(2) K-3 Illustrated by Axel Scheffler. The seasoned author-artist pair (recently The Smeds and the Smoos, rev. 3/21) bring their usual humor and spice to this rollicking story of three "baddies": a troll, a ghost, and a witch. When a girl with a "blue spotted hanky" moves into a nearby cottage, the three brag so much about their plans to eat her, haunt her, and turn her to stone, respectively, that a fed-up little white mouse offers a challenge: which one can scare her so much that they can steal the handkerchief? More boasting ensues, but each baddie fails to faze the girl, the very definition of sang-froid. And who ends up with the hanky? The little white mouse, who asks for help keeping her babies warm. Donaldson's propulsive verse will encourage reader participation, with lots of noisy words like splash and roar and ah-choo! to join in on (not to mention the witch's spell: "Hankety pankety / plinkety plonk, / rickety rackety rocket!"). Scheffler's richly colored signature illustrations abound with action and kid-pleasing details, and he manages to imbue even minor characters such as the witch's cat familiar with personality. Sure to wow 'em at story hour.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2023

(2) PS Illustrated by Axel Scheffler. Donaldson and Scheffler (most recently The Ugly Five, rev. 9/18) tell the story of the red Smeds and the blue Smoos, who share a far-off planet but deeply distrust each other (as the Smeds are warned: "Never, never play with the Smoos. / They sleep in holes. They wear strange shoes"). The antipathy goes unquestioned--until Smed Janet and Smoo Bill form a friendship. Rhyming couplets are peppered with nonsense words that, à la Dr. Seuss or Carroll's "The Jabberwocky," still somehow make sense; for example, "Janet met Bill in the Wurpular Wood, / Where the trockles grew tall / and the ­glompoms smell good." Scheffler's ink-and-­watercolor pictures have a zany cartoonish feel, paying homage to Seuss. The alien planet features a variety of comical flourishes, including quirky plants with teeth, spikes, or eyes; each surrounding planet, too, has its own distinct character. ­Donaldson's message is clear without being heavy-handed, with a satisfying final scene of harmonious joy over the new (purple) baby and the Smeds and Smoos, young and old, celebrating under the "silvery squoon."

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2021

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Axel Scheffler. This picture-book African safari introduces five lesser-known, "strange-looking" specimens (e.g., wildebeest, hyena). The patterned rhyming text lets the animals speak for themselves; each one describes its unusual features and unsavory behaviors. In a detailed grassland setting, Scheffler's charmingly homely characters showcase lots of personality. The sweet conclusion casts the ugly five in a more favorable light thanks to their loving and grateful babies. A final spread features more native savanna animals.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2018

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Axel Scheffler. Donaldson and Scheffler's first collaboration, here reissued, derives from a Yiddish folktale. An old woman complains that her house is too small, so a wise old man advises her to take in all her animals, one at a time; when she takes them out again, her little house feels spacious. The rhyming text is appealingly illustrated with homey pictures of farm animals wreaking mild havoc.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Axel Scheffler. In this sequel to A Gold Star for Zog, Pearl (a princess) and Gadabout (a knight) become traveling doctors. Pearl's only misdiagnosis is thinking that her uncle, the king, will welcome her ("Princesses can't be doctors!"). But when he falls ill, Pearl finds the cure. Donaldson's text contains near-faultless rhymes and plentiful humor; Scheffler, whose characters exhibit cuddlesome lumpiness, finds the comedy in every scene.

Reviewer: Nell Beram | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2017

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Axel Scheffler. Anyone whose creativity has felt squelched by the moral of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" will welcome the denouement here: the fish hero is rescued by his tale-telling. Released from a fisherman's net in unknown territory, Tiddler retraces the route his own story has taken until he's safely home. Scheffler's comical illustrations in undersea hues reinforce the non-censorious tone.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Axel Scheffler. Superworm is beloved by his many friends, including beetles, snails, and other creepy-crawlies. After he's kidnapped by Wizard Lizard, Superworm's friends conspire to rescue their pal. It's some old-fashioned storytelling, with snappy rhyming couplets and a bad guy with a threatening henchman, but Donaldson spruces things up with the particulars of a heroic worm. Scheffler's pictures pop with strong lines and vibrant colors.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2014

