(3) K-3 Illustrated by John Shelley. In a story told in sometimes tongue-tripping but often funny limericks and other rhyming text, Georgie braves the elusive Miss Pustula Night's one-stop magic shop and helps a ghost find all the items on his gross-ery list, from spiderwebs to dragon drool. Muted tones in the pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations, as well as creative design elements, heighten the crowded store's mysterious feel.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(3) K-3 Illustrated by John Shelley. The bard's inventiveness with words is showcased in this look at London's Globe Theatre. In lively, conversational text, verso pages present information interspersed with Shakespeare's words or phrases boldfaced; the recto defines the phrase and identifies the play it comes from. Detailed pen-and-ink and watercolor scenes with varied perspectives brim with the bustle and jostle of London and its playgoers. Timeline. Bib.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(4) K-3 Illustrated by John Shelley. Coaxed from his bed on a late winter night by a bear risen from his own slumber, a boy hears a loud cracking. With a party of woodland creatures, he marches toward the sound, discovering a giant egg as it bursts open--revealing spring in all its glory. Soft watercolor and ink illustrations are playful and detail-rich, but the story's buildup is slow.

Reviewer: Pam Yosca

(3) K-3 Illustrated by John Shelley. Young Michelangelo "saw David--his David" inside a huge block of marble that had troubled Florence's artists for decades. The illustrations' cartoonish aspects--a worn-out Michelangelo chipping away; townspeople positioned like a Greek chorus speculating on his progress--complement the lighthearted text, which only turns serious as Sutcliffe describes the completed David's beauty and grandeur. Appended with an informative author's note. Bib.

Reviewer: Betty Carter

(3) K-3 Illustrated by John Shelley. "Have you ever thrown / your trick-or-treat sack / on your back / on All Hallows' Eve / and taken your leave / of town?" So begins this account of a costumed child's Halloween-night journey into the woods. Bauer's free-form rhymes are creepy until the lighthearted twist ending. Shelley's chilling art features skeletons living in trees made of bones.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by John Shelley. Mary's father is despondent after losing his leg in a mining accident. Her mother does her best, taking in laundry and refusing to give in to despair, but it's Mary (a character based on Danneberg's grandmother) who rescues the situation. Cartoony illustrations are a mismatch for the heartfelt text, but readers won't need them to see into Mary's world.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2009

(4) K-3 Illustrated by John Shelley. "The day Mom and Dad went to pick up my new brother, I built a raft." Imaginary sailing trips help the narrator cope with his new sibling. The fact that the new brother is an adopted older child is at first pointlessly obfuscated, but once readers catch on, they'll be won over by the story. The illustrations switch between fantastical and real-life tableaux.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by John Shelley. Little does twelve-year-old Adam Story realize that when he accepts a challenge to travel around the world in forty days without an adult, he is joining a mysterious, complex global game of intrigue and adventure. Appealing characterizations, nonstop action, and a sense of "being there"--whether it be Paris, Stockholm, or Tokyo--are just some of this enjoyable romp's strengths.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano