(3) K-3 Illustrated by Amanda Haley. Combining playful narration and factual information, these volumes introduce readers to the details of their bones and senses. The formats are not identical: Bones catalogs the skeleton and the connections therein and includes X-ray images; Pickle features rhyming poems and questions for the reader as well as more variation in layout. In both, Haley's loose-lined watercolors balance the text and add humor. Review covers these titles: You Can't See Your Bones with Binoculars! and You Can't Taste a Pickle with Your Ear!.

Reviewer: Hannah Rodgers Barnaby

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Amanda Haley. This overview of space for young readers begins with the lunar basics and expands to include the history (and possible future) of space travel. Ziefert carries the playful tone through all four chapters, balancing factual information with poems and humorous turns of phrase. Haley's loose-lined watercolors add lightness and movement. A table of contents and discussion questions are included.

Reviewer: Hannah Rodgers Barnaby

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Amanda Haley. Combining playful narration and factual information, these volumes introduce readers to the details of their bones and senses. The formats are not identical: Bones catalogs the skeleton and the connections therein and includes X-ray images; Pickle features rhyming poems and questions for the reader as well as more variation in layout. In both, Haley's loose-lined watercolors balance the text and add humor. Review covers these titles: You Can't See Your Bones with Binoculars! and You Can't Taste a Pickle with Your Ear!.

Reviewer: Hannah Rodgers Barnaby

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by Amanda Haley. This cheerful story about a third grader who finds her talent, and then uses it to organize a band (and save the school's music program), will appeal to independent readers who like everyday, undemanding school stories with a peppy heroine. The happy ending ties everything up in a neat bow. Black-and-white wash illustrations break up the chapters. Ukelele-playing tips are appended.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by Amanda Haley. Daniel's third-grade class is hatching chicks for a science project, and in a twist of luck, he brings home all five. When Daniel and his siblings discover one chicken, Peepers, is really a rooster (which are illegal to keep), they create the Secret Chicken Society and devise various solutions to save him. Sporadic playful illustrations add to this enjoyable chapter book. Glos.

Reviewer: Julie Bartynski

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Amanda Haley. When Cami Lou and her family build Snowzilla, a colossal snowman, their creation becomes so famous that a judge condemns it for disturbing the peace. At Cami Lou's urging, the townspeople band together to move Snowzilla to a better location, and Cami Lou makes plans for more giant snow people next year. Cheerful illustrations full of smiling people complement the sprightly verse.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Amanda Haley. Princess Isabel's rudeness ruins her chance to marry eligible princes who later end up with well-known characters like Cinderella and Snow White. But don't expect Isabel to realize that there's more to life than bagging a prince: Metzger's cause is etiquette, not enlightenment. While not envelope-pushing, this fairy-tale spoof, bolstered by Haley's wacky art, is among the droller ones.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Amanda Haley. Maia and her monster best friend are both becoming big sisters, but they want things to stay "just the way they are." Even though, as expected, their new little sisters are disruptive, the friends find joy in caring for each other's baby sis. Complemented by playful acrylic and colored-pencil scenes, this story tenderly addresses the mixed emotions brought on by family change.

Reviewer: Sethany Rancier Alongi

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Amanda Haley. Lucy asks her parents to teach her to read and write--for a secret reason. Bright, unfailingly cheery illustrations show her learning how by drawing pictures and studying the labels her parents make. At the end, readers discover why Lucy is so industrious (it has to do with her misbehaving dog). There's not a lot of tension, but the story is pleasant enough.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by Amanda Haley. Nora isn't happy to be sharing her bedroom with boisterous cousin Ellie after Ellie's father loses his job and the family moves in with Nora's. Ellie misses her home and dogs but hides it with flashy bravado. A school genealogy project and a crisis in a storm lead the girls to appreciate one another in this satisfying family story.

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Amanda Haley. "All across the country, there are dances children do. / Different kinds in different towns, and you can learn them, too!" Peppy rhymes introduce readers to the Brooklyn Boogie, the Miami Mambo, and other dances (instructions provided). The text cumulatively is wearying, but the premise itself is diverting, as are the illustrations of the moving-and-grooving kids.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Amanda Haley. Timid dragon Spark joins the fire department to face his fear of flames. An act of heroism helps Spark banish that fear forever. Along the way he delivers some fire-safety tips, and budding firefighters will appreciate the technical information (though the one-note joke about a dragon afraid of fire cools as the book progresses). Bright, cartoonlike illustrations effectively mirror the cheerful text.

Reviewer: Bethany Templeton Klem

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Amanda Haley. In this cheerful book, Ehrlich gives interesting facts about mammal and bird births. Though the information is unsourced, readers learn a little about an assortment of animals including humans, chimpanzees, penguins, and mice. The nonfiction text is interrupted by breezy jingles that reinforce concepts. Bright cartoon drawings and a friendly font also make the book approachable.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Amanda Haley. Whimsical drawings and funny songs whose rhythms suggest familiar tunes add humor to the brief factual histories of several extinct and endangered animals. Dinosaurs grin, moas hatch, and a woolly mammoth wears a winter hat and scarf. Extinct quaggas and potoroos, and endangered manatees and Tasmanian devils dance along as the conservation theme unfolds in four chapters. Glos.

Reviewer: Paula M. Cairo

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Amanda Haley. Numbered job titles are paired with amiable pencil and watercolor portraits of a grandmother or a grandfather interacting with grandchildren: providing comfort after a bad dream ("1. security blanket"), defining a word for an aspiring reader ("32. dictionary"), etc. The grandparents occasionally look miffed, which may amuse the adults who are the real audience for these books. Review covers these titles: 40 Uses for a Grandpa and 41 Uses for a Grandma.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Amanda Haley. Numbered job titles are paired with amiable pencil and watercolor portraits of a grandmother or a grandfather interacting with grandchildren: providing comfort after a bad dream ("1. security blanket"), defining a word for an aspiring reader ("32. dictionary"), etc. The grandparents occasionally look miffed, which may amuse the adults who are the real audience for these books. Review covers these titles: 40 Uses for a Grandpa and 41 Uses for a Grandma.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 On Christmas Eve, a boy wishes that Santa could help trim his family's tree, eat dinner with them, read to him at bedtime, deliver his gifts by helicopter, and more. There's nothing especially fresh about the familiar give-and-take between mother and child, but the watercolor and line drawings add some zip and gentle humor.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) K-3 Smart about the Arts series. Illustrated by Amanda Haley. Ballet's beginnings in France, costumes, positions, and more are covered in the easy-to-read text accompanied by clear photographs and amusing illustrations. The fictional homework report frame of the text will appeal to students looking for an introduction to ballet, and even ballet enthusiasts may learn something new.

Reviewer: Lauren Rizzuto

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Amanda Haley & Amanda Haley. Drawing on the old song "Dem Bones," the human skeletal system is described. Use of the second person and repeated invitations to try to feel bones through skin involve readers. Illustrations combine cartoons and x-rays, highlighting the particular bone or joint featured in each spread. Pronunciation guides for some words (calcaneus, phalanges) would have been useful for the book's young readership.

Reviewer: Gail Hedges