(4) K-3 Cat in the Hat's Learning Library series. Illustrated by Aristides Ruiz & Joe Mathieu. Content-wise, this is a reasonable summary of what it means to vote in our democracy, focusing especially on political offices and supporting the idea that every vote counts. Narrated by the Cat in the Hat, the book is hampered by its awkward rhymes, which creak to fit information, and its cluttered layouts featuring decent Seuss knockoffs. Reading list. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(4) K-3 Step into Reading series. Illustrated by Jim Nelson. Tackling the age-old Bigfoot myth in six easy-to-read chapters, Worth lays out the legend's history then provides "scientific proof" and other explanations of the creature's existence--without verbalizing an explicit pro-Bigfoot stance. Nelson's stiff illustrations are supplemented by archival photos. The inquisitive tone ("...we will keep our minds open and our eyes on the deep woods. And we will wonder...") is imagination-inducing.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(4) K-3 Step into Reading series. Illustrated by Christopher Santoro. Drawing together information about elephants, zoos, and circuses in the nineteenth century, this is a true story packaged in an easy-reader format. There is no documentation, but the author provides facts about Jumbo, bought by P. T. Barnum and exhibited as the largest-known elephant. The illustrations are pedestrian, but the story will keep the reader's interest.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt