(2) K-3 Illustrated by Jake Parker. Two weeks before Christmas, the elves are expecting to do a quick tune-up on Santa's sleigh...but someone has totaled the thing. The gear-loving elves have a contest to see who can provide The Big Man with a souped-up replacement. Rinker's rhyming text revels in imaginative detail, and Parker's digitally colored brush-pen illustrations are up to the task.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2017

(4) 4-6 Patrick Griffin and the Three Worlds series. Illustrated by Jake Parker. Patrick's siblings investigate his whereabouts after his kidnapping from Earth and a subsequent visit from a talking jackalope. This second adventure (Patrick Griffin's Last Breakfast on Earth) takes off from there, switching both worlds and viewpoints multiple times (sometimes confusingly). Advanced technology, a dystopian alternate world, and some truly gruesome villains should keep pages turning, but the humor can feel misplaced contrasted with the impending annihilation.

Reviewer: Renée Wheeler

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jake Parker. Goblin and Troll each believes that he is the grossest creature in the forest. After asking passersby to settle the matter, the two seem equally matched until a little girl unexpectedly trumps them both. The characters' antics as they try to outdo each other will appeal to fans of gross-out humor, while the digitally colored ink drawings lend lively cartoon energy to the proceedings.

Reviewer: Russell Perry

(3) PS Illustrated by Jake Parker. A little snowplow gets no respect from the other trucks: "'Ha!' said the dump truck. 'You've never even seen snow!'" But when a blizzard hits, it's the little snowplow to the rescue. Koehler's text features kid-pleasing vehicle sound effects. In Parker's cartoony illustrations, the trucks' facial expressions say it all: the big trucks' contempt and eventual gratitude, our hero's determination and triumph.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jake Parker. Unwilling to part with his baby teeth, Nathan tucks them away in some tricky hiding spots. A by-the-book (and increasingly exasperated) tooth fairy finds them all, but the last tooth's concealment (among the rocks in the tarantula's tank) has her packing for vacation. Comical illustrations in muted nighttime hues depict the clever inventiveness of each side in this contest of wills.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jake Parker. A hairbrush-spurning girl discovers that mice have taken up residence in her tresses. This cautionary tale is soft-edged: it's her teacher's "only one friend for naptime" policy that finally convinces the girl to have a "calm talk" with her tiny tenants, whom she has good-naturedly tolerated. Parker cleverly shows the mice using the hair for a volleyball court, as a cinema, etc.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Jake Parker. This alphabetical tour of apple science and customs sometimes strains for facts, resulting in the uninspired "E is for Eating" and "K is for Kitchen." Some explanations--like the importance of pollen and what characterizes a fruit--are elucidating; more advanced terms (deciduous; grafting) may confuse young readers. The animal characters are superfluous but cute. Apple-related activities, jokes, and expressions are appended.

Reviewer: Lela Nargi

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Jake Parker. Broad-shouldered, square-chinned Awesome Man has awesome powers and an awesome dog sidekick. But he still needs to relax and refuel after a hard day battling evil. There's some satisfaction after the one-note story line reveals Awesome Man's alter ego (a little boy). Rich-hued 1950s-comic-style art includes subtle clues to the story's twist.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden