(2) K-3 Illustrated by Larry Day. Young narrator Dodge and his older brother Fox have a single goal--to build a fort on the moon. The brothers' strong resolve playfully clashes with their father's unsolicited input ("Our dad is an engineer, so he thinks he knows a lot about building") and their mother's grown-up skepticism. Once night falls, and their parents are asleep, the snowsuit-and-­helmet-clad brothers head to the roof, where they find their homemade (and highly creative) ship and blast off. A bit of a bumpy landing leads to some exploration on the moon, "mysterious and dark, like a mountain turned inside out, a volcano floating in midair." The mission takes a turn for the worse (and Dodge throws a tantrum, expertly redirected by a reassuring Fox), but soon they manage to create an impressive, if ramshackle, fort. They head back to Earth and a breakfast of "pancakes shaped like astronauts, stars, and the moon." Day's illustrations ("pencil, pen, and ink with watercolor and gouache"), starring a family with subtly varied skin tones, skillfully alternate spot art, panels, single pages, and double-page spreads. An appealingly textured warm blue serves as stand-in for the inky darkness of night and outer space--fitting the narrative's upbeat spirit.

Reviewer: Patrick Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2021

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Larry Day. A girl--who previously lost her own dog--brings home a little lost pup. When the girl encounters a "lost" sign featuring the same little dog, she must make the difficult decision to do the right thing. Through varying page layouts and purposeful pops of color, the pen-and-ink, watercolor, and gouache illustrations on stark white backgrounds clearly convey the wordless narrative, express a range of emotions, and guide the eye.

Reviewer: Patrick Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2019

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Larry Day. A series of first-person poems relate slave siblings Jeb and Mattie's escape to freedom in New Bedford, Massachusetts, on the Underground Railroad. Additional voices of slave owners, slave catchers, and Underground Railroad conductors provide a fuller understanding of the dangers risked for freedom. Day's large, muted illustrations ably capture the siblings' harrowing experiences. Extensive historical notes and endpaper maps add value. Reading list. Bib.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) PS Illustrated by Larry Day. Raisin enjoys her privileged role as the youngest cow in the herd, so she's quite put out when her baby brother arrives and alters everything. Eventually she figures out her new role as big sister and realizes change isn't always bad. The conclusion may be familiar, but feisty Raisin's story, with its humorous mixed-media illustrations on handmade watercolor paper, will likely keep readers' attention.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Larry Day. This glowing biography of FDR focuses on his bravery and determination in overcoming his physical handicap to become president and lead America through the Great Depression. Jurmain's upbeat prose is friendly, folksy, and accessible to young children; Day's pencil and watercolor with gouache illustrations are pleasingly detailed and evocative. A solid addition to Roosevelt biographies, particularly as an introductory text. Bib.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Larry Day. Looking for Lion (his kitten), a boy runs into a hungry lion. Having an idea where his pet is, the boy finds just the right lunch offering to cause the lion to relinquish Lion. Set against clean white backgrounds, the expressive watercolor, gouache, and pencil illustrations recalling Ezra Jack Keats reveal the real story unfolding alongside the spare text.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Larry Day. One-page free-verse monologues describe perilous conditions, experiences (a wedding, a birth, several deaths), and a persevering determination to soldier on. Pen-and-ink and earth-toned watercolor illustrations offer a personalized view of the era, while the first-person accounts provide a glimpse into the hardships and joy of the journey from multiple perspectives, pioneer and Native American. Historical notes are appended. Reading list.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Larry Day. In this fictionalized verse recounting of a Civil War drummer boy's duties, the grim content often seems mismatched to the bouncy tone: "Soldiers shooting, / Rifles aimed, / Bullets buzzing, / Bodies maimed." However, it contains little-known interesting facts, such as the use of hot-air balloons for spying on enemy lines. Detailed illustrations add to the book's historical value.

Reviewer: Lisa Catherine Findlay

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Larry Day. This frothy follow-up to George Did It shrinks the title statesmen's rivalry into a personality clash, removing much of the politics from a political story; for all its focus on conflict, the book avoids difficult topics. Day's watercolors are lively caricatures with some fine effects, such as a spread of the Continental Congress crowding around Jefferson as he writes the Declaration of Independence.

Reviewer: J.L. Bell

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Larry Day. Nanook and Pryce, faces barely visible beneath hooded parkas, attend to their ice-fishing hole, never looking up as their floe floats away. This leaves dog Yukon and his worm buddies, also along for the ride, to navigate the hazards of travel. Crowley's rhyming couplets display clever brevity and humor. There's lots to look at in Day's amusingly detailed spreads.

Reviewer: Robin L. Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2009

(3) PS Illustrated by Larry Day. Felix isn't happy about the new baby's arrival. He plots against her at every turn ("That elephant's so big...it could sit on my baby sister!") until, after a particularly trying day, she's the only one who makes him feel better. Expressive pen-and-ink, watercolor, and gouache illustrations help set this book about sibling jealousy apart from the many others like it.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Larry Day. Concentrating on personalities rather than larger political questions, Fradin describes the early years of Burr and Hamilton, what the men had in common, and the beginnings of their animosity. Day's ink, watercolor, and gouache illustrations beautifully pace the narrative, highlighting the hostility between the two by shifting perspectives throughout. A brief sidebar about the demise of dueling is appended. Reading list. Bib.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2008

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Larry Day. Spare poems in the voices of a variety of colonists respond to the Tea Act of 1773. Culminating with the Boston Tea Party, this collection shares the points of view of patriots, loyalists, and others as they consider how to respond to the tax. Vivid watercolor and ink illustrations enhance each individual’s story. Historical notes are appended. Reading list. Glos.

Reviewer: Juliet S. King

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Larry Day. Breaking down the events of April 18 and 19, 1775, into chronological segments with a date and time heading, this book provides some details about the battles of Lexington and Concord. Attractive mixed-media illustrations capture events, and a who's-who list at the beginning and end of the book helps fill in additional information.

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Larry Day. Based on documents written by male and female soldiers and others involved on both sides of the Revolutionary War, this book describes daily routines in the context of historical events. Supplemented with black-and-white drawings and reproductions of paintings, the well-written, somewhat formal narrative emphasizes how the concept of honor infused both military success and failure. Resources, timeline. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Jack Forman

(3) K-3 All Aboard Reading series. Illustrated by Larry Day & Larry Day. Beginning readers are introduced to the first all-iron warship built--why it was needed, its brief stint at sea and eventual sinking, and how it was found and brought back to the surface. Illustrations rich with black line illustrate the text and provide diagrams of the Monitor and the Virginia, its Confederate rival.

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Larry Day. The fast-paced biographies in this series do a good job of revealing the personalities and significant achievements of their subjects. Plentiful black-and-white illustrations and simple prose make the books particularly appealing to reluctant readers, and the brief sidebars never overwhelm the main texts. Each volume has two timelines--one for the subject's life, the other listing concurrent world events. [Review covers these titles: Who Was Albert Einstein?, Who Was Ben Franklin?, Who Was Sacagawea?, Who Was Annie Oakley?.]

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Larry Day. When William and his family settle in the New World, local conditions force him to adapt his English-style house to a new, New England style. By compressing this evolution into a single year, the author creates some historically implausible situations and some clumsy dialogue, but the text and Day's artful color illustrations and pen vignettes clearly convey living conditions in 1637.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) K-3 Ready-to-Read series. Illustrated by Larry Day. This account of how the Wright brothers arrived at the first powered flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, conveys the principles under development as well as the human story of Wilbur and Orville braving mosquitoes and rough weather to perfect their craft. The text, illustrated with realistic watercolors, is well organized, with plentiful background on earlier attempts to achieve flight.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam