(2) PS Illustrated by Rich Deas. "Just FIVE more sleeps 'til Christmas. / Can you believe it's here? / I know that Santa's coming soon, / 'cause I've been good all year." The late-night comedy host's protagonist narrates five late nights in well-metered rhyme--how can anyone sleep when there are snowflakes to watch and toys to envision? The pajama-clad child paces frenetically through pages of spot illustrations, which alternate with full-bleed illustrations in night-blue tones. If the text is a smidge overlong and repetitive, there are worse ways to pass the time while you wait for sleep--and Christmas.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2020

(3) PS Illustrated by Rich Deas. "I love my thumb, I truly do. / It tastes of pears and carrot stew." A thumb-sucker's ode to her favorite digit admits her habit's downside ("You make it hard to run, / and beat a drum, / and eat a plum") but concludes with renewed commitment as the last tenderhearted illustration shows her asleep, thumb in mouth. When the rhymes are sappy, it's with winking awareness.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Rich Deas. A pompadoured rooster bored by the barnyard scene catches "a jitterbug," which launches a "Cock-a-Doodle DANCE!" that gets all the farm animals busting a move--and neglecting their work. Despite outward appearances (the caricaturish art is semi-grotesque), the snappy rhymes carry the message that work should be balanced by play (and vice versa).

Reviewer: Nell Beram