(3) K-3 I Can Read Book series. Illustrated by Marylin Hafner. Coping with chilly weather, making and receiving valentines, enjoying chocolate hearts, and more are topics featured in these fourteen easy-to-read Valentine's Day poems. Prelutsky's humor and warmth come through in each selection. Newly independent readers will welcome this holiday collection, which includes Hafner's equally amusing illustrations.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(2) K-3 I Can Read Book series. Illustrated by Marylin Hafner. Getting underwear, contracting the mumps, and caroling with your tone-deaf family are three unfortunate scenarios featured in this easy-reader-format collection of Christmas poems. Each is witty, silly, and entertaining, and many pack punch lines with surprising, satisfying twists. The verses are now accompanied by Hafner's equally amusing illustrations, which animate the words for an extra kick of humor.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2008

(2) PS Illustrated by Marylin Hafner. This story follows a loving family as they prepare for and celebrate Hanukkah. Candle lighting, special foods, gifts, games, and songs are shared. A brief explanation of the history of the holiday and of some terms is included. This paper-over-board edition with die-cut cover is slightly different from the original picture book version.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc. | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 1991

(3) K-3 I Can Read Book series. Illustrated by Marylin Hafner. From pre-Thanksgiving school projects and going to Grandma's for dinner, to hoping for a wishbone wish and post-Thanksgiving leftover blues, twelve easy-to-read poems capture the spirit of the holiday. Prelutsky's wit and strong sense of rhythm come across on every page; this edition features new lively illustrations by the book's original illustrator.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Marylin Hafner. Clyde has no interest in team sports, so he worries about the upcoming Sports Spectacular until his friend Rosemary explains that he can participate as an individual in freestyle tumbling. As in his previous books, Clyde successfully overcomes an elementary school problem. Hafner's expressive illustrations are just right for this cheerful, likable exploration of competition and sportsmanship.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Marylin Hafner. Represented in this zippy gathering of short poems are many well-known contemporary poets, including Eve Merriam, Lucille Clifton, X. J. Kennedy, Dennis Lee, Aileen Fisher, and Valerie Worth. The overall tone is appealingly lighthearted and playful, and the poems' brevity makes most easy to memorize. Colorful, ebullient illustrations adorn every page and capture the spirit of the verse.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(1) 4-6 Illustrated by Marylin Hafner. Light domestic fiction gets a postmodern twist: inviting readers into psychic collaboration ("If you put one finger on each temple and concentrate...Wait! I hear readers!"), Horvath spins deliciously silly stories about a family rivaling Hale's Peterkins for foolishness and Cresswell's Bagthorpes for effervescent wit. Hafner's line drawings visualize the shenanigans with comic amiability.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2004

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Marylin Hafner. When Lucille's older brother and sister take off on an enviable camping trip with Dad, Lucille protests and then pouts. Later, when she and Mom create a makeshift camp in the living room and have their own great adventure, Lucille realizes that disappointment can lead to unexpected satisfaction. This easy reader is illustrated with amusing pictures of Lucille's pig family.

Reviewer: Betty Carter

(3) PS Illustrated by Marylin Hafner. Lucille prepares a ballet performance for her family on her fourth birthday and the show comes off beautifully, to the surprise of her other siblings. Lasky convincingly portrays both Lucille's pre-birthday excitement and her brother and sister's annoying attitude of superiority transformed into admiration. Hafner's illustrations of the porcine family are light and cheerful in this realistic, funny story.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(4) 1-3 Illustrated by Marylin Hafner. Told in six short chapters, these contemporary tall tales center around the effects of "a no-account little tornado" on a group of animals from Barefoot Mountain, including the fantastic Sidehill Clinger and J. J. Jones, a harmonica-playing pig. The well-paced illustrations are playful if unremarkable. The narrative moves well, and the dialogue is lively.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Marylin Hafner. Little Lucille hates her snowsuit and wants to dress like her older brother and sister. Readers will empathize with Lucille's difficulties in donning her suit (she mistakenly puts her boots on first and then gets stuck), but the text belabors Lucille's problem past the point of amusement, and her petulance quickly becomes annoying. However, Hafner's light, colorful drawings of the pig family are comical.

Reviewer: Anne St. John

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Marylin Hafner. When their bean plants die, Clyde and Rosemary need a science project in a hurry. Hoping the tooth fairy won't mind, they design an experiment with their own newly fallen-out baby teeth: they stain them with tea, strawberry Jell-O, and grape juice. Readers will applaud these resourceful rabbits who are willing to make a sacrifice "for science." The watercolor and ink illustrations are full of humor and familiar details.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Marylin Hafner. Clyde worries that he cannot think of anything interesting for show-and-tell, but finally decides on a soft fuzzy "mystery" ball he finds in the basement. The ball turns out to be an egg sack, and to everyone's delight 244 spiders hatch and float out the classroom window. This is a story that many elementary school children can relate to--both Clyde's fears and the students' pleasure at the surprise are realistic. Hafner's signature bunnies add humor.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) K-3 Frannie is dubious when a neighbor, Mrs. Teplitzky, volunteers to play the evil Haman, but the family Purim play is a rousing success. The older woman is an actress and becomes Frannie's new friend. The lively text, matched with colorful illustrations, aptly tells the story of the holiday and a tale of friendship between generations.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(3) K-3 Relatives pour into the house to participate in the Passover Seder. Magic is provided by the occasion and by Uncle Harry, a magician whose timing is just right. The lively cartoon-style illustrations in color capture the chaos and the caring. Appended is a summary of the Passover story and a list of the Four Questions asked by the youngest child at the Seder.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.