(2) K-3 Photographs by Rick Lieder. As in their earlier collaborations (e.g., Among a Thousand Fireflies, rev. 3/16), poet Frost and photographer Lieder celebrate the wonders revealed through close observation of the natural world--here, the praying mantis. The text invites children to freeze: "If a quick small / movement / takes you by / surprise, / stop and look-- / move nothing / but your eyes." Frost explains that you might see a hungry, hunting praying mantis snag its prey if you watch quietly. Lieder's pictures put the praying mantises and the flora upon which they perch on crisp display, leaving the rest of the surroundings in soft focus. We see a praying mantis capturing a bee in its long, toothed front legs as well as one emerging as a nymph from its nest, followed by "hundreds more" dangling together as they hatch. Between Frost's advice ("Be still and quiet, / watching") and Lieder's photographs, children may be able to start spotting the alien-looking yet beautiful creatures in the wild. A closing note offers additional information about the life cycle of Chinese praying mantises. The book design includes a raised image of the insect on the front cover as well as endpapers that begin in day and finish against a dark background for a subtle good-night message.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2022

(2) 1-3 Illustrated by Rob Shepperson. Frost (When My Sister Started Kissing, rev. 3/17; Applesauce Weather) begins this character-driven early chapter book with a familiar literary device: a stranger (this time a friendly dog) comes to town (a generic suburbia). Two self-proclaimed nice kids, Sam and Katie, alternately narrate the story; his account is in verse, hers in prose. The two initially vie with each other for the pup's attention but unite when the Tracy twins--the "meanest kids in the whole world"--take a liking to the dog and try to steal her affection. Impulsively, Katie and Sam paint a blue daisy on the dog, providing her with a convenient name but also temporarily branding her. The two children grapple with their actions: who are the mean kids now? The book contains several scaffolds for readers just moving into longer works. Quatrains preview each of three sections, while a fourth serves as an epilogue and succinctly closes the novel. Sam's three-line stanzas provide a nice structure for the text, and sixteen full-page black-and-white illustrations present a visual representation of the characters and highlight main points in the story. Dialogue is represented in italics rather than within quotation marks, a departure from standard narratives but not one that should hinder comprehension. An author's note explains these conventions; recipes for snickerdoodles and dog biscuits, both of which figure in the story, complete the book.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2020

(2) 4-6 In free-verse poems, Frost tells the story of Henry, deafened by disease in 1937 at age four. Because Henry is deemed "unteachable" by the School for the Deaf, his family is pressured to consign him at age six to a residential institution for the "feeble-minded," a dumping ground for those with a variety of cognitive and physical issues. Through his own intelligence and good nature, Henry makes friends and survives this place of scarcity and lovelessness. And once the United States enters World War II, a compassionate conscientious objector joins the staff, bringing hope for Henry's return to his family. Frost's short poems sketch Henry's story through clips of his experiences, conveying his limited understanding of what is going on around him. But she also frames his experience within a larger context--of the family that is too poor and cowed to care for him, and of the role conscientious objectors played during the war. This is a quick read, full of historical richness and glimpses of the cruelty and abuse so common in the institutions of the era. Frost's interpretation is softened by the hopeful conclusion of Henry's return home and his introduction to American Sign Language.

Reviewer: Deirdre F. Baker | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2020

(3) PS Photographs by Rick Lieder. Frost's spare poem invites readers to "come out and explore / New life is exploding / outside your door!" The close observation of nature encouraged by the poet is complemented by Lieder's color photos of tree swallow eggs, a speckled fawn, newly hatched swans, etc., all infused with light and fine detail. Words and imagery together sing of spring's renewal. A pictorial guide gives factual information.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(2) 4-6 The summer Claire turns eleven, her widowed father has remarried, his wife is pregnant, and their lake house has been unceremoniously cleaned of her long-deceased mother's things. While thirteen-year-old sister Abi is preoccupied with first romance, Claire is rattled. Narratively connected poems from each girl's perspective--and, intermittently, from the lake itself--paint an intimate portrait of quiet family tumult.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2017

(2) PS Photographs by Rick Lieder. In this third collaboration (Step Gently Out; Sweep Up the Sun), Frost's poem tells of a female firefly looking for her mate: "How will she find / one firefly / among so many?"; Lieder's luminous photos achieve a surprising variety. The blend of science, gentle poetry, and spectacular photography will make children long for warm summer nights. A closing note offers additional facts.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2016

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Amy June Bates. Two siblings, Faith and Peter, encourage their grieving elderly uncle to once again tell his enthralling stories during the first apple-picking season following the death of his wife. Coupled with expressive oil-based pencil drawings, simple verse reveals the rotating first-person perspectives of the characters in this intergenerational look at one family's mourning and conversational support.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(3) K-3 Photographs by Rick Lieder. Striking color-saturated photos of birds--almost all in flight--illustrate the title of this book, a short ode to the amazing capability of flight by the creators of Step Gently Out. Some anthropomorphism informs the poem, which introduces small children to the avian world and helps them appreciate it. A pictorial guide gives factual information about these North American birds.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(2) YA An 1812 incident at Fort Wayne, Indiana, reveals the issues and human costs of westward expansion. Two boys--Miami Anikwa and settler James--are good friends. Then American and British armies arrive and prepare for battle. Apprehension on both sides breeds injustices and resentments that flare into catastrophic acts. Poignant and beautifully fashioned, the book is told in Frost's signature poems. Glos.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2013

(3) PS Photographs by Rick Lieder. This paean to some of nature's smallest creatures, including ants, crickets, and fireflies, invites children to "be still, and watch." The spare verse is set in large type; dazzling close-up photographs show the insects against soft-focus backgrounds. The overall effect is lovely and contemplative and fosters an appreciation for the small wonders in our world. Additional information about each insect is appended.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) YA This verse novel is initially narrated by two eight-year-olds: Wren, who was inadvertently kidnapped while hiding in a car, and Darra, daughter of the car thief. Six years later, the girls meet at camp and come to terms with their feelings about the harrowing event. The story's ripped-from-the-headlines elements are entirely plausible in Frost's capable hands.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter

(1) YA In 1917, neighboring families face a sea of troubles. Two sons enlist in WWI; a suffragist aunt goes on a hunger strike; a seven-year-old daughter nearly dies from influenza. Frost reveals her story through tightly constructed poems. The discipline of the form mitigates against sentimentality, and the distinct voices of the characters lend immediacy and crispness to the tale.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2009

(2) 4-6 After an accident leaves her favorite sled dog, Roxy, blind, twelve-year-old Willow must transport Roxy to her grandparents for safe-keeping. The first-person, present-tense narrative is typeset in diamond shapes; bold-faced words at the heart of each diamond hold an additional nugget of meaning. Despite some misplaced mysticism, as a dog and dogsled story, the tale wears its knowledge gracefully.

Reviewer: Deirdre F. Baker | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2008

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Leonid Gore. Frost's poetic narrative gives equal time to the life cycles of the monarch butterfly and the milkweed plant it depends on, emphasizing the mutual relationship between the two during the pollination (plant) and larval (insect) stages. The soft-focus acrylic and pastel illustrations bring readers from plant level up into the sky with the monarchs in flight. Websites.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(2) YA After the nineteenth-century Highland Clearances leave her homeless, fifteen-year-old Sarah flees to relatives in the Outer Hebrides while her family (including younger sister Jeannie) sails from Scotland to Canada for a new start. The sisters' alternating verse narratives are braided together in a delicate, intricate system of repetition. Historical events are authentic and poignant, the sisters courageous and well realized. Author's note.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2006

(4) 4-6 The author of Keesha's House offers another novel in verse, this time told from the alternating perspectives of Mrs. Willliams's fifth-grade students. Some of the kids' voices strain or sound identical, but the subject matter (losing a parent, a first crush, ethnic pride) is timeless. The book ends with a detailed note on the poems' various forms.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Let's Meet Biographies series. These basic biographies of Washington, black educator and founder of the Tuskegee Institute, and abolitionist Truth, a former slave, are engaging and clearly written, although occasionally the books' brevity results in what feels like unfinished thoughts. Archival black-and-white photos appear in an attractive layout. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Let's Meet Biographies titles: Let's Meet Booker T. Washington and Let's Meet Sojourner Truth.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) 4-6 Coming to America series. Each book in this series includes quotations, maps, timelines, recipes, craft instructions, and brief facts about famous Americans of the pertinent ancestry. Each book is organized into six chapters ("Life in the Old Country," "Arriving in America"), but there is variety among the books. Archival and modern photos illustrate the text. Bib., glos., ind. [Review covers these Coming to America titles: Russian Immigrants, Jewish Immigrants, French Immigrants, Greek Immigrants, and Polish Immigrants.]

Reviewer: M. Jean Greenlaw

(4) K-3 Rain Forest Animals series. This nonfiction book offers bare-bones information about these fungus-eating insects. Each double-page spread contains a full-page color photo or diagram and a couple of short sentences. The text is easy to read but dull: "Leaf-cutting ants walk across the forest floor. Many live in huge, underground colonies." The unusual subject recommends this title more than the dry presentation. A short list of websites and a reading list are included. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(4) 4-6 Coming to America series. The accessible books in this series focus on reasons for immigration, traditional life in the "old country," conditions on the voyages, hardships faced in the United States, and the economic, political, and social advances made. Soft edges around the photos give the archival pictures a sentimental feeling while the contemporary color photos just look odd. Included are a recipe (no warnings about adult help), a time line, and places to write and visit. Bib., glos., ind. [Review covers these Coming to America titles: German Immigrants, 1820-1920; Irish Immigrants, 1840-1920; Chinese Immigrants, 1850-1900; Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish Immigrants, 1820-192; Italian Immigrants, 1880-1920; Japanese Immigrants, 1850-1950.]

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt