(3) PS Illustrated by Dan Hanna. In Mr. Fish's eighth picture-book outing, he discovers "a big...BIG...MESS" in his beloved ocean. The fish community's solution? "They gathered up the garbage / With the help of everyone. / They worked hard to fix and remedy / The damage that they'd done." As always, Diesen supplies tight rhymes; Hanna's visual gags (e.g., one fish wearing discarded snack packaging) lighten the environmental message.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Pout-Pout Fish Reader series. Illustrated by Isidre Monés. In Do It, Mr. Fish regrets turning down offers of artistic help from his aquatic pals. In Make a Friend, Mr. Fish has to figure out how to have a social life at school. The stories are satisfyingly rudimentary, and the illustrations, while simplified and slightly diluted, are otherwise faithful to Dan Hanna's original picture book scenes of plush-toy-like fish. Review covers these Pout-Pout Fish Reader titles: You Can Do It, Pout-Pout Fish! and You Can Make a Friend, Pout-Pout Fish!.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Pout-Pout Fish Reader series. Illustrated by Isidre Monés. In Do It, Mr. Fish regrets turning down offers of artistic help from his aquatic pals. In Make a Friend, Mr. Fish has to figure out how to have a social life at school. The stories are satisfyingly rudimentary, and the illustrations, while simplified and slightly diluted, are otherwise faithful to Dan Hanna's original picture book scenes of plush-toy-like fish. Review covers these Pout-Pout Fish Reader titles: You Can Do It, Pout-Pout Fish! and You Can Make a Friend, Pout-Pout Fish!.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) PS Illustrated by Dan Hanna. A sleepless Mr. Fish takes various underwater friends' (at times zany) advice for falling asleep but manages to catch a few winks only after listening to Miss Shimmer's entreaty to "trust yourself as a guide." Like the other Pout-Pout books, this one is a coping manual doubling as a picture book fueled by airtight rhymes and clever illustrations featuring a cast of Muppet-like sea creatures.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) PS Illustrated by Mary Lundquist. Told from the perspective of a mother watching her young daughter grow, this cheery, lyrical seasonal picture book documents what occurs in their lives from when they plant bulbs in autumn to when the flowers bloom in spring. Delicate illustrations marking important events in the girl's life--such as Halloween, a lost tooth, a broken arm, and a birthday--keep the story child-focused.

Reviewer: Bridget McCaffrey

(4) PS Illustrated by Dan Hanna. Mr. Fish and friends are playing at the park when suddenly, "The shark showed his teeth, / And he growled as he swam. / 'Move aside, micro-fishies! / It's my turn. SCRAM!'" Mr. Fish's eventual response defangs the shark implausibly easily, but six Pout-Pout books in, there's still impressive bite in Diesen's rhymes. As always, Hanna's adorable cast conjures aquatic Muppets.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) PS Illustrated by Dan Hanna. While on his first-ever vacation, Mr. Fish finds that nothing goes according to plan: he hits an underwater detour, finds his snack bag empty, etc. Happily, at every crisis point a fellow sea creature offers help; finally, Mr. Fish helps himself. With this fifth Pout-Pout book, neither Diesen's irreproachable rhymes nor Hanna's detailed illustrations show signs of water damage.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) PS Illustrated by Dan Hanna. In this outing, Mr. Fish races to find perfect gifts for his friends. Brief rhyming text with a repeated refrain gives the predictable Christmas message that thoughtful handmade gifts mean more than those bought in a frenzied shopping spree. Hanna's cartoony illustrations show an underwater world populated with fantastic, expressive sea creatures busily shopping for products such as "Scale Polish" and "Blackbeard's Other Beard."

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Dan Hanna. In Mr. Fish's latest rhymed tale, he reflects on his first experience at school, where he had to try several different classrooms before he found the right one (marked "Brand-new fish"). Hanna comes through with illustrations of the unlikely hero--just look at the pitiful/hilarious one of an upside-down school-age Mr. Fish trying to negotiate a mind-melting math problem.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Dan Santat. Determined to capture his own brand of perfection in this year's school picture, a boy ruins his planned scowl when he fondly looks back on a day full of "hard work" (mischief- and mess-making). The silly concept and wry tone of Diesen's story will hit home with young troublemakers, and Santat's saturated caricatures and yearbook-style endpapers will elicit lots of laughs.

Reviewer: Hannah Rodgers Barnaby

(3) PS Illustrated by Dan Hanna. Despite his fear of the dark, Mr. Fish ventures into the ocean's black depths in search of Ms. Clam's missing pearl. Encouraged in his pursuit by unseen supporters, the fish learns that friends can help you be brave. A lilting rhyme and expressive cartoon illustrations invite contemplation, allowing readers to search for hidden clues and details within the drawings and text.

Reviewer: Ashleigh Finn

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Tracy Dockray. A band of babies take to the streets in protest: "We won't get our hair cut. / We won't wear our sun caps. / We won't play with smart toys to skip us a grade." Some of the rhymes lose their way, but the overall concept is clever. Humorous digital illustrations give the wee protesters the hardened look of veteran activists.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) PS Illustrated by Dan Hanna. "I'm a pout-pout fish / With a pout-pout face, / So I spread the dreary-wearies / All over the place." Such is Mr. Fish's resigned explanation to the other sea animals for his round-the-clock gloom. The all-you-need-is-love ending is a kick, the rhymes are faultless, and the immensely satisfying illustrations call to mind sea life as interpreted by Jim Henson.

Reviewer: Nell Beram