(3) PS Illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith. In this companion to The Goodnight Train, a sprinkling of "dream dust" sends three children to sleep as the train pulls out of the station. "Chugga! Chugga! /  Shhhhhhh! Shhhhhhh!" Purple- and blue-toned illustrations depict the rhythmic bedtime story's dreamy images, including sheep, a pillow fight, dreams, and a closing lullaby. Two vertical spreads provide interesting perspective.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith. Little Red Hot, her sick Grandma, and conniving wolf Señor Lobo star in this Texas version of "Little Red Riding Hood." Red Hot has a weakness for chili peppers, and it's with her hot pepper pie that the scheming wolf gets his comeuppance. Warm-hued mixed-media illustrations add dashes of humor to this slapstick retelling with a distinct Southwestern flair.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(3) PS Illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith. The extended version of the classic nursery rhyme ("And so the Teacher turned him out, / but still he lingered near...") is here presented, broken up by page-turns in an accessible way. Caricaturish acrylic, gouache, and fabric collage illustrations (assembled digitally) have lots of verve; the rosy-cheeked ovine and his snub-nosed girl cavort all across the pages.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith. A baby in utero addresses the reader, countering her mother's stock answers ("The baby's sleeping," "The baby's eating") to the persistent question "What's the baby doing?" The layouts may confuse some kids: outsize illustrations from the baby's perspective ("I wasn't eating. How can you eat when you are playing baseball?") face "real-life" family scenes.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith. While the Clearwater family is heading West, Granny and "Little Critter" are thrown from the wagon and must find their way back, surviving by Granny's wits. Employing tongue-in-cheek Western twang and vocabulary, Holt seems more interested in introducing readers to a time and place in America's past than in telling a story--a problem offset somewhat by the tall-tale-teasing art.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith. "Mike and Conrad, Conrad and Mike" are inseparable pals--until brash new student Victor arrives, and suddenly Conrad seems to have forgotten all about Mike. But Victor's poor sportsmanship during recess opens Conrad's eyes to what it really means to be a best friend. The story is embellished with exuberant cartoonlike acrylics and jazzy typography.

Reviewer: Cindy Lombardo

(3) PS Illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith. The familiar song is reworked with a few twists. Vibrant mixed-media illustrations depict a bus literally bursting with life and mischief, as the chaos with each new passenger (librarian, coach, nurse, lunch ladies) builds over page turns. Details, such as the driver's unorthodox control panel and secret identity, await discovery upon rereading.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross

(3) PS Illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith. All shined up and ready to go, the Goodnight Train leaves the station pulling beds of tucked-in children. The train chugs up a hill, through a tunnel, and over a bridge to Dreamland. The highly detailed and imaginative mixed-media illustrations in deep blues and greens reflect the excitement and wonder of the journey, and the rhythmic text will lull sleepy listeners.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith. Since she was a baby, Violet has loved making music, but it takes her until late childhood to find kindred spirits (they become her band mates). The writing has punch, but it's implausible that any kid nowadays would have trouble meeting other music fanatics. Meanwhile, Huliska-Beith's art has the perkiness and pizzazz of a good pop song.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith. After misplacing her hat, the distractible Aunt Lucy goes shopping for a new one but ends up buying other things instead, including a cat and a bed. Luckily the cat manages to retrieve Aunt Lucy's old hat, and all is well. Zany illustrations depicting Aunt Lucy with a beehive hairdo lend energy to this comical rhyming tale.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) PS Illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith. "Chewy-gooey bubble gum, / Icky-sticky bubble gum / Melting in the road." This rollicking, tongue-twisting rhyme notes the progression of animals that get themselves stuck in the enticing pink puddle and then have to chew like mad so they can blow a communal bubble and lift above an oncoming truck. Bold acrylic paintings in summertime colors depict the whole delicious mess.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith. When Mommy asks, "What was your favorite thing today?" Matthew tells wild tales of elephants, supersonic cars, and tyrannosaurus squirrels. But his story ends with his most favorite thing of all: hugging Mommy. Though confusing at times, the erratic story line captures the quality of a young child's imagination. Colorful illustrations bring Matthew's silly, creative world to life.

Reviewer: Marika Hoe

(3) 4-6 Poetry for Young People series. Illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith. Beginning with a succinct, analytical introduction to the life of Lear, the volume then presents some of his best-known work, including the nonsense poems "The Owl and the Pussy-cat" and "The Jumblies," as well as a fistful of limericks that begin with the line "There was an Old Man...." Brightly colored, whimsical illustrations nicely complement the humor and energy of the poems.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(4) PS Illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith. After his cat, Pistachio, disappears, Ned begins hunting: "And so he started out to look / Straight through the pages of this book." Each busy collage illustration contains an oversize page number and graphic references to that number: for example, page four features four-leaf clovers and a golfer shouting "Four!" The illustrations occasionally don't include details mentioned in the clever rhyming text.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith. Mean Jean rules the schoolyard until a feisty, diminutive newcomer, Katie Sue, invites her to help break in a new jump rope, and the bully learns that being a tyrant is overrated. Though the rhyme is irregular, the language in this manic democracy lesson is lively ("she'd push 'em and smoosh 'em, / lollapaloosh 'em"), and Huliska-Beith uses acrylics and collage to capture the power struggles from appropriately lofty perspectives.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Road to Reading series. Illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith. Pepe and Papa set off to the market with their burro carrying a basket of chiles. Then they see a boy riding a burro and rearrange their configuration. Now Pepe rides the burro, and Papa carries the basket of chiles on his head. They rearrange a few times until: "Papa in bushes. Pepe in basket. Chiles in burro. Oh, oh!" This beginning reader features a simple, somewhat dull sixteen-word text and warm illustrations.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty