(3) K-3 Brand New Readers series. Illustrated by Akemi Gutierrez. Three bear cubs star in four stories that are not only easy to read (with the help of their introductory sections) but also entertaining. Readers will enjoy watching the bears jump, juggle, eat, and build. Each tale includes one short line of text per page, accompanied by colorful childlike illustrations that extend the story and make it more exciting.

Reviewer: Barbara Barstow

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Akemi Gutiérrez. This bilingual tale transcends its "Flip This Book!" gimmick to provide a sweet, but not overly sappy, take on family resemblances from both father/son and mother/daughter perspectives. The simply composed illustrations depict joyful scenes of everyday life; readers will find affirmations here about their place in a family: "Mom...says that she can see our whole family on my face."

Reviewer: Tim Wadham

(3) K-3 Brand New Readers series. Illustrated by Akemi Gutierrez. In four short stories, Brother Bear, Sister Bear, and Baby Bear go swimming, eat ice cream cones, play in the snow, and do the limbo. Each story includes a brief introductory summary and uses simple repetitive language. Amusing twists at the end lift them above the ordinary. The watercolor and ink illustrations are genial and uncluttered.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(4) PS Illustrated by Akemi Gutierrez. A young boy befriends an elephant at an animal park, where they compare their bodies and other facts, including how they spend their time, what they weighed at birth, and (a guaranteed preschool crowd-pleaser) where they "pee and poop." Some of the information may be beyond the ken of the book's intended audience, but much will prove interesting, and the cartoonlike gouache illustrations are appealing.

Reviewer: Hilary Breed Van Dusen

(3) PS Illustrated by Akemi Gutierrez & Akemi Gutierrez. In this rhyming text accompanied by sprightly gouache paintings, a little girl observes all kinds of animals taking their naps, from penguins in the snow to koalas in their eucalyptus trees. With her faithful puppy, she follows the animals from sea to desert to farm and back to home where she finds the best bed of all--a parent's lap on a cozy couch. The many animals that she finds in the book are seen as toys, scattered around her living room.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt