(1) K-3 Illustrated by Jennifer K. Mann. Manley offers a child's point of view of a day-long hike up a mountain (identified in the back matter as the South Sister in Oregon's Cascade Mountain Range). Each stage of the hike is described in a rich, telegraphic three-line haiku poem, beginning with a blazing sunrise. Readers follow along as the child swats away mosquitoes, passes a rushing stream, trudges through the snow, munches trail mix, reaches the summit, and heads back down and to the campsite for bedtime: "trying to sleep -- / what mountain will I climb / next?" The economy of words in the haiku form fits the way a child might think and particularly seems to suit the exercise of describing a demanding hike while actually in the midst of one. Mann's mixed-media illustrations work perfectly in tandem with the haiku narration, alternating perspectives -- featuring the landscape and the views, or the child's close observations, or the family on the move. Her cartoonlike characters pop against the natural setting, especially the child protagonist in an orange hoodie and green pants. Back matter includes information about the history and geology of the region, hiking tips, a visual index, a list of resources, and a note about haiku form, which debunks the idea that English-language haiku must follow a 5-7-5 syllable pattern.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins. What do you do when you spot an earthworm stranded on a school sidewalk? For Roberta, the answer's easy: you rescue it, of course. Saving millipedes, ladybugs, snails, and other tiny critters is her "special job. A job no one else seems to care about." After Roberta squats to pick up the worm, she's momentarily transformed, with a page-turn, into a proud superhero, standing tall, sporting a red cape. But it's a fleeting image, for in the next spread, her shoulders hunch over as a classmate tattles, "Ms. Williams! Roberta has been picking up worms again!" With judicious use of bright color, white space, and eye-catching perspective, Cummins's loose-handed illustrations honor Roberta's compassionate rescue efforts. The specific, reassuring details (a baby spider is "just a stripy speck with legs"; a dragonfly's bite is a "little pinch") in Manley's text nudge readers to view teeny creatures as Roberta does--with kindness, respect, and scientific curiosity. After the satisfying success of an "impossible" rescue mission--requiring all her classmates' help and some origami boxes--Roberta finds she has a new sidekick (or maybe even two!). Empathy, problem solving, science, and newfound friendship mesh neatly here--and fit the bill for both social-emotional learning time and elementary-school science class. Final pages include facts about ten different creatures as well as instructions for making an origami box with a lockable lid.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2021

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Jessica Lanan. Manley presents a smart, careful, and thorough discussion of exoplanets. Lanan's illustrations take the concepts to the next level; the choices of scale, color, and detail in her planetary landscapes make visible the text's content. The clever use of a parallel visual narrative, which features a (brown-skinned) girl and her family visiting a planetarium, situates the images of possible other life-supporting worlds in that character's imagination. Timeline, websites. Bib.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2019

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Tracy Subisak. Shark-obsessed Shawn is disappointed when instead of being assigned his favorite animal for a class project on predators, he's stuck with leopard seal. (His classmate Stacy gets shark.) Shawn is warming up to the seals until Stacy-as-shark starts chasing him around the playground ("Chomp!"). Easy-to-follow text (with some speech bubbles) and clear, unfussy illustrations capture the animal-loving frenemies' emotions.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Kate Berube. It's difficult at first, but Nick persists until he manages to teach his cat Verne to read. However, his other cat, Stevenson, who looks grumpy in the expressive illustrations, continues to resist--until Stevenson's pirate drawings are discovered and turned into a story. There's humor for adults and children alike in this enjoyable book about reading and the imaginative play it can inspire.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert