(3) PS Illustrated by William Low. This new board-book edition retains all the quiet reverence of the original picture book, a very simple yet lyrical retelling of the Nativity story. The smaller trim size does not detract from the luminous illustrations that perfectly match the text, which directs listeners to "welcome this tiny baby boy. / Feel this hush. / This peace on Earth. / This first Christmas night."

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2016

(2) PS Illustrated by William Low. Direct-address text pulls listeners into this super-simple yet lyrical retelling of the Nativity story: "See this small gray donkey, / this long, dusty road, / this promising star... Hear these angels singing. / Welcome this tiny baby boy." Illustrations perfectly match the text, evoking the humble setting yet also reinforcing the sense of reverence and import. A moving and memorable Christmas story.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2016

(1) PS Illustrated by Rob Dunlavey. In this elegantly simple book, a little owl leaves its nest and flies out into the deep blue night of the forest. Most double-page spreads have just four words; some phrases describe the scene, others convey the sensation of flying. The moonlit scenes are luminous and peaceful. This book, with its reverse text as the owl flies back home, has great bedtime appeal.

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

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Brett Helquist. In this heartwarming standalone story featuring characters from the Doll People novels, antique Victorian doll Annabelle is upset when the humans make changes to Christmas traditions she's cherished. However, after an exciting (and dangerous) Christmas Eve adventure with her modern doll friend, Tiffany--portrayed dramatically in the detailed illustrations--Annabelle concedes, "I had the perfect Christmas after all."

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Brett Helquist. In their fourth book, the doll families are packed in a box and mistakenly put on a boat to England. Fans will be intrigued by a personality switcheroo: adventure-loving Tiffany Funcraft becomes terrified when three dolls fall out of a hole in the box and disappear; cautious Annabelle Doll leads the search. Black-and-white illustrations by new series illustrator Helquist are amusing and abundant.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2015

(2) PS Illustrated by Yoko Tanaka. The moon prompts parallel wakeful behavior from a cat that lives in town and one that lives in the country. A panoramic scene almost brings the two together--but a clap of thunder sends them scurrying home to snooze at daybreak. Godwin's succinct verse and Tanaka's acrylic art capture the felines' serene and agile grace in this pleasing bedtime adventure.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2011

(2) PS Illustrated by Julian Hector. An urban firefighting crew quells an apartment fire. After briefly introducing one firefighter, the text moves into action. Heroic rescues ensue, each neatly encapsulated. The sturdy, simply modeled figures express a range of emotion; our hero looks especially solid, four-square, and compassionate. With its swift action, catchy verse, and appropriate palette (flame-red, white, blue), this should find good use.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2009

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Brian Selznick. This third Doll People book introduces Annabelle's long-lost sister. Upset by the adults' cautious reaction to the baby, the kids run away. After some misadventures, they end up in a department store, where Annabelle solves a mystery and re-encounters (gasp!) Mean Mimi. The fast pace, sharp characterizations, and profusion of Selznick illustrations (including an extended wordless opening) make this a runaway success.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Brian Selznick. In this sequel to The Doll People, the authors clearly know the contemporary world of dolls and the way kids play with them, mixing in action figures and dollhouse dolls with baby dolls and trolls and paper dolls and Lego structures. The book's broad humor and action balance with smaller, more personal dramas, and Selznick's illustrations, in their wit and profusion, tie it all together in one appealing package.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2003

(2) PS Illustrated by Barry Root. "And the pigeons coo / And the big dogs bark / And the noises echo through the park." The simple couplets steer us from the horse path to the zoo, over a bridge, to a close-up of boys and their boats on the boathouse pond. Using cinematic elements with subtlety and style, each double-page, full-bleed spread is a paean to this best of parks. Root paints with a skilled hand, using a palette so lush you can smell the warmth of summer in it.

Reviewer: Karla Kuskin | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2002

(3) PS Illustrated by Mary Morgan. Gentle watercolor and colored-pencil illustrations feature eleven baby animals, including puppies, piglets, and beetles, and their parents while a gently repetitive text describes an aspect of each baby's auditory environment ("What the tadpole hears--Burp, burp, burp"). The final spread shows several human toddlers jamming to guitar music as the text exclaims: "What the baby hears--I love you!"

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(4) K-3 Happy Honey series. Illustrated by Jane Chapman. In Fall, playful kitten Honey dislikes autumn's cold wind, so her pal, caring dog Happy, shows her how to stay warm. In Christmas, Honey's attempts to help prepare for Christmas are disruptive, so Happy gets her to sit with him while he waits for Santa. Although the stories aren't very exciting, the spare prose and simple illustrations make these books good picks for new readers. [Review covers these Happy Honey titles: The Best Fall of All and Happy Christmas, Honey!.]

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(4) K-3 Happy Honey series. Illustrated by Jane Chapman. In Fall, playful kitten Honey dislikes autumn's cold wind, so her pal, caring dog Happy, shows her how to stay warm. In Christmas, Honey's attempts to help prepare for Christmas are disruptive, so Happy gets her to sit with him while he waits for Santa. Although the stories aren't very exciting, the spare prose and simple illustrations make these books good picks for new readers. [Review covers these Happy Honey titles: The Best Fall of All and Happy Christmas, Honey!.]

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(1) PS Illustrated by Brian Selznick. A series of eighteen brief poems are, the illustrations reveal, spoken by a "farmer" who is in fact a small city boy putting his toy farm to bed. Each poem is an exercise in empathy; and because they are prayers, they evoke not only the care between child and toy, farmer and animals, and parent and child, but also that between Creator and creature. Acrylic paintings in super-saturated colors suggest an Eden of the imagination.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2000

(4) K-3 Happy Honey series. Illustrated by Jane Chapman. Happy, a big, floppy dog, just wants to nap in Happy and Honey, and in Honey Helps, he wants to bury his bone in peace. Honey, however, is a playful kitten who tries to attract Happy's attention. Readers may have difficulty telling apart the similar names, but plentiful white space, uncluttered illustrations, and very few words assure that these mild stories will give new readers a sense of accomplishment.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(4) K-3 Happy Honey series. Illustrated by Jane Chapman. Happy, a big, floppy dog, just wants to nap in Happy and Honey, and in Honey Helps, he wants to bury his bone in peace. Honey, however, is a playful kitten who tries to attract Happy's attention. Readers may have difficulty telling apart the similar names, but plentiful white space, uncluttered illustrations, and very few words assure that these mild stories will give new readers a sense of accomplishment.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Brian Selznick. Bothered that she hasn't seen her aunt Sarah for forty-five years, Annabelle Doll embarks on a search that takes her out of her protective dollhouse. She braves dangerous territory beyond the nursery to discover not only the answers to family secrets but also a whole new family of dolls. Black-and-white pencil drawings illustrate this lively addition to the doll-fantasy genre.

Reviewer: Cyrena Musset

(2) K-3 I Can Read Book series. Planting potatoes on her family's farm, young Jeannie hears a cry from the nearby forest and finds a newborn fawn. Her attachment to and concern for the abandoned fawn is palpable, yet the story is not sentimentalized, as the family deals realistically and sensibly with the care of a wild animal. Schuett's gently glowing illustrations depict the story's natural setting as well as the emotional narrative.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(3) PS Little White Dog seems to disappear against the white snow. In this visual game with a brief rhyming text, each animal, from Little Blue Bird to Little Black Cat, vanishes into the background but eventually emerges to search for the others. Readers will enjoy figuring out where the simple, bold shapes of the animals are in relation to the backgrounds.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.