(4) K-3 Step into Reading series. Close-up photographs pair with beginning-reader text to highlight stages of a caterpillar's (later butterfly's) life cycle. The interesting photographs capture infrequently seen moments such as a newly hatched caterpillar eating her eggshell. Unfortunately, oversimplifications and poor transitions rob the text of similar precision: e.g., one spread implies that spiders are insects ("Other insects join the feast... / Spiders spin webs to trap meals").

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) YA Jack, sixteen and anorexic, is the newest patient in a residential unit for teenagers with eating disorders. Jack channels the energy he usually reserves for over-exercising and hiding food into intense relationships with his stoner roommate and a troubled, secretive ballerina. Although Jack's eventual recovery feels rushed and unsubstantiated, many teens will connect with the drama of his loaded friendships.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald

(3) K-3 Step into Reading series. Brief text (just a sentence or two on most pages) couples with close-up photographs of dining animals to enumerate what different zoo animals eat and how some of the foods are delivered to them. Repetition makes the text accessible to early beginning readers and highlights similarities in some animals' diets. Photographs primarily support the text but sometimes provide additional details.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) 4-6 When her family moves to Alaska, young Tatum comes to love the brutal weather and the legendary Iditarod. Soon she and Bandit (a retired musher dog), and her friend Cole are caught in a blizzard. Though a hovering wolf dog and blustery winds create some tension, Tatum's protracted journey through deep snow grows tedious for her--and for readers.

Reviewer: Nancy Hull

(3) YA In this spare novel in verse set in 1965, six young people share dramatic, personal issues that intersect with each other. News reports on events such as the escalating war in Vietnam and the death of Malcolm X are interspersed. Parts of the text are so immediate and intense that they very effectively capture both the details and scope of the times. Timeline.

Reviewer: Betty Carter

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Paula Barragán. Twelve Latino festivals, one for each month of the year, are described in brief poems accompanied by short explanatory paragraphs. Some of the celebrations, such as Cinco de Mayo and Día de los Muertos, will be familiar; others that are very specific to certain countries or ethnic groups may not be. Vibrantly flowing digitally enhanced cut-paper illustrations accompany the text.

Reviewer: Tim Wadham

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Tatjana Mai-Wyss. At soccer practice Mikey goes for the ball with gusto, "rat-a-tat-tack-ing" it, while his distracted teammates twirl around or look at anthills. "We have to win, win, WIN!" Mikey tells Dad, but Dad goofs off, too, ignoring the rules. The playful language and mellow sports-should-be-fun message are well matched by watercolor and collage scenes showing the silly chaos of peewee soccer.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(4) PS Illustrated by Paula Barragan. "Brown as buñuelos / a crispy crunchy sound / Brown as a guitar / Pluck! Pluck! / Gettin' low down." A jazzy text full of Hispanic imagery and energetic illustrations introduce the Spanish names of basic colors. The premise is slight, but the book works well as a read aloud. A list of vocabulary words and a pronunciation guide are appended.

Reviewer: Tim Wadham

(4) PS Illustrated by Mary Thelen. In this alphabet book, vivid artwork complements a non-rhyming text enlisting jazz lingo. Using flat colors and geometric shapes, Thelen incorporates a number of items beginning with or including each featured letter. Closer attention to phrasing and meter would have given the text a more musical flow; nonetheless, the unique theme will attract readers.

Reviewer: Anne St. John

(3) 4-6 Cody and her cousin Derek take a covert kayaking trip in the Alaskan wilderness. When an advancing glacier dams a fjord, the two kayakers are trapped. They fight hunger and snowblindness before receiving help from a mysterious couple who live in the remote woods. Although its emotional content is limited, the story moves briskly and will appeal to fans of the survival genre.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta