(4) K-3 Illustrated by Michael Slack. Chicken Pauline Poulet, hip to Farmer's plan to turn her into dinner, describes her dramatic escape and adventures aboard a pirate ship, a hot-air balloon, etc. The faultless rhymes ("I ride the kite, / cling and swing, / wilted, wounded, / weak of wing") have great read-aloud potential, but the mixed-media illustrations and epic nature of Pauline's telling are too winkingly self-aware.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Tom Curry. Two cows daydream about becoming cowgirls and spending their days roping steer, dancing at hoedowns, and competing in rodeos. The slight story is told in brief rhymes that are sometimes creative ("Saddle up, / boots on. / Giddy-up / and giddy gone!") and sometimes forced. The humorous acrylic illustrations express the absurdity of the situation.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by Kevin O'Malley. A pet lizard tells how his owner, an eight-year-old boy, copes with a move from the city to the suburbs. The lizard's narrative voice is both funny and sympathetic as he chronicles his own close encounters with danger and with his owner's struggles to learn how to ride a bike. The chapter book's black-and-white illustrations portray the world from both the lizard's and the boy's perspectives.

Reviewer: Jim St. Claire