(3) PS Illustrated by Richard Smythe. A crane (the bird) takes flight ("Lift"); on a facing page, a (mechanical) crane hoists dirt ("Lift"). One crane gathers sticks with its beak ("Grab"); the other crane hoists beams ("Grab"”). As pages turn, vibrant illustrations show that each crane is building a home: one a nest, the other a house. File this one under "Elementary but Ingenious Picture Books."

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) PS First Science Storybook series. Illustrated by Richard Smythe. Linking a study of light and dark to a narrative of an urban fox hunting at night, Jenkins employs spare prose to chronicle the creature's search for food. In the process, the fox encounters many light sources (the moon, street light, car lights), and back matter encourages youngsters to note these. The mixed-media illustrations create a shadowy, solitary nocturnal journey.

Reviewer: Betty Carter

(4) PS Illustrated by Richard Smythe. After a busy day of road-building, it's time for the construction vehicles to sleep. While the rhyming text anthropomorphizes the big machines, the geometric images depict realistic construction scenes filled with brightly colored trucks and their human operators (a highlight: the foldout featuring all seven vehicles in action). Though the rhymes are slightly clunky, this bedtime book should appeal to fans of Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald

(3) PS Illustrated by Richard Smythe. From the "plip plop" of the first large raindrops to the "whish!" of a river in heavy downpour to a quiet rainbow-filled blue sky, a rainstorm's musicality is captured in a series of resonant sound words matched with evocative digital and watercolor art. An immersive read-aloud rejoicing over (per the addendum) "the sounds of water...a song of life and connection."

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Richard Smythe. A cat shirks responsibility for cleaning up its mess ("We could just...shove it over here!"); a dog is the voice of reason ("Is that a good idea?"). The squabbling is hilarious, and Smythe makes fine slapstick use of the mess, a mountain of colorful debris that cat, dog, and animal friends repurpose as a party scene. (Guess who cleans up?)

Reviewer: Nell Beram