(3) K-3 Illustrated by Lane Smith. This "director's cut" of Merriam and Smith's acclaimed Halloween ABC spruces up the original design, enhancing the color and magnifying the art, while leaving Merriam's shivery poems intact. A new afterword gives an interesting behind-the-scenes account of both versions' creation and shows readers illustrations Smith changed in the first book--e.g., "V for Vampire" became "V for Viper"--to fit Merriam's poems.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 1987

(3) PS Illustrated by Pam Paparone. "I like things that come nice and low / Falling leaves and falling snow." The rhyming text (a poem from Merriam's 1962 anthology There Is No Rhyme for Silver) lists things that, like preschoolers, are close to the ground. Colorful paintings with just the right amount of detail illustrate the poetic list that quietly winds down to bedtime with "Hushaby tunes / And little new moons."

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander

(3) PS Harper Growing Tree series. Illustrated by Melanie Hope Greenberg. A young child observes familiar people at work and play as he and his mother stroll through their urban neighborhood. The rhymed text moves briskly and contains events of interest to the preschool audience. Active and engaged neighbors, such as "Hope with a jump rope" or "Mr. Sklar washing his car," are portrayed in the childlike pastel-toned illustrations.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(4) PS Illustrated by Joanna Harrison. Clean, simple watercolors defined with soft lines and arranged in panels show a girl following her cat out the door, through the park, and back home. The rhyming text is set in a large typeface on a white background, and some of the action words are emphasized with special fonts. The awkward and jerky cadence of the text, however, makes it difficult to read.

Reviewer: Anne St. John

(4) PS Illustrated by Julia Gorton. "Ten rosy roses standing in a line, / Jan picks one and now there are nine." The counting poem is illustrated with bold paintings portraying a world of flat geometric shapes that contrast with the rounded, softer shapes of children and flowers. Although a final spread neatly extends the poem, showing the children giving all ten roses to their teacher, neither the art nor the text is especially compelling.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) PS Harper Growing Tree series. In this foldout flap book, a playful rhythmic poem asks readers to guess the identity of various animals: "What in the world / goes whiskery friskery / meowling and prowling / napping and lapping / at silky milk?" Brightly colored and cheerful illustrations under each flap reveal the answer. A fine choice for lap sharing or reading aloud.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.