(3) PS Illustrated by Samantha Cotterill. A girl and her pet cat decide that glitter fixes every problem. Boring rooms, pictures, or walls? "Just add glitter!" But is there such a thing as too much glitter? The simple rhyming verse moves the story along at a quick, lively pace. The textured (and ultra-sparkly) mixed-media illustrations set in three-dimensional paper scenes dazzle on every page.

Reviewer: Mariko Turk

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Elizabet Vukovic. "I'll wear my boots and spurs and hat. / I'll say so long to my barn cat." A girl fantasizes about going West and becoming a cowgirl; as Vukovic's winsome mixed-media art shows, she doesn't have to leave her suburban home to do so--such is the power of her imagination. DiTerlizzi's rhymes have the snap of an expertly swung lasso.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Brendan Wenzel. Simple, terse rhyming text lists pets' myriad activities, while Wenzel's distinctive mixed-media illustrations show animals of all stripes competing in a "Pet Show." This colorful picture book--even the text is multicolored--is both a celebration of and a primer on the domestic-animal kingdom, with plenty of emphasis on pets' affection. A final spread identifies the pets (and non-pets) from the earlier pages.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(4) PS Illustrated by Brooke Boynton Hughes. Brief couplets describe the best things about babies--"precious smile / chubby thighs / perfect ears / sleepy eyes"--ending with the refrain "it must be baby love." Hughes's pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations show the baby's day, from playing outside to bedtime. Both text and art are saccharine, though they may be appreciated by new parents (and grandparents).

Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Brendan Wenzel. "Stinging, biting, stinking, fighting, hopping, gliding, swimming, hiding...." Jaunty rhymes describe the many activities of a variety of bugs. The scansion is unstrained, begging to be chanted aloud, and Wenzel's spirited mixed-media illustrations match the text's tone, clarify its meaning, and imbue the bugs with personality. Readers won't hesitate to follow the ending injunction to "find some bugs in your backyard!"

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(3) PS Illustrated by Joey Chou. "When a duck says QUACK, does she really mean SNACK?" Parent-and-child animal pairs depicted in various human scenarios offer playful suggestions for what animals might be saying when they utter their familiar sounds. The short rhyming questions and an intermittent refrain of this bouncy verse are well served by the colorful pictures.

Reviewer: Sethany Rancier Alongi