(4) K-3 Illustrated by Jim Harris. Diminutive Saul tags along with three older knights to find a dragon. The others fall by the wayside, one by one, as they meet a shapeshifting wizard, enter a very dark wood, and encounter an ogre. It's ultimately the underestimated little knight who banishes the beast. The story, told in workmanlike rhyme, is accompanied by cartoonish (sometimes unpolished) illustrations befitting the humorous quest.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jim Harris. Swashbucklers, scallywags, and even a few sea serpents fill the pages of this collection of appealing doggerel. Perfect for dramatic readings, the poems are full of rollicking rhyme and alliteration. A comic cast of patch-eyed, bulbous-nosed pirates swagger and bumble their way through illustrations exaggerated to great humorous effect. Readers will be happy to set sail with these silly seafarers.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jim Harris. The classic folktale receives a regional treatment in this lively, rhythmic retelling. The main character makes a seemingly foolish choice to trade the family cow for a handful of supposedly magic beans. Humorous watercolor and pencil drawings capture the true personalities of Jacques, "MaMA," "dat man," "de lady," and the hungry and greedy giant. The Cajun-inflected verses make for an entertaining read-aloud. Glos.

Reviewer: Cindy Lombardo

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Jim Harris. In this familiar story set in the "south Loo-siana" bayou, the pigs confront an alligator instead of a wolf. Harris's cartoonish watercolor illustrations deftly capture the story's motion (one well-chosen double-page spread is set vertically, humorously forcing readers to turn the book). But the wordy rhyming text in Cajun dialect gets bogged down. Glos.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jim Harris. Carrying goodies like shrimp etouffeé and gumbo to Grand-mère, Petite Rouge Riding Hood, a duck, meets a hungry alligator, who says, "I'll get me dat food / an' dat li'l girl too!" Luckily, she outwits him, thanks to her cat and some hot sauce. Accompanied by action-packed, comical illustrations in watercolor and pencil, the dialect-laden verses make for good reading aloud.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert