(3) 4-6 Guardians series. Illustrated by William Joyce. Pitch, King of Nightmares, escapes imprisonment. It falls to wizard Ombric and Russian bandit Nicholas St. North to protect the world's children from nightmares wielded by Pitch and his evil troops of Fearlings. A familiar figure is entertainingly redrawn in this fantasy adventure that supposes a disreputable past for jolly St. Nick. Atmospheric black-and-white drawings illustrate key scenes.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline. Toys in a little boy's bedroom want to play their instruments instead of going to sleep, and each tells his or her parent to "Go away!" The colorful yet muted illustrations provide free-form counterpoint to the rhyming onomatopoeic ("bong bong / clink clink / plong plong") text. The "go away" refrain, however, seems to undermine the spirit of bedtime.

Reviewer: David Elzey