(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Kris Easler. In this follow-up to The Day the Mustache Took Over, twins David and Nathan come face-to-face with who they think is Martin, the beloved mustachioed manny (male nanny) who previously tamed the rambunctious boys. But this is Myron, Martin's twin brother--or so he says. Zany adventures continue with the eccentric sitter(s) as the boys investigate this mysterious twist.

Reviewer: Carrie Harasimowicz Sullivan

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Stephen Gilpin. When his teacher says it's time for show-and-tell, Jimmy says, "That stinks!" Turns out he's referring to his pet skunk, which he presents to the class. When Susie replies, "Aw, nuts!", she means the snacks she's brought from home. Amazingly, Katz sustains the clever-crude riff until the principal has the last laugh. Gilpin's semi-grotesque art has MAD Magazine–style swagger.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Kris Easler. Rambunctious twins David and Nathan have a talent for chasing away nannies. So when the next nanny is a bushy-mustached manny, who also lives "for TV, junk food, and jumping on the beds," the boys think they're in for a real treat. Fast-paced dialogue propels the silly adventures as the madcap babysitter transforms the boys.

Reviewer: Carrie Harasimowicz Sullivan

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Edward Koren. Koren's benignly maniacal drawings are a swell fit for Katz's collection of a hundred first-person punch-line poems that riff on such subjects as hapless parents, irritating siblings, and belly-button lint. Unabashed pun pleasure, jaunty titles, and a fresh take on the puzzles and ironies of the ordinary world give this collection its energy.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis

(3) K-3 Illustrated by David Catrow. The reliable team presents song parody treats about the usual summer camp travails, including messy cabins, smelly bunkmates, and, of course, the food ("For dessert: devil's food shoe"). Katz's new lyrics fit singably into the familiar tunes, making for an enjoyable ready-made campfire sing-along. Catrow's amorphous illustrations are far from realistic, but why shouldn't they be silly dilly?

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Elwood H. Smith. When bedtime comes, young Dan has other plans. His list of stall tactics rolls on and on with such wacky diversions as, "Wrap my tummy like a mummy!" and "Walkie-talkie with Milwaukee!" The raucous rhyme is matched by high-energy mixed-media illustrations depicting a victorious Dan who finally triumphs when Mom and Dad fall asleep first.

Reviewer: Carrie Harasimowicz Sullivan

(3) K-3 Illustrated by David Catrow. This sixth title in Katz and Catrow's song parodies series includes traditional child-to-parent gripes about dressing up, as well as modern twists such as "They're Always on the Cell" sung to the tune of "Farmer in the Dell": "My mommy's on her cell. / My daddy's on his cell. / They don't talk to each other, but / they're always on the cell." Exaggerated cartoons match the slapstick humor.

Reviewer: Carrie Harasimowicz Sullivan

(3) K-3 Illustrated by David Catrow. These sports-themed songs bounce along to familiar tunes such as "Ring Around the Rosie"--"Neither team is scoring. / For the fans, it's boring. / Gnashes! Mashes! / All fall down!"--though some of the songs' rhythms can be tricky. Silly Dilly fans will enjoy giggling at the comical illustrations, then belting out the tunes at their favorite sporting events.

Reviewer: Carrie Harasimowicz Sullivan

(3) K-3 Illustrated by David Catrow. "My friend Mike / Just went poop / On his next-door-neighbor's stoop." Readers will never hear "This Old Man," among other classics, the same way again, thanks to this collection of bathroom-humor songs. The art features Catrow's perversely proportioned (sometimes partially dressed) humans confronting nature's call. Early elementary-age post-potty-trained readers will be this book's best audience.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Edward Koren. These one hundred poems run the gamut from silly to moderately gross. Each is short and punchy, with some clever wordplay and many modern-day references along with plenty of jokes centered on the human body (e.g., young Shakespeare muses, "To pee or not to pee"). Koren's crosshatched pen illustrations add sly humor. Katz's funny thoughts on writing are appended. Ind.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Michael Slack. Offering alternatives to the too-sweet Tooth Fairy, a series of impostors (the Earwax Fairy and the Clipped Toenail Fairy are the mildest examples) take turns telling readers which bodily refuse to put under their pillows. Katz has great stamina with what should be a tiresome running joke. The bodily function–themed illustrations are improbably fastidious.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(2) K-3 Illustrated by David Catrow. This fourth collection of song parodies rhapsodizes on smelly lockers, tests, and math to the tunes of well-known songs (e.g., "Frère Jacques," "Miss Mary Mack," "Itsy-Bitsy Spider"). The fourteen selections, each gleefully illustrated with bulbous caricatures in lurid springtime shades, are on the tamer side of subversive, just naughty enough for third graders without being alarming to their teachers.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2008

(4) K-3 Illustrated by David Catrow. Michael tells his mom everything that happened at school (one classmate vomited, another sat in gum, etc.). Every time he gets to a good part ("she stepped in a pile of dog..."), he's censored ("Don't say that word!"). The rhyming verse helps kids fill in the parent-prohibited blank. Zany, grotesque illustrations add another layer of revulsion.

Reviewer: Bridget McCaffrey

(4) K-3 Illustrated by David Catrow. This latest collection of "silly dilly" songs is about manners, from "Don't Chew Gum in the Classroom" (to the tune of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game") to "Writing Thank-Yous" (to the tune of "Alouette"). Though some of the lyrics scan awkwardly against the original versions, the songs and the zany caricatured illustrations have the same energy and charm as the previous books.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith

(4) K-3 Illustrated by David Catrow. Fourteen sets of lyrics about topics that kids can relate to, such as annoying baby brothers and loathsome Brussels sprouts, are to be sung to the tunes of familiar songs, such as "Bingo" and "Old MacDonald." The songs begin well, but the lyrics often seem to diverge from their corresponding tunes. The color art featuring mischievous kids is appropriately over the top.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(3) K-3 Illustrated by R. W. Alley. Mrs. Brown's students are a lucky group: the museum maven just loves to take her kids on tours. Her students narrate twenty-one blank verse and rhyming poems about their observations on and reactions to mummies, dinosaurs, clocks, etc. Watercolor images full of humorous flourishes show Mrs. Brown appropriately attired for each outing. A list of unusual museums is appended.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) K-3 Illustrated by David Catrow. Life's small mishaps and subversive moments--tripping on shoelaces, throwing yogurt, refusing to go to bed--are celebrated in these fourteen wacky songs to be sung to familiar tunes ("Take Me Out to the Ballgame"). Most of the songs are funny, and some, such as the complaint about a brother's stinky diapers, have gross-out appeal. Whimsical, antic illustrations complement the zany text.

Reviewer: Jim St. Claire