(3) K-3 Illustrated by Angela Barrett. The king and queen of a charming, Edwardian-era island kingdom decide to marry their daughter Lucia to the suitor who shows them the Most Wonderful Thing in the World. The winning suitor shows them Lucia herself. The lengthy and elegant text paints many intricate word pictures, while Barrett's tiny, delicious watercolors, filled with hidden details, will reward close examination.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Ross Collins. The adventures of Trueheart Gracie Gillypot continue. In this installment, Gracie and friends are called upon to save the inept Prince Albion from the machinations of an aspiring musician who happens to be a zombie. French adds new characters to the perennially entertaining series, and Collins's absurdly funny line drawings are a delight. Fans of Gracie and company won't be disappointed.

Reviewer: Hannah Rodgers Barnaby

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Ross Collins. In their fourth adventure, Gracie Gillypot and friends face ancient Granpappy Canker, who plans to reverse his banishment through trickery and hypnotic cooking. As usual, humor and hilarity abound. French's light prose is buoyed by Collins's black-and-white sketches, which capture the absurd characters at just the right moments.

Reviewer: Hannah Rodgers Barnaby

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jessica Ahlberg. Puttering in Grandma's garden leads to an informative session on worms. The tidy book design and winsome pencil and gouache illustrations nicely balance the fictional story with its scientific aim. There's lots of humor (e.g., a mole's shopping list: "worm, worm, worm, worm") that's also fact-based. The final "How to Be a Wormologist!" provides a helpful review. Ind.

Reviewer: Carrie Harasimowicz Sullivan

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Ross Collins. This follow-up to The Robe of Skulls and The Bag of Bones finds Gracie Gillypot trapped underground in the world of dwarfs and trolls. Talking bats, ogres, and other fantastical creatures also come into play as heroic Prince Marcus tries to save Gracie and restore order. As usual for this series, exciting action and entertaining humor abound.

Reviewer: Hannah Rodgers Barnaby

(3) PS Illustrated by Sue Heap. A party invitation poses a problem for Polly, who lives in pink pajamas. Polly's friends lend her clothes, but they don't really fit her style. All ends well when the gathering turns out to be a pajama party. Lively, childlike crayon and acrylic illustrations with large figures and lots of pink add to the story's appeal.

Reviewer: Amy Kellman

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Ross Collins. In this sequel to The Robe of Skulls, orphans, trolls, witches, and other classic characters again come together in humorous fashion, as the ill-intentioned Truda Hangnail threatens the kingdom with banned Deep Magic. Characters with names such as Gubble, Doily, and Mrs. Cringe populate the pages of French's tale, in which the laughs are plentiful and the ending is, of course, happy.

Reviewer: Hannah Rodgers Barnaby

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jackie Morris. This captivating story includes some traditional fairy-tale elements: greedy parents, a noble young man searching for a bride, a wise cat, a jester advisor. The tale grows richer with its twist ending, as the princess chosen by the young man instead selects another husband for herself. Painterly illustrations depict a setting spanning different cultures and incorporating magic and realism.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Ross Collins. An evil (and broke) sorceress wants a gown "beyond all compare." She devises a scheme to turn princes into frogs, then ransom them to their parents. French sends a host of characters tromping about, all vying for treasure. Here's a romp filled with language play and just plain nonsense; an adventure where everyone gets his, her, or its due.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2008

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Sophie Windham. French's version of the traditional story provides a happy ending for the poultry. An uncharacteristically quick-witted Henny recognizes their peril when the fox sets a single place for dinner, and she engineers an escape. Windham's colored-pencil illustrations provide child-pleasing details, such as the empty cans and banana peels cluttering the fox's den. Hot cornbread all around guarantees a satisfying conclusion.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(4) K-3 French presents twelve Mother Goose rhymes and imagines the stories behind them; for example, Little Miss Muffet was only pretending to be afraid of spiders so she could spill her nasty meal. Although generally imaginative (Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary as a mermaid), some of the stories ramble. The four illustrators, each with a different style, capture the stories' humor.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) PS Illustrated by Dana Kubick. The cat family from A Present for Mom returns in a warm intergenerational story. Grandpa tries to play soccer, skip rope, and jump with Stanley's older siblings. Neither Stanley nor Grandpa is any good at these activities, but Stanley finds he is very good at taking care of tired Grandpa. The expressive cats are appealing, and the varied page layouts add interest.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Alison Bartlett. When a grandfather and grandson visit a natural history museum, the Tyrannosaurus rex exhibit prompts a discussion about what we know and don't know about dinosaurs. The child's many questions about dinosaurs are answered by his grandfather with the best facts available, and even more fully by the vibrantly colored, kid-friendly illustrations. Ind.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2004

(4) PS Illustrated by Dana Kubick. Stanley the cat can't think of the right gift for his mother for Mother's Day until he decides to fill a large cardboard box with kisses that will last "forever." French tells the familiar sentimental story well. Readers are carried along in gentle suspense through Stanley's failed efforts until the very last page, while Kubick's illustrations convey Stanley's roller coaster emotions through slumped shoulders or droopy whiskers.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Ross Collins. This picture-book history of writing traces the evolution of the alphabet, handwriting, and movable type and touches on several other topics, including secret codes and international signs. The casual tone makes for a very readable text, but some of the pages are too busy, crammed with boxed keywords and comical offbeat illustrations featuring bird and human characters dressed in period clothing. Glos.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Ross Collins. Conversational if somewhat long-winded passages explain the need for and development of mathematical ideas like place value, base ten, zero, and standard units of measure. Quirky cartoon illustrations feature incongruous elements, such as a pope holding a calendar and dancing with an owl that's clutching the number seven, and include corny jokes that some young readers won't get. Glos.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Alison Bartlett. Caught drinking orange soda for breakfast, Oliver spends the day with his cousin Lily and his well-meaning aunt Jen as they search for the freshest ingredients for a healthy "yummy scrummy fruity frothy milk shake." Bold, expansive gouache illustrations accompany this didactic but entertaining story.

Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Alison Bartlett. A mother and daughter gather frog spawn from a pond to observe the metamorphosis from egg to tadpole to frog. While French provides step-by-step guidance for gathering and observing frog spawn, there's enough detail for a vicarious scientific experience. Bartlett's use of multiple frames showing frog development paces the action while allowing enough detail for small, but important, changes. Ind.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2000

(4) PS Illustrated by Rebecca Elgar. New Baby provides a variation on the new-baby genre by emphasizing that Tiger will always be bigger than Tiny, even when Tiny becomes a big girl. And Tiger's realistically crabby day in Temper Tantrum will be recognized all too well by its audience. However, the thick, dark outlines in the illustrations make everything hard to discern and overpower the texts.

Reviewer: Susan Halperin

(4) PS Illustrated by Rebecca Elgar. New Baby provides a variation on the new-baby genre by emphasizing that Tiger will always be bigger than Tiny, even when Tiny becomes a big girl. And Tiger's realistically crabby day in Temper Tantrum will be recognized all too well by its audience. However, the thick, dark outlines in the illustrations make everything hard to discern and overpower the texts.

Reviewer: Susan Halperin