(4) K-3 Step into Reading series. Illustrated by Hala Wittwer Swearingen. Four children and a dog step out of Dick-and-Jane-land and into this celebration of an idealized country springtime. Pastel colors dominate the illustrations showing the smiling kiddies exploring stream, field, and barnyard. The rhyming text is uneven in places, and while the vocabulary is largely simple, new readers will stumble over hollyhocks and may not know that a kid is a baby goat.

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(4) K-3 Step into Reading series. Illustrated by Sylvie Wickstrom. When planning a surprise picnic at a secret garden, Sara uses her trusty notebook to make a list, write a note, and draw a map. Afterward she writes about the picnic. Controlled, repetitive vocabulary will give young readers confidence, but inconsistent meter and rhyme patterns make for a clunky read. Child-friendly illustrations include handwritten pages from Sara's notebook.

Reviewer: Sethany Rancier Alongi

(4) PS Illustrated by Linda Davick. A pleasant rhyming text details a little girl's eagerness to start kindergarten. Lucy counts down the seven days before school starts: "Three more days / and this week ends. / I can't wait / to make new friends!" The digitally created illustrations, busy but perhaps appropriately frenetic, offer lots to look at and count.

Reviewer: Bridget McCaffrey

(4) K-3 Step into Reading series. Illustrated by JoAnn Adinolfi. When a boy named Silent e comes on the scene, look out: "See that van / just down the lane? / Now it is / a weather vane." Although some of Hays's rhymes stumble, readers will learn many examples of how silent e affects words. The accompanying images are--perhaps rare in a phonics book--engaging and thoughtful.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Step into Reading series. Illustrated by Valeria Petrone. "'Tick tock,' goes a clock. 'Chug, chug,' goes a tug. A train calls, 'Choo choo!' A baby cries, 'Boo-hoo!'" Bo asks his dog, Pal, to speak up, but Pal remains quiet until faced with a cat. The short, stilted sentences are sometimes nonsensical, but the rhyme and picture clues will be helpful to newly emergent readers. Children just sounding out words will have success with this book.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth