(3) PS Illustrated by Valeria Petrone. Blue Boat, "a rough, tough tugboat," is the only vessel tough enough to brave the rough seas to save a family stranded on a sailboat during a nor'easter. An energetic text consists of simple rhymes, sound effects, and occasional nautical terms. Retro digital illustrations in blues and grays capture the stormy scene. Refreshingly, our hero's captain is a woman.

Reviewer: Miriam Steinberg-Egeth

(3) PS Illustrated by Valeria Petrone. Children watch as their teacher is stuck at the top of a Ferris wheel at the fair. When cranes can't reach and planes fly right by, it's shiny new Yellow Copter to the rescue. Retro digital illustrations, with bold colors set against pale blue-gray skies, and minimal rhyming text peppered with helicopter sounds ("WHUP WHUP WHUP") will engage preschool audiences.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(3) PS Illustrated by Valeria Petrone. Two young brothers play pirates, cheerfully avoiding naps by looting, fighting a purple monster (a.k.a. baby sister), and seeking treasure. Vibrant digital gouache illustrations and a smooth-sailing rhyming text feature nine basic colors as the boys chase and plunder. As a concept book, colors play a distant second fiddle to imaginative play, but the energetic story has appeal.

Reviewer: Bethany Templeton Klem

(3) PS Illustrated by Valeria Petrone. Flush! Zip! Close the door! Potty trainees have lots to remember, and these humorous reminders in rhyme offer help. Parents can dip right in and address a pertinent problem, whether the listener is like Wilma, who waits too long, or like Arnold, who doesn't lift the seat. Cartoonish animals demonstrate each toilet faux pas.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(3) PS Illustrated by Valeria Petrone. A boy tells of his trip to the zoo with Grandpa, "my favorite guy." In a chipper rhyming text, grandfather and grandson count the animals they see, from one black bear to five penguins to ten "hairy wart hogs." The richly colored digital gouache illustrations feature smiling animals and the two zoo visitors having a special day together.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(2) PS Illustrated by Valeria Petrone. Rain falls, snow melts, mud spatters the road, and a school bus is stranded. Red Truck (who's "a work truck, not a show truck") pulls with all its might and tows the bus to safety. Chunky figures in bold colors stand out against the gray winter's day. The straightforward, action-packed text contains enough zooming and vrooming for young listeners to join in.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2008

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Valeria Petrone. Four-year-old Horris is unusually large for his age. Perplexed, Horris's parents send him to get a job. Despite his size, Horris realizes that he is better at little kids' activities, such as playing and snacktime. Though Horris looks more big-headed than big-bodied, the digitally rendered, retro-looking illustrations accompanying this tale are appealing.

Reviewer: Carrie Harasimowicz Sullivan

(3) K-3 Brand New Readers series. Illustrated by Valeria Petrone. In four brief stories, Fish gets dizzy swimming in circles; enjoys hide-and-seek with Frog; makes faces in a mirror; and joins Frog in a jumping game. As with other books in the series, each repetitive mini-story has an amusing, sometimes unexpected ending that rewards the efforts of very new readers. Simple, uncluttered illustrations with droll-looking characters complete the pleasing package.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) PS Illustrated by Valeria Petrone. Luther, a pet triceratops, is nervous on Halloween despite his jaunty pirate costume, but he comes to the rescue when a boy dressed as Dracula starts stealing kids' treats. Young listeners will enjoy the joke, and the flat, retro-style paintings reinforce the comic story by making the dinosaur decidedly unscary and cute.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke

(3) PS Illustrated by Valeria Petrone. In a pleasingly bouncy and repetitive chant, a boy goes looking for deep-sea treasure. First he spies a sea horse. "Hello, sea horse. / Giddy-up, sea horse. / See you later, sea horse. / Swim away." Then he sees a crab, a starfish, and numerous other sea animals. After finding treasure, he surfaces, and the bright, digital illustrations show he's really in his bathtub.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(4) K-3 Step into Reading series. Illustrated by Valeria Petrone. "'Tick tock,' goes a clock. 'Chug, chug,' goes a tug. A train calls, 'Choo choo!' A baby cries, 'Boo-hoo!'" Bo asks his dog, Pal, to speak up, but Pal remains quiet until faced with a cat. The short, stilted sentences are sometimes nonsensical, but the rhyme and picture clues will be helpful to newly emergent readers. Children just sounding out words will have success with this book.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(4) K-3 MathStart series. Illustrated by Valeria Petrone. When his ducks double in number, a young cowboy needs twice as much hay to make the birds' nests, twice as many sacks to carry their food, and so on. While the story is bland, it's a serviceable introduction to the concept of doubling. Bright, exaggerated illustrations feature a freckle-faced cowpoke in an oversize Stetson and chubby ducks with extra-long bills. Related math activities are appended.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(3) PS Illustrated by Valeria Petrone. In rhyming, rhythmic text, tiger cub Peter searches for just the right "sunny, sumptuous pumpkin" in which to carve a "simply dimply, dumply face." The warm, bold illustrations perfectly suit this simple jack-o'-lantern tale. There are no other specific references to Halloween, making this a good choice for those celebrating the season rather than the holiday.

Reviewer: Susan Halperin

(3) K-3 Early Step into Reading series. Illustrated by Valeria Petrone. Using repetition and rhyme, Haskins creates a silly, forty-word story for beginning readers. Ducks swimming in muck are captured by men with trucks; the trucks, however, get stuck in the muck, and the captives are rescued when newly arrived ducks release them from their cages. "Good-bye, trucks in muck!" Uncluttered illustrations in bright colors help a great deal with the storytelling.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Valeria Petrone. This anthology--which includes both original tales and spirited retellings of such favorites as "The Little Mermaid" and "The Frog Prince"--explores different kinds of love. Zestfully illustrated, each story ends with a sometimes clichéd aphorism ("Love is learning to give" or "Love hurts"), which undercuts the sometimes subtle tale.

Reviewer: Emma Loy-Santelli