(2) PS Illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins. Pet tortoise Truman lives in the big city with "his Sarah." When Truman sees Sarah board a bus with a backpack, he knows he will have to go after her. Thus begins his slow-moving journey...across the living room. The pair's affectionate relationship is the heart of this story that parallels a child's first journey into the unknown that is school. Cummins's relaxed-line, mixed-media illustrations bring the family's cozy world to life.

Reviewer: Julie Danielson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2019

(4) PS Illustrated by Leo Timmers. "Monday! 'Doze it day! / Dig it, dump, dispose it day." An all-animal construction crew works through the week to transform a vacant lot into--surprise!--a playground. Whether slapstick (a gorilla stepping in cans of paint) or silly (a giraffe on roller skates), much of the humor in the cartoony illustrations is forced, but the rhyming text is cheerful.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(3) PS Illustrated by Leo Timmers. With an endless stream of verbs, a young rabbit describes the action he sees from his stroller: "Shopping, sacking, sorting, stacking-- / rows so nice and neat. / School bells ringing. Reading, singing, / friends to meet and greet." The meter of the rhymes reflect the busy town's speedy pace while bright acrylics are full of recurring characters and hidden story lines.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(3) PS Illustrated by Robert Neubecker. "There's a corner in my house that needs some fixing up." During his time-out, a boy imagines glorious wall-spanning assemblages of monsters, trucks, etc. At book's end, readers learn that he has been coloring on the wall--meaning more trouble. Readers may be unfamiliar with the outdated punishment corner, but this spirited book's message about imagination's transcendent power is timeless.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(2) PS Illustrated by Margaret Chodos-Irvine. A boy's mother tucks him in, but he doesn't go straight to sleep. Instead, he transforms his blanket into a rocket ship and soars off, into the heavens then back again. Soft assonant sounds soothe the cumulative rhyme that parallels nighttime routines through its repetition and structure. Double-page spreads of bright but not overpowering collages depict the child's full-circle journey.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2011

(4) PS Illustrated by Geneviève Leloup. A girl hates her clothes: "Too purpley, / Too tickly, / Too puckery, / Too prickly," etc. Each adjective is accompanied by a visually stunning illustration (readers may shield their eyes at "too stripey"), ensuring an eager page-turn to see what Leloup comes up with next. The story doesn't go anywhere, but the rhyming text is fun to read aloud.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) PS Illustrated by Geneviève Leloup. A little boy has a different complaint about each new food: "Too wrinkly, / Too squishy, / Too fruity, / Too fishy!" Bright, bouncy illustrations with background patterns to match the offending dishes show the boy, his pet, and their amusing reactions to each dish. At last, the satiated eater sits grinning in front of his empty plate: "So yummy! / All done."

Reviewer: Martha Sibert