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Axel Scheffler. While off searching for the perfect pink flowers for Betty O'Barley, his bride-to-be, Harry O'Hay the scarecrow is replaced by dashing Reginald Rake. But Betty doesn't fall for Reginald's wild ways, and when fire threatens, Harry is the hero. Jovial, stiff-armed scarecrows and wide-eyed animals star in a charmingly odd tale of true love told in singsongy rhymes.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Axel Scheffler. Though "The Highway Rat was a baddie," he's a comical one, seizing edibles from animals and even "his own horse's hay!" Finally, a clever duck lures the Rat into a cave with promises of sweets while his victims feast on retrieved loot. Scheffler's cartoon-style illustrations enhance the tongue-in-cheek rhyme with lively portraits of bug-eyed animals looking askance at the not-particularly-fearsome Rat.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2013

(2) PS Illustrated by Axel Scheffler. Having faithfully brought Zog remedies for his ailments at dragon school, a girl finally reveals that she's a princess just as Zog fears he's about to fail year four's capture-a-princess test. Bouncing smoothly along, the rhyming text shows how the friendship between Zog and Princess Pearl comes to benefit them both. The illustrations feature a multicolored, endearingly homely cast of cartoon dragons.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2012

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Axel Scheffler. Unexpectedly separated from human musician Fred, Tabby McTat leaves street performing behind to start a family. His son Samuel Sprat inherits Tabby's musical gift, and when Tabby and Fred are reunited, Samuel begs to become Fred's new busking partner. Detailed illustrations feature amiable kitties and eccentric entertainers on bustling city streets, while the lyrical rhyming text is reminiscent of a ballad.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Axel Scheffler. "Stick Man lives in the family tree / With his Stick Lady Love and their stick children three." After being mistaken for a plain old stick, Stick Man suffers many indignities--then finds himself in a fireplace on Christmas Eve. Donaldson's lively rhymes and Scheffler's comical illustrations (never has a stick looked more engaging) help temper worries about our hero's fate.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2009

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Axel Scheffler. Eliot's playful cycle--comparing feline independence, individuality, idiosyncrasies, and misdemeanors to human varieties in fifteen witty, rhythmic, artfully phrased poems--is appealingly illustrated. Scheffler extends the animal antics but never upstages the text; his creatures--small, lithe, mischievous--deploy themselves with catlike verve. Wide pages nicely accommodate the verse plus vignettes of the cats and their bemused humans, supplemented by an occasional full-page scene.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2010

(3) PS Illustrated by Axel Scheffler. In this rhyming story, a lost monkey keeps trying to describe his mother to a well-meaning but mixed-up butterfly. The butterfly leads him to all sorts of animals--from an elephant to a spider--before they finally locate Mom. Readers will likely chuckle at the butterfly's mistakes and enjoy the illustrations of forest fauna, including the comical long-nosed butterfly.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Axel Scheffler. Anyone whose creativity has felt squelched by the moral of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" will welcome the denouement here: the hero is rescued by his tale-telling. Released from a fisherman's net in unknown territory, Tiddler retraces the route his own story has taken until he's safely home. Scheffler's comical illustrations in undersea hues reinforce the non-censorious tone.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(4) PS Illustrated by Axel Scheffler. A mother goose tells her goslings nursery rhymes to keep them happy and in line. Short vignettes about the geese's activities are interspersed with the traditional rhymes. These little stories provide a framework for presenting the rhymes but are too self-consciously childlike. The book's clean design makes effective use of the white of the pages, showcasing Scheffler's richly colored cartoon illustrations. Ind.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Axel Scheffler. The mouse who outwitted The Gruffalo now tricks the beast's child, who goes looking for the mouse despite her dad's warning that he's one fearsome rodent. Humorous illustrations depict the Gruffalo and his child as teddy-bear-like and work well with the pleasingly repetitive text in rhyme to create a story that, like its mouse hero, is clever rather than scary.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2005

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Axel Scheffler. In rhyming text, an enterprising snail hitches a ride on a whale. After touring icebergs and golden sands, the whale gets confused by speed boats and swims into the danger of shallow water. Thanks to the smaller creature, the larger one is rescued. The lilting and carefree story, accompanied by pleasant illustrations, is at odds with the heavy-handed message.

Reviewer: Hilary Breed Van Dusen

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Axel Scheffler. When George, a scruffy giant, buys new clothes, he is delighted with his spiffy appearance. On his way home, he meets a variety of needy animals, and one by one, he gives away his new things, until he ends up with his old outfit again. This lighthearted lesson in kindness is accompanied by lively mixed-media illustrations filled with whimsical details.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Axel Scheffler. As a reward for finding a witch's lost belongings, a dog, a bird, and a frog get to ride on her broomstick. The extra weight breaks the broom, and the witch lands at the feet of a hungry dragon. The three animals band together with the witch's cat to save the day. Though told in somewhat forced rhyme, Donaldson's story is full of action and repetition for read-aloud appeal. The moody illustrations add warmth and charm.

Reviewer: Mark Adam