(3) 4-6 Dragon's Guide series. Illustrated by Mary GrandPré. Dragon Miss Drake and her human "pet" Winnie travel back in time to the 1915 San Francisco World's Fair to meet great-granddad Caleb and solve a jewel heist. A mischievous wish-granting imp complicates matters. The growing dragon-human teamwork, San Francisco–specific history, a nicely integrated fantasy framework, and light comedy combine for a cheery continuation of the series.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Mary GrandPré. Winnie is newly enrolled in a magic academy. But Nanette, niece of Winnie's dragon-caretaker's "self-proclaimed rival," is also attending--and proclaims herself Winnie's rival. Lighthearted episodes of unusual lessons and field trips, illustrated by winsome spot art, are grounded by more serious encounters with Winnie's grandfather's goons in this buoyant second entry (A Dragon's Guide to the Care and Feeding of Humans).

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2016

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Mary GrandPré. Dragon Miss Drake's pet Fluffy dies, then Winnie shows up. Winnie, a human, seems to have the notion that she is the owner and Miss Drake is the pet. An enchanted sketchbook leads to adventure when the magical creatures Winnie draws come to life. Miss Drake's refinement and Winnie's hardscrabble make-do set each other off with a vinegar-and-sweet piquancy shared by GrandPré's whimsical spot art.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2015

(2) K-3 Photographs by Katherine Feng. The narrative follows a panda cub from birth to adulthood at China's Wolong Nature Reserve. Children will love the photos of pandas: on a seesaw, hanging from a branch upside down, chomping on a long piece of bamboo. This book presents an engaging way to begin to learn about pandas and will be a sure hit at storytime.

Reviewer: Janet Hamilton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2009

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Guy Francis. In this story inspired by the old dance hall tune "Buffalo Gals," various animals (one a buffalo) dress up to meet their cross-species beaus at a moonlit barn dance. The broadly drawn illustrations are appropriately old-timey, while sly details (e.g., Patty Ann Pig is reading In Sty magazine) add contemporary humor. Music and lyrics are included.

Reviewer: Norah Piehl

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Maggie Kneen. "In the rain / Others hide, / But I'm / Quite pleased / To sit outside..." Twenty-six lighthearted poems chronicle a year in the life of a toad. The muted, naturalistic illustrations and, on most pages, informative footnotes ground the verses in fact. The open page design is inviting.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(4) PS Illustrated by Melissa Sweet. As a young lamb goes about his day, he witnesses various anthropomorphized animal pairs exchanging different sorts of kisses until he finds himself on the receiving end: "A gotcha kiss surprises you / with tickles and some giggles, too." Sweet's sure hand and eye for detail (check out the animals' duds) go a long way toward moderating the book's syrup factor.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Susan Estelle Kwas. The activities of wild birds near a girl's home are described from spring through winter (e.g., "Sometimes they stay / and share this yard, / this tree with you"). While not meant as a guide book, some of the birds appearing in the generally realistic illustrations are identified on a double-page spread preceding the book's lyrical but dull verse.

Reviewer: Bridget McCaffrey

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Maggie Kneen. The short poems in this cycle set between sunset and dawn, written in the first-person voice of a field mouse, convey the mouse's thoughts on such relevant subjects as nighttime, food, and other animals. Repetition, rhyme, and descriptive language make these observations a good choice for reading aloud, yet they're accessible to independent readers as well. The watercolor illustrations provide atmosphere.

Reviewer: Beth L. Meister

(2) K-3 Hua Mei is the first panda born in captivity in the Western Hemisphere to survive more than four days. Ryder uses simple words and short sentences in a text geared toward a very young audience while providing additional scientific information in smaller print. Large portraits of the cub are plentiful, and sequences of smaller photos showing her in action provide a rare "you are there" quality.

Reviewer: Lolly Robinson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2001

(3) PS Illustrated by Keiko Narahashi. While walking in the woods, a child discovers many wonders of nature, from a fawn lying in the grass to a mole in a hole and a hawk circling in the sky. The simple rhyming text describes the animals a careful observer might see and the narrator's joy at discovering this wildlife. Soft watercolor illustrations suit the poem's quiet tone.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Richard Jesse Watson. After her grandfather's death, a girl and her family return to his cabin in the north woods, and she keeps an eye out for the treasures he always said were hidden in the woods, especially a spectacular waterfall. The tender prose poem is accompanied by richly detailed illustrations filled with an abundance of wildlife.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Victor Lee. A cat with wings helps some children try on and test fly the wings of owls, monarch butterflies, albatrosses, dragonflies, mute swans, bats, and golden eagles. Soft, dreamy illustrations accompany the text, written in awkward rhyme. A short description of each animal's wings and flying prowess is appended.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) PS Illustrated by Ashley Wolff. At first this simple text seems cautionary, warning readers to "watch out for" spiders and snakes, but then it urges them to "take care of" worms, snails, ants, and sea turtles as equally important elements of nature, and pleads ultimately to "let them be." The shifting characters and ecosystems depicted in the earth-toned gouache illustrations, showing seashore, everglade, desert, and woodland habitats, may confuse some readers.

Reviewer: Bridget McCaffrey

(3) K-3 Just for a Day series. Illustrated by Michael Rothman. Second-person descriptive text invites readers to imagine themselves in the body of a tyrannosaurus as it stalks the Cretaceous landscape, eventually killing and eating a triceratops. The acrylic illustrations of T. rex and other contemporaneous dinosaurs and the surmises about their hunting habits are consonant with current theories.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam