(1) K-3 Illustrated by Hanna Cha. In this picture book set in 1950, Kyung lives with her family in a seaside house in the southeastern Korean coastal city of Busan. As the North Korean and Chinese militaries push south, many families begin to flee toward Busan. Kyung's parents take several of these refugees in, giving them shelter and safety. The girl shares her home, food, parents' attention, and sleeping mat, which she tolerates but becomes increasingly annoyed about. She eventually learns grace and perspective: "visitors are not stones we can toss into the sea. They are people, our neighbors, to help and to love." Cha's illustrations pay exquisite attention to the beauty of the seaside landscape, using color to intensify the experience of being near the ocean. Vibrant greens and blues swirl, producing the feeling of an ever-moving sea, while wheaty shades of tan create sand and scrub, all of which contrast with the darkness of a makeshift air raid shelter where women and children hide. This gorgeously illustrated book contains beautiful turns of phrase and metaphors ("we sat like two quiet hills, the breeze combing through our hair"). It's a touching homage to the author's own grandparents' heroism, which also offers rare insight into complex feelings about personal sacrifice and witnessing the suffering of others. A glossary is appended, and author and illustrator notes provide historical context.

Reviewer: Julie Hakim Azzam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

(2) PS Illustrated by Hanna Cha. This warm-hearted playground-set concept book focuses on circles and on counting from one to ten. "One circle...bounces! Two circles...roll!" Warm-toned, digitally colored ink illustrations depict a child bouncing a basketball and another cycling up on a two-wheeler. More friends appear, each shown with a circular or spherical item. Some of these items are toted (hula hoops, flying discs), some are built into the playscape (climbing rings, sprinkler heads), and all are intended for cooperative enjoyment. After we get to ten circles--in the form of festively decorated cookies--the count returns to the beginning. The children join hands as "one circle gathers. One circle opens. One circle grows. Circle Round." The message of inclusion, underscored by the illustrations' casual diversity in characters' skin tones, ethnicities, genders, and abilities, is clear for very young children--all of whom would likely be welcomed enthusiastically into this circle of friends.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2021

(3) PS Illustrated by Dan Hanna. In Mr. Fish's eighth picture-book outing, he discovers "a big...BIG...MESS" in his beloved ocean. The fish community's solution? "They gathered up the garbage / With the help of everyone. / They worked hard to fix and remedy / The damage that they'd done." As always, Diesen supplies tight rhymes; Hanna's visual gags (e.g., one fish wearing discarded snack packaging) lighten the environmental message.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) PS Illustrated by Dan Hanna. A sleepless Mr. Fish takes various underwater friends' (at times zany) advice for falling asleep but manages to catch a few winks only after listening to Miss Shimmer's entreaty to "trust yourself as a guide." Like the other Pout-Pout books, this one is a coping manual doubling as a picture book fueled by airtight rhymes and clever illustrations featuring a cast of Muppet-like sea creatures.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) PS Illustrated by Dan Hanna. Mr. Fish and friends are playing at the park when suddenly, "The shark showed his teeth, / And he growled as he swam. / 'Move aside, micro-fishies! / It's my turn. SCRAM!'" Mr. Fish's eventual response defangs the shark implausibly easily, but six Pout-Pout books in, there's still impressive bite in Diesen's rhymes. As always, Hanna's adorable cast conjures aquatic Muppets.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) PS Illustrated by Dan Hanna. While on his first-ever vacation, Mr. Fish finds that nothing goes according to plan: he hits an underwater detour, finds his snack bag empty, etc. Happily, at every crisis point a fellow sea creature offers help; finally, Mr. Fish helps himself. With this fifth Pout-Pout book, neither Diesen's irreproachable rhymes nor Hanna's detailed illustrations show signs of water damage.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) PS Illustrated by Dan Hanna. In this outing, Mr. Fish races to find perfect gifts for his friends. Brief rhyming text with a repeated refrain gives the predictable Christmas message that thoughtful handmade gifts mean more than those bought in a frenzied shopping spree. Hanna's cartoony illustrations show an underwater world populated with fantastic, expressive sea creatures busily shopping for products such as "Scale Polish" and "Blackbeard's Other Beard."

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Dan Hanna. In Mr. Fish's latest rhymed tale, he reflects on his first experience at school, where he had to try several different classrooms before he found the right one (marked "Brand-new fish"). Hanna comes through with illustrations of the unlikely hero--just look at the pitiful/hilarious one of an upside-down school-age Mr. Fish trying to negotiate a mind-melting math problem.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Animal Planet: My Life in the Wild series. Illustrated by Gary Hanna. A young emperor penguin relates the story of its life, from egg to egg-keeper ("After laying our egg, my partner sets off on her long trek back to our feeding ground..."). The text is easy to follow, with accessible vocabulary and an engaging narrative voice. Accompanying digital-looking illustrations are lifelike and vivid. Additional facts and a quiz are appended. Glos.

Reviewer: Pearl Higgins

(3) PS Illustrated by Dan Hanna. Despite his fear of the dark, Mr. Fish ventures into the ocean's black depths in search of Ms. Clam's missing pearl. Encouraged in his pursuit by unseen supporters, the fish learns that friends can help you be brave. A lilting rhyme and expressive cartoon illustrations invite contemplation, allowing readers to search for hidden clues and details within the drawings and text.

Reviewer: Ashleigh Finn

(3) PS Illustrated by Dan Hanna. "I'm a pout-pout fish / With a pout-pout face, / So I spread the dreary-wearies / All over the place." Such is Mr. Fish's resigned explanation to the other sea animals for his round-the-clock gloom. The all-you-need-is-love ending is a kick, the rhymes are faultless, and the immensely satisfying illustrations call to mind sea life as interpreted by Jim Henson.

Reviewer: Nell Beram