(4) PS Illustrated by Kim Howard. "A is for the Angel / Who is watching over me. / B is for Believing / In the things I cannot see." Alphabetic rhyming couplets sometimes stumble in meter, and the batik-style illustrations are so busy with colors, patterns, and textures that the figures often get lost in the background, but this religious-themed alphabet book features a nice mix of moral values, faith-based cosmology, and a light touch.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(4) PS Illustrated by Kim Howard. In simple rhyming couplets, a young boy says good night to God and a few of God's creations as he heads home with his dad and prepares for bed. It is often hard to distinguish the figures from the background in the busy, patterned illustrations, but the sentiments of this gentle bedtime book come through with purity and grace.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Kim Howard. Pico the parrot sometimes helps his owner Rosa, who is hard of hearing, but he isn't above using her partial deafness to pull a prank. Rosa, however, loves him despite his naughtiness. The Spanish names and the brilliantly colored illustrations suggest a tropical Latin American setting. Some pages require extra scrutiny, because the objects aren't always immediately distinguishable from the background.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert