(3) K-3 Illustrated by Kevin Hawkes. Sierra's origin story of the first modern easy reader, The Cat in the Hat, explains--via straightforward narration and occasional playful rhymes--the challenges Dr. Seuss faced while creating a beginning reader that would encourage kids to read a whole book. Hawkes's dynamic, colorful illustrations seamlessly mix the realistic and the Seussian. An informative and entertaining biographical snapshot of the author's important accomplishment.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter

(4) PS Illustrated by G. Brian Karas. Animals flock to flamingo Miss Bingo's storytime, where amid all the reading, rapping, and rhyming fun, a child-size crisis arises: "Oh no! Someone tramples on Annabelle's toe!" In a nod toward child empowerment, young fox Rory saves storytime from grinding to a halt. Sierra's ABCB rhymes are recognizable if not memorable. Clever composition in Karas's colored-pencil drawings capture the drama.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Matthew Myers. Who knew that Old MacDonald's farm started with a lawnmower-replacing (but hedge-eating) goat and "the smartest hen in history"? Using catchy rhymes and cartoon-silly illustrations (neighbors' protest signs include "Grass smells better" and "This is still weird"), the cheerful book chronicles how Mac transformed his suburban backyard into a garden through composting and became the proprietor of an organic produce cart.

Reviewer: Chelsey Philpot

(3) PS Illustrated by Tim Bowers. While shopping in a grocery store, a girl meets a friendly dinosaur. What should she say? "Hello. I’m pleased to meet you." And if her cart bumps the dinosaur, how should she respond? "I’m sorry." The jaunty rhyme describing the silly situations requiring polite answers and the amusing acrylic illustrations keep the lessons lighthearted.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(2) PS Illustrated by Marc Brown. When the zoo animals start having babies, two pandas and a tree kangaroo bemoan their childless state. Soon, however, the three find themselves with families that aren't what they expected. Sierra's rhymes include plenty of surprises; Brown's illustrations feature a gently colored palette and little patterns. Like the duo's Wild About Books, this title is good both for group sharing and as a bedtime story.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2012

(3) PS Illustrated by Linda Davick. It's the first day of school, and a frog, duck, mouse, and snail describe their activities: writing their names, playing with blocks, doing art projects, eating lunch, and so on. The school-is-fun message is warmly conveyed through rhyming text, and kids will enjoy decoding the simple rebus pictures. Cheery illustrations show the animal characters enjoying classroom time.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Marc Brown. The zoo-animal cast from Sierra and Brown's Wild About Books beats the "midwinter doldrums" by putting on a musical. There's not much story after they decide to perform, but the rhymes are quite expert ("awoke, he" begets "karaoke" and "Hokey Pokey"), and as he's proved before, Brown can imbue even the homeliest of animals with remarkable humanity.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 I Can Read Book series. Illustrated by Pascale Constantin. Five very short stories, some adapted from folklore, alternate between laughing at fear and reveling in it. Kicking a ghost turns out deadly in one story, but a monster in another does nothing but slobber. New readers who can handle ghosts that stay ghostly will tell their spooky new stories with pride. Illustrations let in enough light to comfort trepidatious readers.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(2) K-3 Illustrated by J. Otto Seibold. B.B. Wolf (Mind Your Manners, B.B. Wolf) tries to tell his version of "The Three Little Pigs," in which he was just blowing on a dandelion puff. Unfortunately for B.B., the other nursery tale characters aren't buying it. Seibold's stylish illustrations, with their cartoon energy and zippy details, along with Sierra's multiple puns, make this new spin unique.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2010

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Derek Anderson. Artist Mira Bella teaches classes at Ballyhoo Beach beside Ballyhoo Bay. Just before the big art fair, real estate developers swoop in and close the beach. Initially crestfallen, Mira Bella's students--kids and grannies, seagulls, fish, and crabs--defiantly march to town hall to save the bay. The lively rhymed text, full of alliteration and wordplay, is well matched by humorous acrylic caricature illustrations.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(1) PS Illustrated by Melissa Sweet. Twenty-six lowercase letters try to avoid bedtime. Starting with a ("wide awake"--and playing the accordion), we progress through tooth-brushing, undressing, and bedtime stories with intermittent bursts of off-task silliness. Sierra's lively rhyming text sets up the alphabet sequence in a memorable way. Sweet's colorful block letters (clothed but still recognizable) have big round eyes, short limbs, and plenty of attitude.

