(3) PS Illustrated by Pamela Paparone & Pamela Paparone. A romping text, accompanied by equally exuberant art, celebrates all things feline: "I like cats. / Thin cats, fat cats, / curl-up-in-my-hat cats. / White cats, black cats, / sneak-a-little-snack cats." The book can be enjoyed as a rollicking read-aloud, or readers can pause on each page to more closely examine the amusing details in the pictures.

Reviewer: Anne St. John

(4) PS Illustrated by Pamela Paparone. Although "Bernice loved to dance," a pink tutu and ballet shoes can't help this klutzy dancer. When a new student, Bertram, joins ballet class, his perfect pirouettes bore everyone except Bernice. She asks to be his partner for the recital and becomes Bertram's comic relief. The self-confidence theme overwhelms the simplicity of the portrayal of Bernice's desire to dance in this story illustrated with lively art.

Reviewer: Lauren Rizzuto

(3) PS Illustrated by Pamela Paparone. Brightly colored paintings illustrate this rhyming text about a school bus and its animal passengers. Preschoolers will find lots of amusing details in the art: such as the "sly, sly fox" stealing the bright pink wig off of the "pretty pig." The refrain, "riding the bus to school, to school, / riding the bus to school," keeps the cumulative tale moving along.

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(3) PS Illustrated by Pamela Paparone. In half of this split counting book, first one, then two, and up to ten dirty pigs climb into a tub and scrub until they're clean. Turn the book over, and "one clean pig gets out of the bath. / Two clean pigs drip water in their path" and so on. The stories work well together, and you can expect to be asked to flip it over and over so listeners can pore over the details in the illustrations.

Reviewer: Susan Halperin

(4) PS Harper Growing Tree series. A rhyming verse lists things babies do ("cry, wet, sleep, coo,") and hear ("songs, whispers, claps, and cheers"), among other things. The dark but colorful illustrations will have older-baby appeal and feature a multiethnic cast of babies/toddlers. The concept isn't simple enough, nor are the illustrations bright and bold enough to hold the attention of very young babies.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(4) Preschool Harper Growing Tree series. Two short poems are featured in four spreads each, requiring a flip of the book to switch from one to the next. The illustrations are filled with details and activities relevant to each subject, in a palette appropriate to its time of day: warm yellows and oranges for 'Wake Up' and cool blues and purples for 'Goodnight'. Somewhat gimmicky, but effective in conveying two important toddler times.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.