(2) 1-3 Illustrated by Paul Brewer. Robert Dorfman works on a school assignment; plays with his best friend, Paul; and negotiates getting along with classmates. When new girl Taylor, who is hearing impaired, comes to town, Robert and Paul try to figure out what it's like not to hear. This story isn't a handbook on deafness but a continuation of Robert's good-natured journey toward understanding those around him.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2007

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by Paul Brewer. In this genial series entry, Robert Dorfman attends day camp without best friend Paul, who's spending the summer in Vermont. Lester, with whom Robert built a tentative friendship in Robert and the Happy Endings, is there, too, and his character shines when he realizes Robert's fear of the water and helps him overcome it.

Reviewer: Betty Carter

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by Paul Brewer. In this eighth book about Robert Dorfman, king of the everyday crisis, Seuling details the minutiae that make up a third-grader's life. This litany of experiences provides a familiar context for new readers engaged in the somewhat unfamiliar skill of reading an entire book. As he's done before, Robert triumphs in his own way, bumbling through some problems and solving others.

Reviewer: Betty Carter

(4) PS Illustrated by Kay Chorao. A little boy ponders all the animal homes that are well suited to their owners but don't work for humans. Chorao's childlike illustrations, of the boy tangled in the sticks of a beaver home and huddled on the branches of a sycamore tree, are quite humorous. The text nicely incorporates facts about nature, but with its awkward rhymes it is not as strong as the art.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by Paul Brewer. Third-grader Robert Dorfman turns his attention to endangered species; then Grandma Judy comes to town in her (gasp!) fur coat. Next, Robert jumps into politics, serving as campaign manager for a friend's run for class president. These two stories are independent of each other; the abrupt shift creates a transitional awkwardness not present in previous volumes.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2004

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Nancy Tobin. In simple terms that sometimes oversimplify the complex subject, JoJo reads to and enlightens her dog, Willy, about electrons, static electricity, batteries, generators, etc., to explain the principles and processes of electricity. A power-plant-to-house-outlet diagram pulls things together, and cartoon illustrations in bold colors aid understanding. Three simple experiments conclude the volume.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(4) 1-3 Illustrated by Paul Brewer. Robert is involved with two escapes this time, first to the mountains with his friend Paul's family for some skiing, and second when he leads the chase for class snake Sally. Both plot lines are tepid, their conclusions too easily anticipated by the book's audience, but the reading remains easy in this subpar entry in a generally better-than-average series featuring light-handed black-and-white illustrations.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by Paul Brewer. After learning about lemmings, Robert Dorfman tries to figure out what makes him distinctly Robert. He's no good at sports like his older brother. He's not a painter or a musician. When he's offered a puppy, however, he realizes that his love of animals is an important and unique part of him. This fifth book about third-grader Robert is filled with humor and understanding.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(2) 1-3 Illustrated by Paul Brewer. Rather than struggling with his schoolwork, as he did in the first two series entries, Robert Dorfman is now a confident reader devouring trivia books in the hopes that he and his best friend will win a slot on the Instant Millionaire TV show. Seuling taps into the everyday world of third graders, this time playing up their obsessive fascination with facts and downplaying the deeper conflicts of childhood.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2002

(2) 1-3 Illustrated by Paul Brewer. As Robert begins a new school year with a crisis of confidence, this story unfolds through short chapters and natural language. Seuling nails that self-consciousness that many children endure when they begin to make baby steps away from the crowd. Brewer's spot art serves as a visual preview for each chapter, while his larger illustrations provide text breaks and reflect the action.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2003

(2) 1-3 Illustrated by Paul Brewer. Robert Dorfman (Oh No, It's Robert) finds a friendly, slobbery, enthusiastic, big yellow dog headed straight to the animal shelter. He well knows the probable end of that journey, but his parents refuse to keep the pup. Robert, with his ups and downs and overblown crises, is every-kid: eager, understandable, and far from perfect. Such a familiar character creates a comfortable environment for beginning chapter-book readers.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2002

(4) PS Illustrated by Greg Newbold. Using a question-and-answer format, this gentle poem explores how animals respond to the coming of spring. Bears, skunks, bullfrogs, and eagles emerge from their winter retreats to search for food, build nests, and explore their environments. The double-page spreads show detailed, lush scenes of mountains, fields, and cypress swamps, but the children in the final picture are unattractively portrayed.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Nancy Tobin. The simple explanations of the water cycle and water treatment found in this book stick with a traditional journey of water from bodies of water to clouds to rain to the water treatment plant to your tap. The colorful cartoon illustrations include informative factual asides, but the suggested experiments do little to promote scientific understanding.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by Paul Brewer. Robert fears he has no chance at winning the student achievement contest. He's in the slow reading group, he hates math, and his homework always receives the dreaded muddy pig stamp. A realistic conclusion has the A-student winning the competition, but Robert also earns an award for unmasking the Scribbler, a library book vandal. The elementary school crowd will relate to--and laugh at--Robert's mishaps. Comical illustrations complement the story.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(3) PS Illustrated by Greg Newbold. Pairing questions with simple rhyming answers, Seuling describes the activities of various animals--including humans--as autumn becomes winter. "When the breeze blows the petals off the flowers, where do the bees go? / Inside their hives till spring arrives." The acrylic illustrations, painted from interesting perspectives, depict the slanting light of fall and winter and add considerable atmosphere to this book.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert