(4) K-3 Illustrated by Rhode Montijo. Benny the bull shark is a bully without any friends. When Benny demands friendship from Janice Jellyfish, the wise invertebrate takes him to Friend School. Watercolor, pen-and-ink, and digital cartoons show well-meaning Benny's humorous misunderstanding of rules such as "#2: a friend always tells the truth" ("My, Janice, you are an ugly jellyfish"). The slight friendship primer ends on a sweet note at graduation.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Rhode Montijo. Before Little League tryouts, rabbit Luis's papi tells him about some funny baseball superstitions. Luis soon connects his own baseball success with eating supermarket samples and relies on them to play well. Luis's dad declares, "Qué loco"--performing well comes from "practice and listening to your coach." Colorful acrylic-on-canvas illustrations capture Luis's dilemma. Spanish words are sprinkled throughout.

Reviewer: Carrie Harasimowicz Sullivan

(3) 1-3 Melvin Beederman Superhero series. Illustrated by Rhode Montijo. Melvin and his superhero crew leave LA for outer space when rogue aliens kidnap two of their own. Dorkily heroic as ever, Melvin splats, thuds, and kabonks his way to saving the day yet again, in a manner very similar to his seven previous efforts. The goofiness, reinforced by comics-style black-and-white illustrations, will tickle Melvin followers.

Reviewer: Betsy Murray

(4) 1-3 Melvin Beederman Superhero series. Illustrated by Rhode Montijo. Unlikely superhero Melvin Beederman chases a trio of bad guys back in time as they try to stop the Melvin of the past from becoming a superhero. Though the repetitive silliness of the series grows a bit tiresome, the story will likely elicit guffaws from fans. Comic-style illustrations continue to add to the series' humor.

Reviewer: Betsy Murray

(4) 1-3 Melvin Beederman Superhero series. Illustrated by Rhode Montijo. Pint-sized flying-impaired and X-ray-vision-burdened hero Melvin Beederman continues to protect LA from supervillains of all kinds--even valley girls. These bad-gals want to take over the city by kidnapping the mayor's dog, but the mayor is no innocent victim himself. Like the others in the series, this book embraces genre clichés for zany, formulaic fun.

Reviewer: Betsy Murray

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Rhode Montijo. Satch, Mo, and Ella (whose uncles are the Three Pigs) compose the Three Swingin' Pigs jazz trio. Big Bad Wolfie pursues them but instead discovers a love of music and joins the band. In a text accompanied by quirky, angular acrylic illustrations, the improvisational rhythm is appropriate to the jazzy theme but makes the story hard to follow, and the hepcat wordplay is overdone.

Reviewer: Mark Adam

(4) 1-3 Melvin Beederman Superhero series. Illustrated by Rhode Montijo. The adventures continue for Melvin and sidekick Candace as they fight the evildoers of LA. Melvin is off to Vegas for a convention and leaves Candace in charge, while a new batch of bad guys plot to steal her super powers. With repetition in language and plot, the series is formulaic but entertaining. Creative cartoon pencil-sketched illustrations add verve.

Reviewer: Betsy Murray

(4) 1-3 Melvin Beederman Superhero series. Illustrated by Rhode Montijo. The clumsy crusader is back to protect LA from dastardly evildoers. Aside from a new bad guy, this fourth book is much of the same: Melvin watches TV with his pet rat, Melvin can't fly until the fifth try, Melvin saves the day. Silly details help the plot rise above mere formula. Energetic comic-book-style sketches accompany the text.

Reviewer: Elizabeth Shaver

(4) 1-3 Melvin Beederman Superhero series. Illustrated by Rhode Montijo. Unlikely superhero Melvin Beederman returns in this third installment. A new evildoer, "Joe the Bad Guy," and his random scheme of making evil clones of the lead-singer of the title band, are all that differentiate this from the first two Beederman stories. Cheesy superhero conventions and jokes abound; sometimes they're even funny. Pencil-sketch illustrations add style and humor.

Reviewer: Elizabeth Shaver