(4) PS Illustrated by Renata Liwska. A dormouse hibernates in his nest, dreaming of spring and of his friend, a dormouse girl. Meanwhile, in the fanciful illustrations, his friend travels by plane, sled, and other means to join him as spring arrives. The poem is lilting, if sentimental and overly syrupy ("Two friends tail-in-tail / pitter patter down the trail"); Liwska's digitally colored pencil drawings have a cuddly softness.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(4) PS Illustrated by Jane Chapman. Bear and Mouse wander, visiting with forest friends until a sudden storm sends them all scurrying to Bear's cave. Throughout the narrative, pairs of simple opposites accumulate like a nursery song and encourage reading aloud. The content is slight, but bouncy rhymes and acrylic illustrations add warmth and good cheer as the familiar characters (Bear Counts; Bear Sees Colors; etc.) introduce this basic lesson.

Reviewer: Russell Perry

(4) PS Illustrated by Marcellus Hall. Duddle Puck refuses to quack. He'll cluck, honk, oink, or neigh, but no amount of concern, anger, or coercion from the other farm animals will make him change his ways. When the farmer gets involved, Duddle Puck prepares for a face-off, with entertaining results. Vibrant earth-tone watercolor illustrations are more engaging than the tongue-twisting, unwieldy rhyming text.

Reviewer: Sian Gaetano

(4) PS Illustrated by Jane Chapman. Bear and Mouse count from one (sun, dragonfly) to five (ducks, crawdads) as they walk through the forest (Counts). In Colors, Bear and Mouse's woodland animal friends point out five different color-drenched scenes. Both books feature jaunty rhyming texts and inviting acrylic paintings that encourage preschoolers to join the fun. The content is slight, but the presentation and familiar characters are engaging. Review covers these titles: Bear Counts and Bear Sees Colors.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(4) PS Illustrated by Jane Chapman. Bear and Mouse count from one (sun, dragonfly) to five (ducks, crawdads) as they walk through the forest (Counts). In Colors, Bear and Mouse's woodland animal friends point out five different color-drenched scenes. Both books feature jaunty rhyming texts and inviting acrylic paintings that encourage preschoolers to join the fun. The content is slight, but the presentation and familiar characters are engaging. Review covers these titles: Bear Counts and Bear Sees Colors.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Diane Goode. Wilson's mostly humorous poems cover the usual ground, touching on imagination, family relationships, and food preferences. The rhyme and meter are often forced, and the poems with messages are heavy-handed. In most cases, the concrete poems are stronger than those in rhyming verse. The calligraphic feel of Goode's line drawings distinguishes them from illustrations in similar collections. Ind.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Anna Currey. One cold night, Lewis Mouse hears noises and imagines fierce animals lurking outside. Upon investigation, he discovers it's only another mouse; her friendly company is just what was missing from his otherwise comfy home. With its playful, sometimes rhyming language, the story is a good read-aloud choice. Pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations evoke the blustery night and bring Lewis's fearful imaginings to life.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(4) PS Illustrated by Jane Chapman. Bear's woodland friends all stop by with yummy treats to share. Bear's cupboards are empty, so he can't contribute to the meal, but his friends remind him he can share something else: his stories. Though Wilson's rhyme and rhythm occasionally miss the mark, Chapman's familiar illustrations, Bear's thankful refrain, and the alternate way he adds to the feast will please fans of the series.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Jim McMullan. Puzzled that his horses are napping on the job, Farmer spies on them one night and discovers that they spend their evenings partying. Not only do his scolds do no good, but his ongoing spying leads to the book's unsurprising punch line: now Farmer is falling asleep on the job, too. Both rhymes and watercolors are just funny enough.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jim McMullan. A farmer decides to "spring-clean" his animals. He successfully washes the horses, ducks, and cows, but meets resistance at the pigpen. Voicing their sentiment on mud-written signs, the pigs, shown in McMullan's sassy watercolor illustrations, defy the farmer's attempts at bathing. Through the use of rhyme and clever pig-centric puns, Wilson creates an amusing standoff between farmer and hogs.

Reviewer: Ashleigh Finn

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Marsela Hajdinjak-Krec. A boy imagines being a mouse; when the mouse hears an owl, the boy wonders, "What if the owl was me?" The pattern continues as the boy contemplates being a squirrel, chickadee, and cat. Finally, the rhyming text brings readers back to the child who rejoices that God made "me Me!" The stiff full-page illustrations provide clues to the next featured animal.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Jane Chapman. When nervous Bear discovers his first loose tooth, his friends try (gently) to extract the wobbly bicuspid. In the end, it's Bear's own wiggling tongue that does the job. The text has some minor missteps in cadence. Chapman's illustrations include cute details, including a tooth fairy that leaves blueberries as payment.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(4) PS Illustrated by Marcellus Hall. A farmer's horses love hay, his geese gobble corn, and his dog wags its tail, but his cow only eats cookies. Thick black ink outlines the subdued watercolors showing a jolly farmer caring for his menagerie. While the rhyming text is accessible, some of its placement is odd. Also, the story's denouement--farmer and cow dunking cookies in fresh-squeezed milk--is a tad bizarre.

Reviewer: Robin L. Smith

(4) PS Illustrated by Jane Chapman. On a stormy night, while Bear snoozes soundly, Mouse and a few other forest animals congregate in Bear's den for shelter. Soon they're eating popcorn, drinking tea, and having a party while "the bear snores on." The rhyming text is forced at times, but the vibrant acrylic paintings are engaging. This paper-over-board edition is notable for its bargain price.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Jane Chapman. Penguin Little Pip awaits the arrival of a sibling. She resents the attention her parents pay the egg, but she still helps protect it through winter's storms. When her brother hatches, Pip sings that he "makes our family just right." Though the text is message-y, Little Pip's story is gently reassuring. A palette of golds, blues, and purples captures the Antarctic's seasons.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Barry Blitt. This Where the Sidewalk Ends–type collection includes over one hundred twenty short poems characterized by adept wordplay, clever twists, and infectious repetition. The mood, predominantly light, is occasionally morbid in a Silverstein-esque way (e.g., a cliff-side game of dodge ball ends with children falling over the edge). The volume is generously illustrated with black-and-white pen, ink, and watercolor caricatures. Ind.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Jane Chapman. Eager to avoid her first swimming lesson in "the cold, dark sea," penguin Pip decides she'd rather learn how to fly. After two failed attempts at soaring through the sky, Pip accidentally lands in the water where a new friend shows her the glories of gliding. Chapman's illustrations showcase the ocean milieu. Occasional singsongy verses enliven the bland text.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jane Chapman. Bear, out looking for a snack, gets lost on the way home. His friends, worried by his absence, form a search party, go out into the stormy night, and find him only ten feet from his den. Storm-swept illustrations and the refrain "the bear feels scared" contribute to the story's tension, while Bear's fans will be reassured by the familiar characters and format.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Jane Chapman. While chasing a shiny black feather, penguin Little Pip becomes lost. Trying to return home, she meets a whale, a kelp gull, and sled dogs. In an underwhelming ending, Pip sings her family's song, then Mama and Papa find her and teach her that home is where your family is. Acrylic illustrations animate the anthropomorphized animals' emotions.

Reviewer: Alissa C. Salamone

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Christa Unzner. With her room and toys as her kingdom, a girl imagines herself as a lovely, kind princess who wears fancy clothes and rules gracefully. Beneath the sparkly pink book jacket are detailed watercolor and ink illustrations that, while plenty pink, also include some other cool, muted hues. The slight rhyming text concludes, gently, at bedtime.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden