(2) K-3 Illustrated by Jennifer Plecas. A fly argues why he should be the science-class representative for insect life cycles instead of the overexposed butterfly. A skeptical classroom grills him about unsavory habits (garbage-eating, disease-spreading). Eventually convinced that "Flies rule!" they capture the fly for study, and he changes his tune. Cleverly skewering elements of the typical animal book, this take on insects is refreshing, amusing, and scientifically accurate. Bib., glos.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2015

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Jennifer Plecas. When the boys won't let Lulu play basketball, she issues a call around the world to host a grand "Basket Ball." Teams of dressed-up girls in "jerseys sequined for the fete" and "high-top heels" shoot hoops all day. The rhyming text doesn't always scan, but high energy carries the story. Ink, watercolor, and gouache illustrations marry girliness with jockishness. Glos.

Reviewer: Amy Kellman

(2) PS Illustrated by Jennifer Plecas. When the king orders rest for the good knight, his three young dragon friends join the vacation. Rather than enjoying relaxation, the good knight spends his time pleasing the trio. The familiar structure and refrains for listeners to repeat create a comfortable story. In the humorous illustrations, Plecas skillfully employs the simplest of black lines to indicate joy, irritation, contentment--and fatigue.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2011

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jennifer Plecas. "Ella Kazoo will not brush her frizz. / She cares not a bit how upset her mom is." Ella finally changes her tune the morning she wakes to find her hair creeping like kudzu around her bedroom. The premise may be fantastical, but readers--young and old--will recognize and relate to the parent/child power struggle. The gleeful illustrations star a confident, wild-maned spitfire.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Jennifer Plecas. A curly-haired girl dances across rich, creamy, well-designed pages as she describes in quick, snappy vignettes the many ways we express, feel, and sometimes question love. This sentimental offering isn't as saccharine as Joan Walsh Anglund's books or as original as Ruth Kraus's, but it's reminiscent of both.

Reviewer: Amy Lois Cohn

(2) PS Illustrated by Jennifer Plecas. The three lovable, childlike dragons from previous Good Knight books go to a ball. They promise to mind their manners--but "dragons will be dragons," and they can't resist mischief. Spot art shows each dragon contemplating the next thing that's going to get them all into trouble, a humorous device that has readers gleefully braced for the inevitable bad result.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2009

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jennifer Plecas. An ebullient little girl directly addresses readers in order to discuss the importance of manners. Small-scale ink and watercolor vignettes amplify the book's kid-friendly sensibility ("She used up all the [nail] polish. So I smudged her sparkle with my foot...I was sorry, mostly. So then it's a good thing to say...I'm sorry").

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(2) PS Illustrated by Jennifer Plecas. Baby keeps dancing with his stuffed animals instead of napping, so Mama and Papa give up, hauling out the fiddle to have the "best ol' polka-fest / In all of Arkansas!" The bright and bouncy rhyming text, lighthearted illustrations, and well-designed lift-the-flaps will appeal, as will the cheeky baby's flat-out refusal to stay in bed.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2004

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jennifer Plecas. When Harris's dog Zippy misbehaves one time too many, his family decides obedience school is the answer. Zippy learns all the commands but loses his zip. Now it is up to Harris to create a "Bad Dog School," to retrain him to be obedient and fun. The cheerful watercolor illustrations give Zippy and the family lots of personality.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(3) PS Illustrated by Jennifer Plecas. This simple but thorough introduction to baby behavior provides kid-friendly explanations. Topics include what and how babies eat, how they "talk" (and how to talk back to them), why babies cry (and what to do to help), and how babies play. The adults and kids in the colorful, cartoonlike art could be anyone--family, friends, caregivers--making the book useful for a variety of situations.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander

(4) 1-3 Illustrated by Jennifer Plecas. In Agapanthus's third adventure, she loses a tooth and makes a whistling sound that her father calls an "angel hoot." When her dog sings along, Agapanthus takes him to school for a show-and-tell duet. Agapanthus is more engaging than she was in her first book, but the author's note and the text's references to "good little Daddy" and "good little Mommy" are cutesy and condescending.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(3) K-3 I Can Read Book series. Illustrated by Jennifer Plecas & Jennifer Plecas. In this third installment in the series, Max wants a dog, but his big sister Emma is allergic to fur. A lizard is a good compromise, and caring for the new pet brings the siblings closer while sensitively resolving issues of Max's own status as a new, adopted family member. Both subject matter and writing are on target, and simply drawn, expressive characters gently guide the fledgling reader.

Reviewer: Amanda Sullivan

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Jennifer Plecas. The Good Knight (Good Night, Good Knight) hears a sneeze in the forest. "Methinks my dragon friends are not well." Two visits to the local wizard fail to cure the trio, so the knight goes to the source of good advice and better medicine: his mother and her chicken soup. Thomas borrows from the oral tradition and the illustrations highlight important events and character traits. This book rewards beginning readers with what reading is all about: a fine story, well told.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2002

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Jennifer Plecas. Hyperkinetic Agapanthus returns in this early reader, confidently entering her exuberant new pound puppy, Major Bark, in a dog show despite his "whizzy" nature and mixed pedigree. Major Bark wins a prize for the dog with the smallest eyes, sending his owner into twirls of happiness. Wobbly lined pictures add a humorous note to a winsome if predictable pet story.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) K-3 I Can Read Book series. Illustrated by Jennifer Plecas. No longer the shy Emma of Emma's Magic Winter, this big-sister-to-be is excited to meet her adopted brother--but being a sister is a lot harder than she imagined. Five short chapters with simple but expressive illustrations frame this bittersweet story. With patience and understanding, Emma eventually gains Max's trust; newly independent readers will be won over, too.

Reviewer: Amanda Sullivan

(4) PS Illustrated by Jennifer Plecas. In this overly long, slapstick frolic, the farm animals, watched by the disapproving house cat, invade Mr. McDuffel's house when he sets out for town. They dress up, dance, eat, and nap the day away, while a clock on some of the pages shows the passage of time at home and on the road. Expressive pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations and repetitive silly animal sounds in the text create a chaotic mood.

Reviewer: Marlene Gawron

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Jennifer Plecas. In a comforting story, a knight is called by three dragons in turn: the first requests some water; the second, a bedtime story; and the third, a lullaby. Elements borrowed from storytellers, such as repetitive refrains and rhyming words, make the point that children can read independently the same language adults have owned for years. The illustrations of an increasingly impatient knight extend, rather than just duplicate, the text.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2000

(1) K-3 I Can Read Book series. Illustrated by Jennifer Plecas. Shy Emma connects with the new girl by instigating a shared pretend: "My boots have magic powers. . . . Are yours magic too?" Emma and Sally make a leap from imagined magic to the real magic and power of friendship when Sally's encouragement allows quiet Emma to speak up at school. Little's prose flows easily, with touches of humor. With Plecas's warm illustrations, this book is one newly independent readers won't be at all shy about reading.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 1998