(2) PS Illustrated by Sergio Ruzzier. In this cumulative tale with a surprising ending, Fox, Wicked Witch, Bear, Crocodile, and others pull levers, flick switches, and turn dials in an attempt to activate a robot. Each time, the robot makes a new sound ("BANG! BOOOO"), but it doesn't speak until a pigtailed girl uses a key. Pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations stand in comical contrast to the high-tech topic. Preschoolers will love shouting out all the sounds.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2017

(3) K-3 Illustrated by David Roberts. A semi-authoritative narrator cautions a child walking in the woods about brown and black bears (e.g., "Pepper spray works on BOTH kinds of bears. It makes them dizzy. Or was it hungry?"). This witty book's exacting art amps up the dark humor: the concluding image of the kid's ransacked backpack is captioned with "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Fred Blunt. The most unreliable of narrators describes a knight's adventure by horse ("Then again... / he had no horse. / Did I say 'rode'? / He strode, of course"). At book's end, readers learn that the narrator, who fires off snappy rhymes throughout, is none other than the knight himself. The art offers a visual gag for every slapstick narrative bumble.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Rebecca Ashdown. A pair of socks who live in a child's drawer become separated but finally reunite as toys: "'A match made in heaven--now this is the life!' / said sock puppet Sosh to his sock puppet wife." The rhymes are by turns clever, corny, and punning ("Oh, darn it!" says one sock), and the confetti-colored art has a high-energy, low-fuss quality.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jim Field. Imagine an absurd twist on sending away for a decoder ring: two brothers buy every cornflake box they can to save coupons for a free lion. Instead of a lion, they receive a bear, a crocodile, and a gorilla...and cornflakes for life (ugh!). Exaggerated digital illustrations contain funny touches, and the story delivers on its silly premise.

Reviewer: Rebecca Kirshenbaum

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Kate Hindley. Suited up in a raincoat and rain boots, one determined youngster guides the reader step by step through the tricky task of bathing a woolly mammoth. From filling the tub to jumping into it with him, the child demonstrates that the best plan is to be patient and flexible. Like the text, Hindley's illustrations are simple and meticulous yet laced with humorous bits.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Leonie Lord. "I'm afraid I have some BAD news..." Thinking it's "the pizza boy" a boy mistakenly lets a gorilla in. The gorilla makes a mess coloring, playing dress-up, baking a cake, etc., but that's not the bad news. When we get there, the story's punch line isn't much of a surprise. The illustrations capture the humor caused by the nonthreatening gorilla.

Reviewer: Carrie Harasimowicz Sullivan

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. A young safari explorer is consistently unable to heed advice to not startle an elephant, disturb a tiger, wake a rhinoceros, etc. Despite the exasperated narrator's I-told-you-so tone ("You ninny!" "Honestly, you're hopeless!"), the etiquette guidance keeps coming with each amusing predicament. Pictorial clues in Reynolds's humorous illustrations invite the reader to anticipate the clueless kid's next sticky situation.

Reviewer: Carrie Harasimowicz Sullivan