Reviewer: Lolly Robinson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2009

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Marc Brown. Because he's a born reader, young Sam accomplishes extraordinary feats: he reads the dictionary at age three, speeds to victory in a bicycle race, and tames an unruly baby giant. Couched in this jaunty rhyming story, Sierra's message about the benefits of reading goes down easily. Brown's large, energetic gouache illustrations suit the tall-tale nature of Sam's exploits.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Brian Biggs. These eleven poems about beastly characters, from toilet-dwelling crocodiles ("When next you find you have to go, / Look first, and wave, and say 'Hello'") to cat-eating snakes, will spook and delight readers. Rhythmic rhymes and kooky mixed-media illustrations accentuate the poems' surprises. The trade edition is covered with green (fake) fur. A worthy addition to the silly-poetry genre.

Reviewer: Betsy Murray

(2) K-3 Illustrated by J. Otto Seibold. B.B. Wolf is invited to tea at the library. When he arrives, the other guests (especially the gingerbread boy) look worried. The librarian makes the assorted storybook characters comfortable--until B.B.'s spectacular burp. Seibold's zany digital illustrations include dozens of funny details for children to spot. Funniest of all is B.B. himself, a bundle of nerves in a social situation.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2007

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Stephen Gammell. A girl surfs the Internet for science fair project ideas and sends off for Professor Swami's Super Slime ("mutant yeast with just a piece of dragon DNA"). She ignores the instructions when the slime arrives, and it consumes her cat, sister, father, teacher, and schoolmates. The story is limited by its rhyming format, but the slime-spattered illustrations ooze quirky appeal.

Reviewer: Mark Adam

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Doug Cushman. Mr. Crocodile has planned every hour of his day, from awakening and swimming to cooking and eating pesky monkeys. When his "monkey-collecting mobile" breaks down and the monkeys come to his rescue, Mr. Crocodile realizes they make better friends than food. The acrylic illustrations are playful, but Mr. Crocodile's jump from seeing the monkeys as food to friends is a stretch.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Marc Brown. Librarian Molly McGrew drives the bookmobile to the zoo where the enthusiastic animals literally and figuratively devour the books. After instilling some book etiquette, Molly helps the critters build a "Zoobrary." Brown's colorful illustrations show animals crawling all over the pages to get to the books. Sierra's rhyming text is just as lively as the art.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) K-3 Step into Reading series. Illustrated by Paul Meisel. When they're fired from their jobs as circus dogs, Coco and Cavendish search for new employment. They wait and wait at a restaurant but aren't hired as waiters, and they're too nice to be watchdogs. When a building catches on fire, they save a kitten, and the fire chief hires them as fire dogs. The story is fast-paced with comical wordplay and amusing illustrations.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Will Hillenbrand. While delivering Christmas presents to an old haunted house, a mouse wearing a Santa Claus hat accidentally tickles a sleeping dragon's nose. The result is a fiery sneeze that causes a chain reaction of mishaps, waking the entire house. Sierra's rhyming text is a bit repetitive, but Hillenbrand's muted, mixed-media illustrations, though spatially confusing, are richly textured and moody.

Reviewer: Mark Adam

(2) PS Illustrated by Will Hillenbrand. After a pizza van gets stuck in a "sleepy, creepy, deeper-than-you'd-think" mud puddle (depicted as a nonthreatening Jabba the Hut-like creature), a succession of rescue vehicles meet the same fate. All seems lost until the sun comes out and an exuberant army of tiny animals goes to work to dislodge the vehicles--"Preschool to the rescue!" This story, with its predictable pattern and internal rhyme, has rainy-day read-aloud written all over it.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2001