(3) K-3 Illustrated by Laura Rader. On Thanksgiving eve, Turkey tries to hide from the farmer. His barnyard friends all egg him on: "Run, Turkey, run!" Turkey's day ends happily after he disguises himself, but when the family looks for a Christmas tree, turkey's goose may yet be cooked. Autumn-hued acrylic and ink illustrations featuring expressive animals minimize the danger and intensify the humor.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(4) K-3 I'm Going to Read! series. This series features three levels of beginning reader texts: up to fifty words (level one), one hundred words (level two), and two hundred words (level three). The illustrations are consistently lively, the stories range from forced to adequate (Class Play, for more confident readers, is engaging). There are nine other spring 2005 books in this series. Review covers these I'm Going to Read! titles: A Class Play with Ms. Vanilla, Fish Wish, Go Away, Crows!, I'm Going to New York to Visit the Lions, Silly Pig, and Who Spilled the Milk?.

Reviewer: Barbara Barstow

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Laura Rader. One spring Sunday while Doctor Duck is busy planting his garden, the other animals on the farm call for his help. A goat, a cow, and a pig are giving birth and want him to assist. Although the illustrations are playful, the slight story, told in plodding rhyme, has little sense of drama.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(3) PS Illustrated by Laura Rader. "Dinos, dinos, on the go. / Where are they racing to? / To visit Spain, / Portland, Maine, / or maybe Timbuktu?" In this silly, bouncy rhyme, a variety of dinosaurs take different modes of transportation to a destination that is revealed at the end: their "40,000,000 year reunion." Lively, humorous illustrations show a world peopled by humans as well as dinosaurs.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) PS Illustrated by Laura Rader. If the baby mouse narrating this book could talk, she would tell her older sister how grateful she is to her for making her laugh, for teaching her songs, for playing with her in the bathtub, etc. The humorous cartoonlike illustrations, which show the big sister saving the little one from harm and the little one sneaking a lick of her big sister's ice-cream cone, prevent the text from becoming too sentimental.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(4) PS What to Expect Kids series. Illustrated by Laura Rader. Angus the Answer Dog fields questions about the dentist, from "What's a dentist?" to "Does a tooth checkup hurt?" to "How can I help keep my teeth healthy?" The illustrations are colorful and lighthearted, but the text is too long and wordy for the preschool audience. However, adults preparing for a child's first trip to the dentist will find the information useful.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander

(4) PS Illustrated by Laura Rader. In this simplistic rhyming text ("On go tutus-- / slippers, too. / Tights are itchy / when they're new"), young Piggy and her friends attend their ballet class full of tutus, twirls, and a fall or two. Young dance enthusiasts will enjoy Rader's cheerful, energetic animal dancers and a place where trying is what counts.

Reviewer: Susan Halperin

(4) PS Illustrated by Laura Rader. Parents who trust Murkoff's popular pregnancy and child development books will get some basic information about helping children navigate early friendships, create bedtime routines, and deal with new siblings. In a question-and-answer format, the lengthy texts are addressed to young children, but some of the information is more appropriate for older kids. Rader's cartoon illustrations are age appropriate.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(4) PS Illustrated by Laura Rader. Parents who trust Murkoff's popular pregnancy and child development books will get some basic information about helping children navigate early friendships, create bedtime routines, and deal with new siblings. In a question-and-answer format, the lengthy texts are addressed to young children, but some of the information is more appropriate for older kids. Rader's cartoon illustrations are age appropriate.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(4) PS Illustrated by Laura Rader. Dr. Duck drives around "in a big, red van," treating all sorts of animal patients, including "weasels with sneezles" and "a crow with a broken toe." When the doctor himself gets sick, the animals do their part to help him feel better. The story is slight and the meter of the rhyming text is uneven, but the watercolor illustrations, featuring stout animals in human clothing, are amusing.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(4) PS Illustrated by Laura Rader. Parents who trust Murkoff's popular pregnancy and child development books will get some basic information about helping children navigate early friendships, create bedtime routines, and deal with new siblings. In a question-and-answer format, the lengthy texts are addressed to young children, but some of the information is more appropriate for older kids. Rader's cartoon illustrations are age appropriate.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(4) PS Illustrated by Laura Rader. Engaging anthropomorphic animals demonstrate an exhaustive number of different kinds of kisses (nothing too risqué), from the standard "Good Morning" and "Good Night" kisses to the more exotic "Forehead Kisses / Used frequently by tall people." Though the book goes on a little long, its artwork is cheery, inviting, and just quirky enough to keep everything from being too cute.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann

(4) K-3 Viking Easy-to-Read series. Illustrated by Laura Rader. Mrs. Mouse has "so many children / she [doesn't] know what to do... / for Christmas!" She tells her brood that this year--instead of getting--they will give Santa presents, and in the process she discovers what each of them wants. Though the story is slight, the rhyming text consists of short sentences and word repetition, and the bright watercolor illustrations provide plenty of visual cues, making this an adequate easy-reader choice.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(4) PS Illustrated by Laura Rader. Various types of hugs, including piggyback hugs, daddy hugs, birthday hugs, and ice-cube hugs ("quite common in February"), are described in one or two sentences per page. The illustrations, depicting an assorted group of cartoon-style animals, add humor to the rather saccharine text. A "Facts and Hints about Hugging" section is appended. This is a friendly if slight selection for youngsters.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(4) PS Illustrated by Laura Rader. Whether a person (or in this case, an animal) is big or small, a baby or a grown up, been around for a while or newly arrived, there are many possibilities for friends. Although the book doesn't shed any new light on the subject, the cheerful drawings using a lively line and the open design make this a pleasant, if innocuous, look at friendship.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley