(4) K-3 Illustrated by Martha Weston & Martha Weston. George fills a book cart at the library with books he wants to read and decorates his house for his own surprise birthday party in two more books based on Rey's curious monkey. The pattern in these stories is predictable, and Weston's illustrations, in the style of H. A. Rey, are energetic and pleasant but undistinguished. [Review covers these titles: Curious George and the Birthday Surprise and Curious George Visits the Library.]

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Martha Weston. George fills a book cart at the library with books he wants to read and decorates his house for his own surprise birthday party in two more books based on Rey's curious monkey. The pattern in these stories is predictable, and Weston's illustrations, in the style of H. A. Rey, are energetic and pleasant but undistinguished. [Review covers these titles: Curious George and the Birthday Surprise and Curious George Visits the Library.]

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Martha Weston. The great detective and his dog, Sludge, are on a train, acting as bodyguards for cousin Olivia's owl. After identifying and questioning three of Olivia's neighbors, Nate cracks the case of who left the owl a threatening note. Humorous short sentences just right for beginning readers enhance the hard-boiled atmosphere. Weston's loose color art follows the detective through every page of text.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Martha Weston. Inspired by the full moon, Bo the mouse bakes a big, round cake as a surprise present for his best friend Annie. She hugs him so enthusiastically that the cake lands on the snowy ground and gets broken. Bo is upset, but Annie, true friend that she is, finds a way to make things right. Jaunty illustrations add pizzazz to this accessible early reader.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(2) 1-3 Illustrated by Martha Weston. Owen and his best friend discover the thrills and dangers (not to mention the boredom and occasional humiliation) of spying. Dressed in homemade camouflage and armed with a walkie-talkie, Owen thinks spying on people is "the coolest thing." When they're caught, Owen learns a lot about loyalty, honesty, and "facing up to things." Greene has one of the surest senses in the business of the inner workings of nine-year-old boys.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2001

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Martha Weston. Nate returns for another successful and funny mystery. This time he has to find his own dog, Sludge, who is lost in a large department store. Like the other books in the series, the story is satisfying, if a bit far-fetched, and the format and expressive illustrations are helpful to the new reader.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(2) 1-3 Illustrated by Martha Weston. In this sequel to Owen Foote, Frontiersman, Owen is anxious to make money without actually having to work for it--no chore-based allowance system for this eight-year-old boy's boy. While the book is a bit heavy on lessons learned, it, like the others in the series, is fresh, funny, insightful--and definitely worth spending your allowance on.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2000

(1) 1-3 Illustrated by Martha Weston. Owen and his best friend Joseph have a great treehouse fort until the neighbor's odious grandsons come to visit and take it over. As Owen and Joseph plot to regain their "kingdom," all the strengths of this series come to the fore: real-boy characters with an appealingly loyal friendship, a good balance of narrative and dialogue, and an honestly childlike sense of the way the world works.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 1999

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Martha Weston. Nate's latest case is close to his heart or, rather, stomach. The boy detective and his canine sidekick, Sludge, are in hot pursuit of his mother's Monster Cookies recipe. Like earlier books in the popular series, this installment maintains a winning combination of crisp narration, quirky characters, and subtle humor. Weston's understated, yet expressive illustrations hold true to the style of the original illustrator, Marc Simont.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(4) 1-3 Yearling First Choice Chapter Book series. Illustrated by Martha Weston. Although Mike is excited about his upcoming visit to his grandmother for Easter, he worries that the Easter Bunny won't find him there. After he draws a map directing the Easter Bunny to Grandma's, he discovers her front door is blue, not green as he had colored it on his map. Cheerful illustrations accompany this engaging if stiff easy chapter book.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(2) K-3 Owen Foote, of 'Owen Foote, Second Grade Strongman', is discovering that the town league play is different from the soccer he played last year in first grade, where "all the kids knew one another. Everybody got to play. The coaches were fathers in real life." The soccer scenes are crisply written and easy to follow, and Owen's ambivalence in having a best friend the other kids call "the Chesterfield Klutz" is real.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.