(3) PS Illustrated by Christine Grove. "Today is Friday. On Fridays I wait...and wait...and wait." A boy eagerly anticipates the arrival of Shabbat as his family members grocery shop, buy flowers, do laundry, and cook. Finally, when the sun goes down and everyone sits down for a festive meal, "Shabbat is here." The cheery illustrations depict a perpetually smiling, interracial family enjoying their holiday preparations.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Christine Grove. Kindergartner Amanda (Amanda Panda Quits Kindergarten) has big birthday plans, so she's very annoyed when best friend Bitsy steals the spotlight with her birthday the day before. The two pandas stop speaking to each other until--to everyone's satisfaction--they decide to combine their parties. Expressive illustrations of Amanda and her classmates and plenty of entertaining visual details add humor to this realistic friendship dilemma.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Christine Grove. Amanda Panda ambitiously plans to be a star on the first day of kindergarten. Her plans go awry--annoying classmate Bitsy seems to be getting all the attention--so Amanda quits kindergarten. But when Bitsy gets lost searching for her, Amanda has a satisfying change of heart. The amiable school story features amusing illustrations of expressive panda characters in spiffy first-day-of-school clothes.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert