(3) K-3 Illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf. Accustomed to peace and quiet, house cat Homer suddenly finds himself out on the street, bounding from post office to firehouse to train station until he discovers his owner reading aloud to children at the library. Watercolor and collage illustrations, alongside satisfying rhymed text, picture the feline's erratic journey and his "purr-fect" new daytime haunt.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Kathryn Brown. In this poignant rhyming story, Tom's grandmother becomes so forgetful and disoriented that she has to move in with his family. Lindbergh mitigates the sadness of the situation by focusing on Tom's warm relationship with his grandmother: "But she says she's found ME, / so she thinks she will stay." Soft (but not sappy) watercolor and ink illustrations depict the loving family.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Wendy Anderson Halperin. Sisters Jill and Beth visit their aunt and uncle on the farm. The girls spend a day enjoying simple pleasures: "warm bread and butter," "a hummingbird next to the hose," "light muslin curtains that rustle and sway." There's not much drama, but the repetitive rhyming text effectively conveys the mood, and the delicately rendered panel illustrations offer lots of detail.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jill McElmurry. "Snuggled in bed, / You're all safe and warm, / Like a bird in a nest in a tree." In an increasing circle from child nested in bed to Earth nestled in the universe, this comforting rhythmic lullaby confirms the place of all things in life. The folk-art style illustrations lend simplicity to the concept of the interrelatedness of nature.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Abby Carter. Grandma hasn't cut her hair since 1969; she has plants in every window; she sells bread and vegetables at the farmers' market--in short, she's everything that the narrator wants to be when she's her grandmother's age. Although Grandma is presented both in the text and in the cheerful watercolor and gouache illustrations as a free spirit, the text is made up of rather conventional, if taut and sprightly, rhymes.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Tracey Campbell Pearson. Four badly behaved aardvarks go to the mall and leave chaos in their wake. Like Rotten Ralph, they act out a child's wildest dreams-- trying out all the sporting equipment and toys as they go. While items continue to be crossed off their shopping list, the busy pictures make it hard to see if they are really accomplishing anything. Kids will enjoy the mess, but the joke goes on too long.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) K-3 Divided by subject into four sections--each illustrated by a different artist--this compendium of prayers includes selections from many different cultures and religious traditions, all with universal appeal. Each illustrator has a distinct style, but the order of the sections flows coherently from childlike cartoons through whimsical pieces and loosely drawn watercolors to more sophisticated and stylized acrylics. Source notes are included. Ind.

Reviewer: Anne St. John

(3) K-3 Lindbergh uses material from St. Francis of Assisi's "Canticle of the Sun" to write a prayer in praise of the natural world. The poem is accessible--"Praise for brothers wind and air, / Serene or cloudy, foul or fair"--and quite lyrical. Felstead uses collage and paint to create a benevolent and varied world to complement the poem. The book emphasizes St. Francis's wonder at the universe and is more ecumenical than the original prayer.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.