words, then entire books. Sometimes-forced rhymes may impede readers of this book, whose familiar cheery cartoon illustrations will nevertheless be comforting (and welcome) to Llama Llama's fans.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(3) PS Little Excavator keeps trying to help the colorful big rigs, but he's too small...until "one last job" only he can do completes the new park. Dewdney's humorous illustrations of expressive Little E's mishaps alongside catchy rhyming verse incorporating onomatopoeia ("Little E is busy--he goes bam bam bam! / Uh-oh, Little Excavator... Now you're in a jam") prime this book for storytime read-alouds.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter

(4) PS The latest in this popular series finds the young llama having his first sleepover with resourceful, sensitive Gram and Grandpa. The color-soaked, canvas-textured oil paint, colored pencil, and oil pastel illustrations capture Llama Llama's changing emotions as he packs, travels, and stays overnight, despite his forgotten stuffed animal. Short, rhymed, singsongy sentences move the predictable story about negotiating new experiences along.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(3) PS Nelly Gnu and her father use two large cardboard boxes to build a fine playhouse, complete with colorful painted flowers. The cheery rhyming couplets are full of Nelly's admiration for Daddy Gnu: "A great big box, some tape, and string-- / Daddy can make anything!" Depicting father and daughter from many different angles, the bright, expressive illustrations put their warm relationship front-and-center.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(4) PS "Being bullied is no fun... / Walk away / and tell someone!" Llama Llama follows his teacher's lead and tells a classmate to quit behaving like a bully. LL and friends tell their teacher, and "Gilroy gets a long time-out." The simplistic solution gives young children an easy-to-understand approach to coping with bullying. Dewdney's familiar character and the singsongy rhyming text help make the overt lesson palatable.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) PS In Llama Llama's latest vehicle, his challenge is sharing his toys while hosting a play date ("Nelly starts to build a town. / Llama Llama starts to frown..."). As expected, there's a skillfully done teachable moment here, and Dewdney is expert at showing--through her staccato rhymes and well-observed illustrations--the way that a child navigates his or her emotions.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) PS "Achy, fever, stuffy head...Llama Llama back to bed." The young llama stays home from school, takes medicine, plays with toys, naps--and passes his malady on to Mama. As usual, the text is well metered, and young fans of the series will identify with the rituals of a sick day. Parents, too, will appreciate Llama Llama's recognition of his mother's needs.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(2) PS In his fourth book, Llama Llama wonders how, despite the season’s "hustle bustle," the countdown to Christmas moves at a snail's pace. After too much shopping, baking, and waiting, Llama Llama melts down, and Mama Llama gives him a much-needed hug, reminding him: "the true gift is / we have each other." The illustrations convey the hectic atmosphere in great detail.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2010

(3) PS "Roly Poly, very small, / doesn't like new things at all." A pangolin (a scaly mammal that rolls into a ball when scared) is afraid of everything--until it discovers the joys of friendship. As in her Llama Llama books, Dewdney builds sturdy rhymes around a simple premise and gives her animal cast facial expressions certain to cultivate reader empathy.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) PS In bouncy rhyming couplets, this reassuring book describes Llama Llama's first day at preschool. Missing Mama, he hangs back and cries a little. But the teacher is kind, and the other children are friendly, so he decides to join in: "Llama finds out something new-- / He loves Mama...and school, too!" The spirited illustrations show all the trappings of a busy preschool.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) PS "Every little bunny's good. / They mostly do the things they should. / But sometimes feeling sad or mad / can make a little bunny...BAD!" This good-natured teaching rhyme describes the dos and don'ts of toddler conduct. Dewdney uses plenty of white space in her illustrations, in which a lively group of rabbits demonstrates good and bad behavior.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) K-3 Employing faultless rhymes, Dewdney chronicles a routine day of shopping--until Llama Llama, fed up, throws a temper tantrum at Shop-O-Rama. As in Llama Llama Red Pajama, Dewdney sympathizes with the child but also makes plain that mothers have things to do besides entertain their kids. Readers will enjoy anticipating the storm by tracking the expressions on Llama Llama's face.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) PS After bulldog Gloria's owner receives a new doll, the pup becomes jealous and grumpy. All efforts to cheer her up fail miserably. When she falls into the doll's carriage, though, Gloria realizes "there's room for two." Brightly colored, humorously expressive illustrations capture Gloria's scowling and slobbery countenance. Although awkward in places, the rhyming text is filled with descriptive alliteration.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(3) PS While in his bed, a llama gets worked up because he's convinced that his mother has abandoned him. Mama snaps--"Baby Llama, / what a tizzy! / Sometimes Mama's / very busy"--before reassuring him. The understated message--moms deserve a break--is refreshing in a picture book for young children, who will appreciate this llama drama's exaggerated facial expressions.

Reviewer: Nell Beram