(4) 1-3 Adventures at Tabby Towers series. Illustrated by Deborah Melmon. Feline fanatics will delight in this over-the-top series set at cat hotel Tabby Towers. Eight-year-old girl Tabitha Catarina ("Tabby Cat, for short") and her grandparents care for a variety of cat "guests" while Tabby has adventures with her fellow cat-loving friends. Colorful illustrations enliven the repetitive texts. Each installment includes facts about a cat species and writing and discussion prompts. Glos. Review covers these Adventures at Tabby Towers titles: Boxing Bootsie and Disappearing Darcy.

Reviewer: Rebecca Kirshenbaum

(4) 1-3 Adventures at Tabby Towers series. Illustrated by Deborah Melmon. Feline fanatics will delight in this over-the-top series set at cat hotel Tabby Towers. Eight-year-old girl Tabitha Catarina ("Tabby Cat, for short") and her grandparents care for a variety of cat "guests" while Tabby has adventures with her fellow cat-loving friends. Colorful illustrations enliven the repetitive texts. Each installment includes facts about a cat species and writing and discussion prompts. Glos. Review covers these Adventures at Tabby Towers titles: Boxing Bootsie and Disappearing Darcy.

Reviewer: Rebecca Kirshenbaum

(3) 1-3 Adventures at Hound Hotel series. Illustrated by Deborah Melmon. Narrator Alfie Wolfe and his twin sister Alfreeda help take care of the dogs at the family's dog hotel, learning things about themselves as they do. Informative doggie facts about specific breeds--in particular German shepherds (Crosby) and English bulldogs (Dudley)--are sprinkled throughout the texts and back matter, which also contain talking/writing prompts. Full-color illustrations punctuate the entertaining action. Glos. Review covers the following Adventures at Hound Hotel titles: Cool Crosby and Drooling Dudley.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(3) 1-3 Adventures at Hound Hotel series. Illustrated by Deborah Melmon. Narrator Alfie Wolfe and his twin sister Alfreeda help take care of the dogs at the family's dog hotel, learning things about themselves as they do. Informative doggie facts about specific breeds--in particular German shepherds (Crosby) and English bulldogs (Dudley)--are sprinkled throughout the texts and back matter, which also contain talking/writing prompts. Full-color illustrations punctuate the entertaining action. Glos. Review covers the following Adventures at Hound Hotel titles: Cool Crosby and Drooling Dudley.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(4) K-3 Max and Zoe series. Illustrated by Mary Sullivan. Best friends Max and Zoe navigate elementary-school life together: they argue over whose turn it is to sit with a friend at the peanut-free table (Lunchroom) and Zoe struggles with her self-portrait and asks Max for help (Art). Relatable situations and expressive full-color illustrations are the highlights of these idealized, neatly resolved stories. Writing prompts and other activities are appended. Glos. Review covers these Max and Zoe titles: The Lunchroom Fight and The Very Best Art Project.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(4) K-3 Max and Zoe series. Illustrated by Mary Sullivan. Best friends Max and Zoe navigate elementary-school life together: they argue over whose turn it is to sit with a friend at the peanut-free table (Lunchroom) and Zoe struggles with her self-portrait and asks Max for help (Art). Relatable situations and expressive full-color illustrations are the highlights of these idealized, neatly resolved stories. Writing prompts and other activities are appended. Glos. Review covers these Max and Zoe titles: The Lunchroom Fight and The Very Best Art Project.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(4) 4-6 After her best friend moves away, eleven-year-old egghead Cathy tries to impress a potential new companion, a stylish, dim girl obsessed with a pop star. Because the characters throughout are two-dimensional, this punning, slapstick-tinged narrative perpetuates the stereotypes that it's ostensibly examining. Still, preteens will easily relate to Cathy's experiences.

Reviewer: Nell Beram