(3) PS Illustrated by Alison Brown. Little Owl is crestfallen when he sees Mommy Owl's new egg: "I'm your baby owl. You don't need a new one." They imagine what's inside the egg--a penguin? an elephant?--until Little Owl concedes that another owl would indeed be best. The sweet and silly text combines well with soft acrylic-paint and colored-pencil illustrations to create a reassuring new-sibling story.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith

(3) K-3 "I don't know when it began. Perhaps it drifted in at night like fog." For the length of this fierce, fearless picture book aimed at teen readers, an older child describes living with depression. The largely black-and-white art features a stalker-like dragon representing depression's tenacity. Gliori, who explains in an author's note that she writes from experience, leaves the narrator--and, hopefully, the reader--feeling optimistic.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) PS Sometimes-bumpy couplets take readers through a Goodnight Moon–type bidding of goodnights to things around the world, from ships and trains to animals and plants to stars, finally ending with a toddler in bed. The bedroom scene reveals that the objects are actually toys in the room. Charcoal and watercolor illustrations use rounded shapes and soft colors but include some jarring compositions.

Reviewer: Grace Worcester Greene

(3) K-3 A dragon who can't lay an egg sets out to find one. Her adopted egg produces a baby penguin who is teased for being different ("You can't fly"; "You can't breathe fire"; etc.). This frame story, which features fiery and icy illustrations as needed and a quiet message about the depth of adoptive parents' love, concludes with a catch-in-your-throat twist.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Pip, a very small rabbit, is afraid of everything. One afternoon he hears a loud roar and runs away terrified--but the roar follows him. In a twist that's a bit too abrupt, it's identified as his tummy rumbling; Pip realizes he is the scariest thing and becomes fearless. The watercolor illustrations in a dark, eerie palette detail his fearful imaginings.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(1) PS Mr. Wolf checks the mail: "not so much as a card on his special day!" The day ticks on, counted out by the hour. Many nursery-rhyme and fairy-tale characters populate Mr. Wolf's world, and Gliori includes more in her delicately humorous watercolor and pen-and-ink illustrations. Readers will enjoy the big surprise birthday celebration along with Mr. Wolf.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2012

(4) PS In this reassuring, sentimental bedtime story, animals sleep tight knowing their parents will protect them through stormy nights: "If thunder tore the night in two / and lightning played at peekaboo, / we'd watch the storm pass overhead, / then curl up safe and snug in bed." Comforting watercolor and ink illustrations show young animals cozily nestled with parents.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(4) K-3 Rhyming text describes how dragons' thoughtless daily activities--chopping down trees, blowing hot air, wasting food--are damaging the environment. Humorous watercolor illustrations show a variety of animals giving their advice to the dragons on how to protect, instead of endanger, the planet. Though the moralizing comes through loud and clear, the premise is nonetheless entertaining.

Reviewer: Cindy Lombardo

(3) 4-6 An enormous cast and multiple plot threads keep the action whirling in this Strega-Borgia family series entry. Trying to steal the Chronostone, demon Isagoth replaces Baci and Luciano's new baby with a changeling while Titus, Pandora, and baby-witch Damp (plus their ancestors) defend their Scottish castle from a mafia hit man. Gross-out humor lightens the story while real danger and heroism deepen it.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) 4-6 Titus, Pandora, and baby Damp of the Strega-Borgia family grieve for their lost nanny, Mrs. McLachlan, while their mother deals with their father's false incarceration for murder. Ancestors, mythical beasts, familiars, and demons help out, with gross-out comedic interludes, as both nanny and father are restored at last. Vivid writing and a growing depth of feeling mark this entertaining series.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(4) PS A tiger cub asks where its new sibling comes from and has some rather negative comments of its own--"Did you build it with a kit? / All it can do is pee and poo. / Is there a missing bit?" Some of the rhymes are awkward, but the bright, busy illustrations and believable emotions make this a welcome addition to the genre.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) 4-6 The Strega-Borgia family is back in their huge castle by the loch, combining their familiar Scottish magic, mythical beasts, and gross-out humor with a plot that has Titus giving up his millions in inheritance to thwart a demon and an old curse. This entry is more focused and assured than the previous books, with nanny Mrs. McLachlan showing her magical chops and family bonds taking center stage.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) PS Flora's rabbit siblings plant flowers and vegetables, but Flora has a different idea. She plants a brick in a pot and declares, "I'm growing a house." To her chagrin, nothing happens. However, the next spring, a bird builds a nest in the pot, and--satisfyingly--Flora "grows" a house after all. Readers can enjoy tracking the bird, who appears early in the cheerful illustrations.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(4) PS Milo carries mail for Penguin Post while his parents gather food and watch their new egg. The egg winds up in the mail bag by mistake, and though he has been dubious about his new sibling, Milo carefully carries his hatching brother back home. Although the egg mix-up isn't completely believable, Gliori's illustrations of various animals and their babies have plenty of clever details.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(4) 4-6 When roof damage forces them out of their ancestral castle, the Strega-Borgia family from Pure Dead Magic descends on a hotel, servants and various monsters in tow, and makes life miserable for the villains trying to cheat them out of their property. Though occasionally forced, the gross-out humor enlivens a whirlwind plot mixing magic and technology with a huge cast of characters.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(4) PS When Flora, a bunny of toddler proportions and temperament, can't find her security blanket, her pajama-clad family scours the house and yard looking for it. It's only when Flora is in bed with her parents that it's discovered under her dad's pillow. The ending is anticlimactic, but in text and illustrations, Gliori captures perfectly a toddler's clipped speech ("Want mine"), body language, and insecurities.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) PS When the Bear family goes camping, unexpected difficulties, including a moth-eaten tent, missing sleeping bags, and an inquisitive cow, cause them to return home early. Mr. Bear declares they need a second vacation to recover from the first--a sentiment many will recognize. Gliori's watercolors contain amusing details of family life, and the animals' expressive faces add to the humor.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) PS The forest animals seek Mr. Bear's help when a powerful storm blows away their homes. The friendly, detailed illustrations contrast the cozy interior of the bear family's house in a tree with the wild weather outside. All ends well with the woodland friends warmly tucked into bed (and dresser drawers, matchboxes, and cups) at the bears' house.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(4) PS Small feels grim and unloved--and the young fox fails to find comfort in Large's promise to love Small "no matter what." Small tests the declaration: "If I were a grumpy grizzly bear, would you still love me?" What about a bug? A crocodile? And what about when Large is far away? The text offers nothing new in this overcrowded genre, but the watercolors, which have a cozy, candlelit glow, are full of witty details.

Reviewer: Sara Pearce

(3) PS Neither Mr. nor Mrs. Bear nor any of their animal neighbors can quiet the new baby in the dark of the night. But older brother bear knows that the baby wants to snuggle in bed with everyone. Watercolor illustrations with pen-and-ink details depict interesting characters with expressive faces and a house agreeably cluttered with baby paraphernalia.

Reviewer: Suzy Schmidt