(4) K-3 Illustrated by Jeff Ebbeler. Bespectacled pea Arlo, preferring "to grow up and find out what I'll be" rather than getting turned into stir-fry or soup, rolls away from his pod and avoids garden inhabitants who'd like to eat him. He abruptly falls "fast asleep" until next spring, when he awakens as a pea vine. While the story line is forgettable, the personified fruits and vegetables add humor.

Reviewer: Bridget McCaffrey

(4) K-3 Illustrated by David Slonim. Catching, throwing, and running the bases doesn't come naturally to a slug, but hard work, practice, and some unique problem-solving land Ollie a spot on the Creepy Crawlers. When the crucial moment arrives, Ollie hits one out of the park and wins it for the team. The illustrations are nothing special, but the predictable story reinforces the benefits of practice and determination.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Amanda Shepherd. In this book's two separate stories, Mouse builds a house with her friends' help and tries to catch a "ghost" but snags a new friend instead. Organized into brief chapters, both stories are told through a playful irregular rhyme scheme and feature compelling illustrations with a pleasant home-sweet-home feel. The package as a whole is oddly charming.

Reviewer: Miriam Steinberg-Egeth

(3) PS Illustrated by S. D. Schindler. In this Halloween homage to the classic rhyme, four barefoot kids head outdoors for a nighttime adventure. They go through "a muddy, murky swamp," a cornfield, a river, and the woods (where they climb a tree) before reaching a graveyard and "A G-G-GHOST!" Together, Pearson's onomatopoeic text and Schindler's energetic illustrations convey the giddy fun of a good scare.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) K-3 Illustrated by David Slonim. From the difficulty of choosing a dog to musings on an ant farm, the whimsical collection offers some fresh, funny perspectives on a variety of animal companions. The majority of verses are well crafted and beg to be read aloud. The exaggerated cartoon-style illustrations (as well as some bathroom humor) will draw children into the book.

Reviewer: Aishah Abdul-Musawwir

(4) K-3 Illustrated by David Slonim. "Our rooster has terrible luck. / He has fallen in love with a duck. / But the rooster can't swim, / And the chances are slim / That his sweetheart will ever speak CLUCK." These eighteen poems about farm animals are friendly and funny, but the rhymes occasionally falter or fall flat. The pen-and-ink line of the cartoony acrylics is stronger than the poetry.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 This quiet mood piece in the first person plural tells of two nature lovers exploring the woods on a foggy morning, hoping to catch sight of a deer. The richly metaphoric text and dreamy, atmospheric watercolors attest to the artistry of both author and illustrator, an artistry that will prove best-suited to aesthetically- rather than plot-inclined readers.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.