(3) PS Illustrated by Andy J. Miller. This storytime-ready book celebrates the joy of sound--from morning until night--in smoothly rhyming text punctuated with a plethora of noise words printed in bright red and blue. "Teapot whistles. Toaster pops. Bacon sizzles. Pancake flops." Miller's digital illustrations use boisterous compositions, strong shapes, and bold colors and feature a brown-skinned child and a multiracial family.

Reviewer: Amy Seto Forrester

(3) PS Illustrated by Jorge Martin. A wordless spread shows a man and boy being quiet at home. Then the man sneezes ("Ah...Ah...Ah...Ah-choo!") and frightens the boy, who drops his ball out the window: "Biff! Bop! Boom! Boing!" The pair chases the ball through town, each interaction in alphabetical order. The onomatopoeic text and the sense of motion in the cartoony illustrations make for a boisterous addition to alphabet-book collections.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(3) PS Illustrated by Stephen Savage. Never mind that candlestick: "Jack B. Ninja! Jack, be quick! / Jack, jump over the bamboo stick!" Young Jack proceeds to dive underwater, bust into a bandit cave, and recover stolen treasure. This sleekly illustrated stealth fantasy inspired by the classic nursery rhyme becomes even more fantastical when the bandits turn out to be Jack's family members, who present him with a birthday cake.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) PS Illustrated by Tad Carpenter. In this second Bitty Bot outing, a bored, uncomfortable Bitty Bot finds fun at the beach, creating and testing a submarine with new friends. The rhyme's succinctness evokes Anna Dewdney's Llama Llama books, and the robots similarly represent children, though their vessel failing seems at odds with the book's cheerful vibe. Blocky digital illustrations shift from warm sands to cool undersea tones, heightening the adventure.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(3) PS Illustrated by Richard Smythe. From the "plip plop" of the first large raindrops to the "whish!" of a river in heavy downpour to a quiet rainbow-filled blue sky, a rainstorm's musicality is captured in a series of resonant sound words matched with evocative digital and watercolor art. An immersive read-aloud rejoicing over (per the addendum) "the sounds of water...a song of life and connection."

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(3) PS Illustrated by Allison Black. Simple, rhythmic text full of onomatopoeia, internal rhyme, and alliteration builds excitement as the Barnyard Band preps for a performance. One barnyard animal, however, feels left out: "But what can Cow do?" asks the plaintive refrain. Ultimately, like each of the other animals, Cow has a special role to play. Bright, energetic digital illustrations with a cut-paper look extend the festive, inclusive vibe.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher

(4) PS Illustrated by Tad Carpenter. In this rhyming jaunt, robot Bitty Bot defies Botsburg's bedtime rules, forgoing sleep to build a rocket and travel to the moon to party with aliens. Alternating between a cool nighttime palette and brighter shades at the party, digitally rendered illustrations depict friendly-looking robots and aliens. Both text and art imagine a cute if conventional Jetsons-like future world.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin