(4) K-3 Illustrated by Abby Carter. As guests arrive at Miss Bloom's six-room inn, rhyming couplets track occupancy: "Now ONE room of SIX had a guest for the night. / To fill up the inn would be pure delight." Though the rhythm is occasionally off-kilter, the book provides a high-spirited, creative approach to fractions. Watercolor illustrations incorporate many homey patterns and humorous details.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Kyrsten Brooker. A castle is thrown into turmoil at the prince's bedtime. Nothing helps, until finally his sister discovers what he needs: a good-night kiss. Dodds's bouncy rhymes are fun to read aloud; her page turns are propulsive; and the cumulative structure builds satisfyingly. Brooker's expansive multimedia collages, full of movement and amusing detail, extend the sense of growing chaos.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2008

(4) PS Illustrated by Sachiko Yoshikawa. A girl and her cat discover that each time they think they're dressed appropriately, they "open the door, but then...Uh-oh!": it's raining (or snowing, or windy, etc.). The rhymes throughout are bland, but Yoshikawa's merrily manic illustrations make a big impression in the book's small pages.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Kyrsten Brooker. Henry, who loves "putting things together," builds an Amazing Machine that takes over the house. His doting parents ask, "But, Henry, what does it do?" Henry replies, "Do?...I haven't a clue." The high-spirited, wacky text and collage pictures build rhythmically, and soon the whole town gets involved with Henry's runaway invention. The story concludes on a surprising carnivalesque note.

Reviewer: Susan P. Bloom | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2004

(2) K-3 Illustrated by John Manders. The concept of doubling goes down easy in this combination of multiplication facts, rhyme, humor--and diner food. One by one, the McFay brothers abandon their farm chores and head for the diner; each orders what the previous brother did, but "make it a double." The appropriately exaggerated illustrations double the fun as they play with numbers and size.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2005

(1) PS Illustrated by Pierre Pratt. "Where's Pup?" asks a clown as he quizzes circus performers and handlers. The clown's quest follows a pattern: he greets each pair and asks if they've seen Pup; they respond with a phrase that previews the sound of the name of the next pair. This is an engaging story for beginning readers--particularly for those who don't even know they can read. The illustrations provide context, and the book's design reinforces the jaunty pacing.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2003

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Jill McElmurry. The Kettles, a family of sensibly dressed dogs, find their favorite clothing shop has gone upscale. As sales-hound Monsieur Pip festoons them in paisley, stripes, and checks, the strait-laced dogs become increasingly dissatisfied. Only Baby perks up in the lively outfits, and style mavericks will cheer her self-expressive fashion statement. Rhythm and repetition are used to good effect; the retro-style illustrations give the story panache.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2003

(3) PS Illustrated by Tor Freeman. "We'll rub. We'll scrub. / We're Wally and Gene. / There's not a pet / that we can't clean." Two young entrepreneurs wash all kinds of animals; they can handle anything from cats to kangaroos. That is, until someone brings a very messy baby brother, and the two boys run away yelling, "Sorry! We're closed!" Bold, expressive acrylic illustrations lend additional humor to the rhyming text.

Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Tracy Mitchell. From eighty to forty to twenty and down to one, a group taking part in a cross-country race is continually divided in half by various accidents and natural disasters. The book's math pattern is fudged at the end in order to provide one winner, but the rhyming text is bouncy, and the colorful folk-art paintings with snazzy racing-checker graphics show grannies, clowns, cowpokes, pirates, and convicts, among others, as participants.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam