(4) K-3 Poetry Builders series. Illustrated by Patrick Girouard. These how-to poetry books focus on friends writing poems together. The stories, though contrived, clearly present the characteristics of each form. Teachers will find the volumes useful for making poetry accessible to students. A few helpful writing exercises are appended to each story. Colorful but undistinguished illustrations show a multicultural cast of enthusiastic young writers. Reading list, websites. Glos. Review covers these Poetry Builders titles: Connor and Clara Build a Concrete Poem, Nina and Nolan Build a Nonsense Poem, Rena and Rio Build a Rhyme, Penelope and Pip Build a Prose Poem, Henry and Hala Build a Haiku, Luke and Leo Build a Limerick, Ana and Adam Build an Acrostic, and Sophie and Sadie Build a Sonnet.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Patrick Girouard. Taking off from the famous old lady's predicament, this book describes the digestive process in verse that quickly loses its rhythm. Accompanying prose explains very basic physiology and anatomy. Bright, full-page cartoons follow the increasingly distressed (and digested) fly to the final flush. Two pages of questions add quirky trivia.

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(4) K-3 Rookie Reader series. Illustrated by Patrick Girouard. Mara's brother claims that "carousels don't go anywhere, but Mara [knows] better"--while riding one, she imagines herself as a queen, a circus star, and the leader of a parade. Though its story isn't all that exciting, the book's short sentences and bright cartoon illustrations are well suited to its young audience.

Reviewer: Jackie C. Horne

(3) K-3 A young girl narrates in breezy rhyme how a louse searched for a new home, found one on the girl's head, and was soon discovered and evicted. A subtext provides information about lice, their life cycle, and cures for infestation. The light tone, cartoonlike illustrations, and straight facts combine to help readers deal with lice, and a doctor's foreword reassures grossed-out grownups.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.