(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jennifer P. Goldfinger. Kadoodle the rooster thinks he's king of the barnyard and can crow all night, which prevents the other animals from sleeping. Goose Honketta convinces Kadoodle that he can be in the chorus of the King of the World (who is cleverly portrayed as a rooster-shaped sun) if he'll crow only at sunrise. The richly colored, humorous paintings display the animals' frustrations and Kadoodle's vanity.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(3) K-3 Silly Millies series. Illustrated by Carol Nicklaus & Carol Nicklaus. "I did not start off looking this good. Before I was a pencil, I was just a skinny stick of graphite....Sure, I could write. But I could break, too." A cartoony, anthropomorphized pencil tells the story of how it was created: from graphite mining to manufacturing to ending up in a classroom. The ubiquitous subject, friendly text, and lighthearted illustrations will have lots of appeal for beginning readers.

Reviewer: Barbara Barstow

(4) K-3 Road to Reading series. Illustrated by Peter Grosshauser. An adaptation of an Aesop fable illustrates the moral that "little by little does the trick." While a resourceful crow figures out a way to drink the water in a thin-necked bottle, his lazy friend gives up and almost dies of thirst in the hot desert. Very short rhyming sentences and intensely colored paintings, in which the crows look like escapees from Saturday morning cartoons, provide a story for beginning readers.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) K-3 Road to Reading series. Illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith. Pepe and Papa set off to the market with their burro carrying a basket of chiles. Then they see a boy riding a burro and rearrange their configuration. Now Pepe rides the burro, and Papa carries the basket of chiles on his head. They rearrange a few times until: "Papa in bushes. Pepe in basket. Chiles in burro. Oh, oh!" This beginning reader features a simple, somewhat dull sixteen-word text and warm illustrations.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(4) K-3 Dorling Kindersley Readers series. Though the texts are dull and information is limited, beginning readers will get a sense of what a day is like for four workers: Jack, a builder; Lisa, a dancer; Rob, a firefighter; and Jan, a teacher. Boxed, labeled pictures help with reading comprehension, and a clock is frequently shown, indicating the passage of time. Set against white backgrounds, the photos are obviously staged.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt