(3) K-3 Illustrated by Hui Skipp. A more-magical-than-mechanical robot uses simple machines to help a diverse group of friends build a treehouse to the tune of "London Bridge Is Falling Down." Bright, cheerful acrylic and digital-collage art matches the accompanying singalong DVD's animation. Illustrated endnotes effectively explain simple machines and introduce very basic robotics and programming; musical notation also appended.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(4) K-3 Illustrated by David Sim. The text describes the solar system in simple, wide-eyed terms; illustrations show children and animals in a spaceship taking in the celestial splendor. There's too much repetition for the book to succeed without the accompanying CD (with audio and visual animation), but the wonder-filled illustrations are, well, uplifting. Information on the universe and space exploration and musical notation are appended.

Reviewer: Nell Beram