(3) PS Illustrated by Joe Cepeda. "Two bunny buddies, hungry for lunch." The ravenous friends disagree about which path to take to look for food, and their conflict quickly dissolves into name-calling ("Stinky Feet!"; "Birdy Breath!"); the duo splits up, but soon each friend realizes that enjoying the path's bounty is more rewarding with a traveling companion. The spare text and simple, bold-outlined illustrations convey the emotional drama.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(3) PS Illustrated by John Butler. "Where is baby?" So begins an introduction to young animals' camouflage and protective characteristics: a baby deer with dappled markings, baby leopards' climbing abilities, baby elephants "fade behind a forest of legs," etc. Realistic acrylic and colored-pencil illustrations picture varied species from the natural world--including the human baby, depicted on a concluding gatefold. "More About Babies" supplements the simple informational text.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Wendy Anderson Halperin. This picture book describes the ways plant seeds travel with the help of the wind, animals, and people. Halperin's soft, detailed pencil and watercolor illustrations and Galbraith's lyrical storytelling style turn this exploration of fact into a successful narrative; seeds "hitchhike on sweaters. Snag on socks," and the reader is left with a new way to notice the natural world.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Cyd Moore. It's the mid-1800s, and prairie dweller Katie, her dad, and the townsfolk take up a collection, order some trees by telegraph, plant them, and begin a tradition of gathering in celebration once a year. This quiet story's primary value is its window onto a simpler time, reflected in the verdant watercolor and colored-pencil illustrations.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) PS Illustrated by Jeff Mack. One shy bunny, afraid to trick-or-treat alone, literally bumps into another timid bunny along the way. The two make a brave pair, and the night becomes a lot less scary. Dark, full-page acrylics are punctuated with vibrant, unexpected colors. A short rhyming text using onomatopoeia makes this not-too-scary tale a fine read-aloud.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(3) PS Illustrated by Jane Dippold. This book demonstrates the different ways animal babies travel or are transported by their parents from place to place. The illustrations cleverly combine color photographs of the animals with lively watercolor and colored-pencil drawings of human babies traveling in similar ways. The rhythmic text will appeal to young listeners while they are also learning about animal behavior.

Reviewer: Barbara Barstow