(3) PS Illustrated by Barroux. "When a place gets so scary that we have to leave home, every kindness counts." From "One boat / helping us on our way" to "Ten friends / making us happy," a simple text takes young children on a refugee's journey. Barroux's painterly watercolors are reassuring and upbeat; Kurman's text lightly touches on troubling issues with honesty and respect for her audience. The illustrations show a Black family--mother, baby, and two young siblings--as they travel toward safety, security, and a new beginning. Some age-appropriate context "about child refugees" and list of related websites are appended. Concurrently published in Spanish.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(4) PS Illustrated by Barroux. A rocket ship moves around the bright orange, yellow, and blue pages of this book introducing young children to prepositions: e.g., the rocket is behind a whale then in front; it zips from the top of a tree to the bottom. The attractive art is clean and simple, but the text does little to pull the images and ideas together.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) PS Illustrated by Barroux. A boy begins his day walking toward the city saying, "Good morning," to everything he sees. Halfway through the story, he changes direction saying, "Good night," to everything in reverse order. The circular verse and repeating visual themes reinforce the home/away/home pattern, with sunrise mirroring sunset. Barroux's broad brush strokes and rich colors fill out and give shape to subtle pencil outlines.

Reviewer: Shara Hardeson

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Barroux. A little girl brings Lucy, a white dog with a black circle around one eye, home from the pound, but the dog will not stop howling--until Lucy collects a family of her owner's stuffed animals to share her bed. In small handwritten font, Lucy's howls ("wah-ooo-ooo-roo") fill many of the illustrations, conveying the magnitude of her sadness in this simple, satisfying story.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) PS Illustrated by Barroux. Charlie's toy bunny (named Bunny) narrates the lessons he learns from his owner ("Today Charlie has a playdate...I learn about jealous"). There's a forlornness to the text, as Charlie tends to run hot and cold in his affections. Barroux's use of one or two dominant colors per spread, supplemented with faintly detectable details, create visuals that deserve multiple viewings.

Reviewer: Sophie Williamson

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Barroux. A boy shares his artistic vision with his dog Louie, an appreciative admirer who watches from the sidelines. But Louie has untapped talent of his own; one day he takes advantage of his owner's absence to explore his canine creative instincts. The illustrations reflect the explosion of color that comes with both artists' inventiveness.

Reviewer: Cindy Lombardo