(3) K-3 I Can Read Book series. Illustrated by Pascale Constantin. Five very short stories, some adapted from folklore, alternate between laughing at fear and reveling in it. Kicking a ghost turns out deadly in one story, but a monster in another does nothing but slobber. New readers who can handle ghosts that stay ghostly will tell their spooky new stories with pride. Illustrations let in enough light to comfort trepidatious readers.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Pascale Constantin. A "just small enough boy" has no facts about himself. The mysterious Facttracker promises to help him search, but the fact factory blows up and Ersatz the liar builds a liebrary to replace it. How the boy saves the world from lies and learns about himself is the core of this lively story, told with mischievous humor.

Reviewer: Becky Levine

(3) PS Illustrated by Pascale Constantin. Left-hand pages offer a familiar nursery rhyme (e.g., "Jack Sprat"); facing pages offer a comical illustration, along with a relevant question concerning etiquette ("What should the Sprats have done?"). Underneath that image lies the answer ("They should have used knives and forks") and a witty foldout illustration. The lift-the-flap format will lure even the manners-averse.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) PS Illustrated by Pascale Constantin. When a duck, dolphin, and other animals take over his tub, Willy can't take a bath. A fairly unimaginative and repetitive rhyming narrative relates Mom's off-stage pleas and Willy's excuses, while the playful illustrations show that the animals are really bath toys. The pages include nested flaps that gradually lengthen then become progressively shorter as animals are added then put away.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Pascale Constantin. A boy moves his stuffed animals to their sleeping places before snuggling into bed. However, the animals are not tired and cause a ruckus until he brings them back into his bed. The clever design includes nested flaps and the pages are filled with energetic illustrations, but the plodding rhyme of the first half detracts from the rest of the story.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Pascale Constantin. Ordered around by a lazy lion, a lazy lion tamer, and a lazy mouse, an industrious stinkbug finally reaches his limit and raises a real stink, driving the three good-for-nothings permanently out of the house and leaving him in peace. Expressive pastel art showcases the differences between the stinkbug and his three slacker housemates in this quirky fable.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann