(2) PS Illustrated by Jarvis. A tired penguin perched atop the head of a gentle, goofy lion wants some sleep, but the lion is wide awake: "Tell me a story, Penguin." Penguin, whose eyes are barely open, promises a story later and falls asleep. Bright digital illustrations convey Penguin's detailed dream world in gauzy bursts of color, contrasting with the stark white backgrounds of consciousness when a loud noise startles Penguin awake. Lion feigns innocence ("Oh, Penguin! Are you awake?"), but the page-turn reveals Lion sitting behind a betraying drum set. The situation escalates: Penguin keeps falling asleep, Lion keeps interfering -- crunching on a loud snack, bouncing on a trampoline. The art deftly moves the story (all in dialogue with alternating font colors for the two characters) between dreams and reality. The animated Lion, eagerly prodding for more dream details ("Sounds magical! Tell me every little thing"), makes a funny and irresistible foil to the exhausted, frustrated Penguin. In the end, Penguin relents and tells Lion a story...about a sleepy penguin who tells a lion a story. Lion declares this story lazy, but it does the trick. Lion falls asleep, and the two friends share rainbow dreams of puppies, unicorns, and candy together at last. This contentious going-to-sleep sequence between two appealing characters has all the right ingredients for sharing aloud, whether it is time for bed or simply time for a story.

Reviewer: Julie Roach | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

(2) PS Illustrated by Jarvis. In this upbeat picture book, a rhyming text and soft, evocative mixed-media illustrations follow a (seemingly interracial) family as they bring home pumpkins from a farm, clean and prepare them, design and carve them, and finally light the finished jack-o'-lanterns. The book has a pleasantly old-fashioned vibe, though with carefully incorporated modern-day safety precautions: adults cut the pumpkins' tops off; kids use plastic saws.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2019

(4) PS Illustrated by Jarvis. Insisting "I'm in charge!", a defiant, naughty rhino learns about the importance of kindness in this rhyming Aesop-like parable. When a herd of wildebeests teach Rhino what it's like to be on the receiving end of someone else's thoughtlessness, the message to be considerate toward others is hammered home. Jarvis's candy-colored digital illustrations have an energy equal to Rhino's mischief.

Reviewer: Erica Wetter

(2) PS Illustrated by Jarvis. "Pick a pine tree / from the lot-- / slim and tall / or short and squat." So begins this picture-book enumeration of the jolly steps involved in turning a tree into a Christmas tree. Toht's rhyming text is greatly illuminated by Jarvis's mixed-media illustrations, which imbue each step in the process with holiday warmth and capably capture that Christmas-decorations glow.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2017

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jarvis. A penguin family headed to a picnic accidentally winds up at the North Pole. A polar bear escorts them home--stopping in Italy, India, and elsewhere along the way. The book, which has a subtle (and timely) it's-a-small-world message, features funny whine-asides from the penguin kids ("I need to pee") and toothsome art with colors adjusted for each locale.

Reviewer: Nell Beram