(3) PS Illustrated by Meilo So. So's active watercolors picture children from many countries going through their daily routines--from rising in the morning until going to bed at night--while interacting with other kids and parents or relatives. The rhymed text is simple but meaningfully conveys the author's message of global commonalities. Gibson is donating her proceeds to the Global Orphan Project.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Maria van Lieshout. In this endearing meditation, an omniscient narrator ponders the nature of kisses, both poetically ("Some are velvet / as peach fuzz") and philosophically ("Once a kiss is given...it can never be taken away"). Unassuming flowers representing smooches float through scenes--a beach, a city street, a rained-upon baseball game--in which van Lieshout makes fine use of silhouette.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) PS Illustrated by Steve Björkman. "I sing a little mud song, / a puddle song, / a muddle song, / a no-shoes, toes-ooze, / slip-slap-and-thud song." This rhyme, with its lighthearted wordplay, revels in the sounds of a rainy day. Exuberant illustrations follow a girl and her dog as they go outside, play in the rain and the mud, and return home to wash up in the tub.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Daniel Salmieri. This collection of animal poems opens with a map of the world; the fifty-plus poems, in a variety of forms, are arranged geographically by region. Funny wordplay matches up with amusing illustrations in watercolor, gouache, and colored pencil that depict each animal accurately but with a twinkle of personality. A selection of further interesting animal facts is appended.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2011