(3) K-3 Illustrated by Clare Beaton. Instructions for a dozen craft projects plus one cooking activity accompany general information about common plants, animals, birds (Nature); and fish, penguins, turtles (Ocean). Collage illustrations underscore the versatility of paper as an art medium. Ocean's projects are a bit more free-form and advanced. "Seashore" (Nature) and "Beachcombing" (Ocean) spreads emphasize respect for nature.

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(3) PS Illustrated by Clare Beaton. Readers set out on safari to find a hippo, cleverly obscured on each spread among other animals of the African plains. An appropriately simple rhyming text introduces one to three animals per spread. The felt, button, bead, and bric-a-brac illustrations offer a fair amount of detail about the animals' appearances and habitats. End-of-book notes are useful for parents and teachers.

Reviewer: Sethany Rancier Alongi

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Clare Beaton. The simple rhyming narrative acts as a field guide, introducing common northern animals while inviting the reader to search for the moose hiding throughout the pictures of the changing seasons. Though the story is weak, bold double-page spreads succeed in showcasing Beaton's fabric art with its beads, sequins, and buttons. Further details on the featured animals are appended.

Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale

(4) PS "Where can Daisy's / T-shirt be? / And how many checkered / things can you see?" This is no counting book: the lazy, obvious rhymes seem to exist purely as an excuse to showcase Beaton's beguiling fabric art, which employs sequins, buttons, beads, etc., to render Daisy's enviable wardrobe and other objects.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) PS Illustrated by Clare Beaton. In awkward singsongy rhyme a puppy travels around the world and asks baby animals if they know the name of a baby kangaroo. Animals such as penguins, wolves, and zebras make appearances, and a glossary details each creature's habitat and family characteristics. Illustrations rendered in fabrics accented with sequins, buttons, and bric-a-brac add an appealing tactile effect.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(4) PS Illustrated by Clare Beaton. A minimal rhyming text invites readers to follow a sea horse, cleverly camouflaged on each spread, through the coral reef. Felt, fabric, buttons, and sequins are skillfully arranged to portray the underwater world and its inhabitants. Included are a mermaid and a cold-water lobster (rather than the spiny lobster common to reefs), making this less useful as a coral reef introduction.

Reviewer: Hilary Breed Van Dusen

(3) PS This collection of lullabies and poems is illustrated with warm fabric collages crafted in felt and various other materials, including calico and buttons. The slightly British tone should not diminish the book's effectiveness, and the CD packaged with it will be appreciated by the very young. Authors are only credited on the acknowledgments page. Ind.

Reviewer: Amy Lois Cohn

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Clare Beaton. Although many animals flutter, yip, and snort at a stubborn goat, they cannot make him leave the garden. When a tiny bee tries, the bigger animals laugh, but the bee is ultimately successful. The playful language and lively rhythm sustain the repetition in the verses, and the illustrations--bright fabric collages--are attractive.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(4) PS Illustrated by Clare Beaton. "Cheetahs are spotty, zebras are stripy, / But how loud is a lion? Shhh! Listen! / Hoopoes are happy, chimpanzees are sneaky, / But how loud is a lion? Shhh! Listen!" Though the text's logic is questionable, the repeated titular question provides some minimal suspense in this introduction to jungle animals. In any case, it is Beaton's textured pictures made from fabric, beads, and felt that are the main attraction here.

Reviewer: Jim St. Claire

(4) PS Illustrated by Clare Beaton. Stitched-felt collage art detailed with beads, buttons, and embroidery gives this picture book a distinctive look. Rebelling against his mother's warning to "never say 'Boo!' to a goose," Tiger the kitten visits the farmyard animals, looking for a goose to spook. Unfortunately, the stilted and cumbersome prose does not measure up to the interesting illustrations.

Reviewer: Anne St. John

(4) PS This very-British collection of forty rhymes includes the familiar (though Anglicized), such as "The Wheels on the Bus," along with others that are distinctly British, e.g., "Hinx, Minx," "Five Currant Buns." Each rhyme includes instruction for accompanying movements. There are more general collections of rhymes, but the homespunlike art, created with fabric and "felt with braid, buttons, beads, and assorted bric-a-brac," is the real draw. Ind.

Reviewer: Aishah Abdul-Musawwir

(3) PS Illustrated by Clare Beaton. When all of the farm animals are in the wrong places, what are the farmers to do? Call them for dinner, of course. The rhythmic text begs to be shouted out loud by preschoolers, who will delight in the animals' mismatched dwellings. The illustrations, using stitched felt pieces with button or bead eyes, are richly colored and deeply textured.

Reviewer: CHristine Sarrazin

(4) PS Illustrated by Clare Beaton. "Cackle, cackle, Mother Goose / Have you any feathers loose?" Young listeners will enjoy looking for the stray feather hidden on each page in the detailed stitched and appliquéd illustrations. Antique fabrics, bric-a-brac, beads, and buttons create an inviting landscape for forty-six nursery rhymes. Unfortunately, the placement of the type against some of the busier fabrics is often distracting.

Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale

(4) PS Illustrated by Clare Beaton. "How big is a pig?" is the question that is asked throughout this romp through a variety of farmyard scenes. The bumpy rhyme is secondary to the unique illustrations, which are composed of brightly colored felt pieces enhanced with stitching as well as beads and other objects. Toddlers will enjoy finding the pig on each page.

Reviewer: CHristine Sarrazin