(3) 4-6 Secrets of Topsea series. Illustrated by Rachel Sanson. Ocean-loving, boat-building Talise stars in this second installment, with her schoolmates (including Davy from A Friendly Town That's Almost Always by the Ocean!) featured in their own chapters. Seemingly random nonsense--friendly spirits, uncertain ocean tides, a lost narwhal--once again develops into a thoughtful, entertaining story of friendship as the children grapple with fitting in but also being themselves in their wacky town.

Reviewer: Renée Wheeler

(3) K-3 Ready-to-Read: Tails from History series. Illustrated by Rachel Sanson. The latest installments in this easy-reader series about famous animals in history present two new compelling protagonists: a Japanese Akita adopted by Helen Keller and a cat dubbed "mayor" of a small town in Alaska. Nakamura imposes mild drama on both "tails," while Sanson's straightforward and appealing cartoon illustrations give new readers lots of visual help with the narratives. Further facts are appended. Review covers these Ready-to-Read: Tails from History titles: The Cat Who Ruled the Town and A Puppy for Helen Keller.

Reviewer: Erica Wetter

(3) K-3 Ready-to-Read: Tails from History series. Illustrated by Rachel Sanson. This amusing easy reader tells the silly-but-true story of President Calvin Coolidge's misfit pet Rebecca, a raccoon who ate her meals at the table and even participated in the White House Easter Egg Roll. Sanson's playful, cheery illustrations prominently feature the Coolidges' menagerie of unusual pets (including a donkey and a wallaby) while highlighting Rebecca's personality and her struggle to fit in. Additional facts are appended.

Reviewer: Erica Wetter

(3) K-3 Ready-to-Read: Tails from History series. Illustrated by Rachel Sanson. This lively easy reader centers on painter and famous animal-lover Frida Kahlo's outgoing pet parrot, Bonito (who appeared in one of Kahlo's most beloved paintings, Self-Portrait with Bonito). Smiles (both human and animal) abound in Sanson's appealing illustrations, which humorously depict the joyous relationship Kahlo had with all her pets but particularly with the spirited Bonito.

Reviewer: Erica Wetter

(3) 4-6 Secrets of Topsea series. Illustrated by Rachel Sanson. When Davy moves to Topsea with his mother, he's not prepared for a locker at the bottom of a swimming pool, seaweed for lunch, and an abundance of cats (yet dogs are "just a myth"). What first seems like pure nonsense evolves into a story of friendship, adjustment, and loss, told in multiple voices and sprinkled with memorable encounters with, for example, a haunted pinball machine and a chewing gum wall.

Reviewer: Renée Wheeler

(3) K-3 Ready-to-Read: Tails from History series. Illustrated by Rachel Sanson. The latest installments in this easy-reader series about famous animals in history present two new compelling protagonists: a Japanese Akita adopted by Helen Keller and a cat dubbed "mayor" of a small town in Alaska. Nakamura imposes mild drama on both "tails," while Sanson's straightforward and appealing cartoon illustrations give new readers lots of visual help with the narratives. Further facts are appended. Review covers these Ready-to-Read: Tails from History titles: The Cat Who Ruled the Town and A Puppy for Helen Keller.

Reviewer: Erica Wetter