(4) K-3 My Phonics Readers series. Illustrated by Mike Phillips. These easy readers begin by introducing the stories' focus sounds as well as highlighting difficult exceptions (pronunciation guides are appended). Because the texts are phonics-based, the sentences can be stilted or contrived; however, the books will likely boost a new reader's confidence. The variety of illustration styles are each eye-catching and appropriate. Additional information about phonics is included for adults. Review covers these My Phonics Readers titles: Queen Ella's Feet, Snail Trail, Chuck and Duck, Wish Fish, A Duck in Luck!, and Top Dog.

Reviewer: Susan Halperin

(4) K-3 My Phonics Readers series. Illustrated by Sandra Aguilar. These easy readers begin by introducing the stories' focus sounds as well as highlighting difficult exceptions (pronunciation guides are appended). Because the texts are phonics-based, the sentences can be stilted or contrived; however, the books will likely boost a new reader's confidence. The variety of illustration styles are each eye-catching and appropriate. Additional information about phonics is included for adults. Review covers these My Phonics Readers titles: Queen Ella's Feet, Snail Trail, Chuck and Duck, Wish Fish, A Duck in Luck!, and Top Dog.

Reviewer: Susan Halperin

(4) 1-3 Illustrated by Tony Ross. In his second book, Max continues his correspondence with his favorite author. He gets advice from her about how to write a play and discusses his feelings about his crotchety babysitter, his mother's new boyfriend, and how to deal with friends. Although the plot is very low-key, Max's voice is engaging and humorous, and the illustrations add amusing asides.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by Tony Ross. When Max begins a correspondence with author D.J. Lucas, he's mourning his father's death, scared of his own unnamed illness, and victimized as the class bully's favorite target. As Max and Lucas open up about the stories they write and live, Max learns to take control over his own situation. Ross's simple but emotive spot art perfectly complements this touching tale.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(3) PS Illustrated by Eleanor Taylor. When a cheerful, singularly unobservant grandfather bear takes his two rambunctious grandchildren on a picnic, he's oblivious to the fact that the youngsters have left the gate open for a large bull. Luckily, the bull isn't nearly as dangerous as he looks. The text gives Grandpa's version of the outing, while the comical illustrations show what's really happening.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) 4-6 Lu Si-Yan has a happy childhood in rural China until her father's sudden death. Her uncle, now responsible for the family, considers her "spilled water"--a useless daughter. When he sells her into slavery, Si-Yan runs away and ends up working for pennies in a factory. The novel provides a strong, disturbing portrait of a difficult life.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) PS Illustrated by Neal Layton. The reason why Mucky Duck is sometimes white but "mostly she wasn't" is because she enthusiastically joins in when Oliver, a boy, cooks, plays soccer, paints, and gardens. The book's refrain is "Oh you Mucky Duck," but the sure-to-please visual joke is that the boy is, of course, every bit as mucky as the duck. Ebulliently mess-spattered pictures capture the joy of working and playing hard with a friend.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Chris Molan. Warm, impressionistic illustrations, framed with brief excerpts of scripture, flow across each double-page spread like murals. Culled from the four Gospels, the text skillfully avoids most denominational doctrines. The focus is on Jesus' ministry and teachings, crucifixion, and resurrection. Scripture sources accompany the small-type text, and an annotated list of people in the Bible is appended. Ind.

Reviewer: Christina Dorr

(4) PS Illustrated by Penny Dann. This compilation of three previously published books, What Are Friends For?, What Will I Do without You?, and Will You Forgive Me?, features Figgy Twosocks the fox and Jefferson Bear. Each story explores an aspect of friendship--being a friend, making new friends when temporarily separated from old ones, and forgiving. The stories are overdrawn, but the lively characters and gentle illustrations have appeal.

Reviewer: Susan Halperin

(3) PS Illustrated by Jill Newton. When Mother Hen loses her chicks, Mother Goose scolds her, but the other animals pitch in and help until eight babies are found--Mother Hen's four chicks, plus Mother Goose's four lost goslings. Mother Hen's confusion as more and more "chicks" are found will delight young listeners, as will the plump animals and pastoral landscapes in the broadly drawn art.

Reviewer: CHristine Sarrazin

(4) PS Illustrated by Penny Dann. Figgy Twosocks feels responsible for Jefferson Bear's favorite scratching stick being lost. She goes to great lengths to get it back because she's afraid if she tells him the truth, he won't be her friend anymore. Both the comforting message of forgiveness and the sweet, appealing illustrations will engage young readers, though the story itself is somewhat convoluted.

Reviewer: Emma Loy-Santelli

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Carol Thompson. With the aid of his understanding mother, a young boy adapts to a new home. William picks out wallpaper for his new room and finds a friend next door. Dad is only shown in a family photo--a mystery cleared up at the end when William's mom assures him that he'll be able to choose paper for his room at his dad's new house, too. Splashy mixed-media illustrations accompany the reassuring story.

Reviewer: Sara Pearce

(3) PS Illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw. "Someone's going into Grandma's cottage. Someone's eating Grandma up. Someone's wearing Grandma's nightclothes. Who is it?" The very young will enjoy these simple guessing games revolving around four fairy tales, not to mention the book's surprise "gotcha" ending. The color-slathered illustrations, which bleed off most pages, provide visual clues.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) PS Illustrated by Penny Dann. This sequel to What Are Friends For? reunites Jefferson Bear with his fox friend, Figgy Twosocks, who doesn't understand why JB has to hibernate for the winter. She's lonely without him until she meets a new friend, Hoptail the squirrel, but wonders if JB will mind her new friendship when he wakes up. The sweet story of making new friends and keeping the old is warmly illustrated.

Reviewer: Susan Halperin

(3) K-3 Illustrated by John Butler. Little Thunderfoot spends his days playing and learning the ways of the herd from their matriarch, Wise Old One, until she's shot and the herd must survive without her. Grindley believably conveys the social nature of these gentle giants, supporting the story's details with an appended section of elephant facts. Butler's softly realistic paintings capture the subtleties of emotion without anthropomorphizing.

Reviewer: Emma Loy-Santelli

(4) PS DK Toddler Story Book series. Illustrated by Adrian Reynolds. Silly Goose and Dizzy Duck happily play hide-and-seek with Clever Fox, never suspecting he has dinner in mind. Just as Fox is about to gobble up Duck, Grizzly Bear scares him away. Instead of being grateful, the two friends are upset that Bear cut short their game--and insist that Bear now play instead. Though the story is rather weak, the energetic illustrations will amuse young listeners.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(4) K-3 Illustrated by John Butler. Grindley tells the story of a young orangutan gradually learning to separate himself from his mother. While the text is based in fact and the illustrations are realistic, the text incongruously attributes human emotions and motivations to animal actions (Little Sibu's mother "wanted to be kind, but sometimes she had to be cruel"). Still, this approach may help young readers identify with Sibu's situation.

Reviewer: Emma Loy-Santelli

(3) K-3 Illustrated by John Butler. This is an appealing mix of natural history and fictive invention about a polar bear mother who gives birth to two cubs in an ice cave. She nourishes the babies in this tiny space and then takes her young family on a perilous journey in search of food. The illustrations are striking and evoke the frozen world of the far north.

Reviewer: Amy Lois Cohn

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Jason Cockcroft. A grandfather and grandson share a joy-filled day at the beach, the memory of recently deceased Grandma underlying all they do. The first-person text is lyrical but unconvincing as the voice of a child; the pointillist art is equally evocative but occasionally makes the overlying text difficult to read.

Reviewer: Jackie C. Horne

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jan Barger. Child-pleasing, cartoonlike artwork in bright colors accompanies twenty stories that have been faithfully adapted from the Old and New Testaments. A unique index at the back of the book groups events from the stories by theme--bravery, forgiveness, hope, and miracles, to name a few. This inviting collection of Bible stories will appeal to children and adults alike.

Reviewer: Anne St. John