(3) K-3 Pout-Pout Fish Reader series. Illustrated by Isidre Monés. In Do It, Mr. Fish regrets turning down offers of artistic help from his aquatic pals. In Make a Friend, Mr. Fish has to figure out how to have a social life at school. The stories are satisfyingly rudimentary, and the illustrations, while simplified and slightly diluted, are otherwise faithful to Dan Hanna's original picture book scenes of plush-toy-like fish. Review covers these Pout-Pout Fish Reader titles: You Can Do It, Pout-Pout Fish! and You Can Make a Friend, Pout-Pout Fish!.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Pout-Pout Fish Reader series. Illustrated by Isidre Monés. In Do It, Mr. Fish regrets turning down offers of artistic help from his aquatic pals. In Make a Friend, Mr. Fish has to figure out how to have a social life at school. The stories are satisfyingly rudimentary, and the illustrations, while simplified and slightly diluted, are otherwise faithful to Dan Hanna's original picture book scenes of plush-toy-like fish. Review covers these Pout-Pout Fish Reader titles: You Can Do It, Pout-Pout Fish! and You Can Make a Friend, Pout-Pout Fish!.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Step into Reading series. Illustrated by Isidre Mones. Loosely following one fictional stingray, this text introduces newly independent readers to stingrays' hunting, birthing, and defense mechanisms, along with species variation, stingrays' (limited) threat to humans, and ongoing research. Photographs and drawings coexist uneasily, and a spread on petting stingrays at a particular aquarium feels out of place. Still, despite its awkward construction, the book is informative and accessible.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Isidre Monés. After Alexander gets sick from too many doughnuts, he vows to become an exemplary child. His attempts produce unbeknownst-to-him humor ("I use my napkin to wipe my mouth, not blow my nose"), but even fans of Alexander (of terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad-day fame) will find this story somewhat draggy. With his mostly black-and-white illustrations "in the style of Ray Cruz," Monés makes Alexander look like a believably imperfect kid.

Reviewer: Nell Beram