(3) 4-6 Peace, Love, and Softball series. Illustrated by Ruth McNally Barshaw. The sister coauthors, both softball players (Jessica Mendoza is a two-time Olympic medalist), weave unusually detailed, useful information about softball into the story of twelve-year-old Sophia Garcia trying to prove herself to be as good a ballplayer as her older sister. Lessons about sportsmanship, finding one's own strengths, familial loyalty, and societal pressures are smoothly integrated into the warm family story. Doodle-like spot art is included.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Ruth McNally Barshaw. When two siblings adopt Leopold, a runaway circus lion, he becomes so lethargic that the circus won't take him back. With a new health regimen, Leopold returns to his former acrobatic self. The health messages are shoehorned in, and the circus situation is unclear. However, the secret-pet narrative is well executed and appealing, bolstered by dynamic visual depictions of Leopold and his transformation.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert