(3) K-3 Illustrated by Lynne Avril. Can Nellie Sue's cowgirl spunk, captured in the peppy illustrations, save her when the new school year dishes out some challenges, including new-girl Maya, who threatens Nellie Sue's best friendship with Anna? Like the Fancy Nancy series, the Every Cowgirl books feature reliably engaging scenarios starring an unsinkable girl who is a suburban everykid, despite her insistence otherwise ("How-dee, Pardner!").

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) PS Illustrated by Tracy Dockray. After Brother and Sis finish their bath, they begin their "jammy" dance. They dry off, put pajamas on, and brush their teeth, all to the toe-tapping, finger-snapping beat of this exuberant bedtime poem. The bubbly rhythm slows a bit as the children get closer to bedtime. Lively (though rather generic) ink and watercolor illustrations add humorous details to the evening routine.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Lynne Avril. In her third literary outing, cowgirl-infatuated suburbanite Nellie Sue enters her "two-wheeled horse" in the bike rodeo at a county fair. The central drama--she diverts a goat that threatens to derail her friend's attempt at the blue ribbon--doesn't wash (wouldn't the judges call a do-over?), but it's the rare reader who won't be caught up in the gleefully illustrated drama.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Lynne Avril. Every suburban cowgirl knows "you can't go dancin' all alone," especially not in brand-new boots. However, the "glitter girls" across the street prefer ballet to boot-scootin'. Undeterred, our cowgirl plans a barn dance and invites the neighborhood. The result is chaotic fun, with a happy ending and a new friend. The text twangs, and the cartoon-style illustrations jump with action.

Reviewer: Amy Kellman

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Lynne Avril. Birthday girl and self-described cowgirl Nellie Sue "needs" a horse; instead, her parents give her a pink bicycle ("I wasn't real keen on ridin' a horse with wheels where hooves ought to be"). The book's humor comes from the contrast between Nellie Sue's cowpoke imaginings and her reality, exhibited in the energetic illustrations of her suburban home and family.

Reviewer: Nell Beram