(4) K-3 Photographs by Amy Wilton. Thorough information about fairy lore and instructions for building fairy houses are accompanied by cheerful photos and enthusiastic scavenger-hunt lists of things to be observed and collected in each season. The engaging prose nonetheless seems targeted for more mature readers than the subject's most likely audience, and the 120-page book contains a surprisingly small number of actual fairy house ideas for readers to try.

Reviewer: Anastasia M. Collins

(2) PS A colorful parade of barnyard fowl comes to eat kernels of corn and "my cat watches...thinking only how good they would be to eat." Then the cat sees rats under the barn and, knowing she will be praised for eating rats, forgets her desire for birds. Dominated by oranges, reds, pinks, and yellows, Ipcar's illustrations have a characteristically folk art–like quality.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc. | Horn Book Magazine Issue: February, 1967

(3) 4-6 Photographs by Jennifer Smith-Mayo. Both what constitutes treasure and how to find it are the subjects of this comprehensive book with chapters discussing pirates, buried treasure, and various hobbies (such as panning for gold; metal detecting; geocaching; and hunting for rocks, minerals, and fossils). Photos of kids engaged in these activities and their finds may entice young readers to start their own hunts. Reading list.

Reviewer: Bridget McCaffrey

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Amy Huntington. When the fog rolls in and the seas get rough, Grandma's son, the lobsterman, gets seasick. As in their earlier books, Grandma and grandson Billy rise to the occasion. With wild abandon, they drive the lobsterboat filled with lobsters for the town’s Labor Day picnic back to shore. Their humorous voyage back is accompanied by action-filled watercolor illustrations.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(4) K-3 In a wordless story, Fazio's detailed illustrations document a dropped bottle's transformation into smooth sea glass found--a couple of generations later, we assume--by a young girl on a beach. The passage of time isn't clearly conveyed until the end, where readers will most likely guess the girl is supposed to be the granddaughter of the boy who originally lost the bottle.

Reviewer: Betsy Thomas

(4) K-3 From scouting sites and gathering materials to building, accessorizing, and attracting inhabitants, this how-to guide to building fairy houses includes instruction, fairy lore, recipes, and additional crafting ideas. The conversational narrative is too long-winded for early elementary schoolers, but the photographs of fairy houses may be inspiring enough. Reading list, websites. Glos.

Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale

(3) PS A mother and child examine features of different pond animals ("This baby has a wiggly tail. Whose baby is this?"); answers appear after a page turn ("Frog's baby"). The effective patterned text, illustrated with unfussy cut-paper collages, concludes by bringing the child back into the mix: "Whose baby is this? MY baby!" A "Be a Pond Baby!" activity page is appended.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(3) K-3 Except for a few spare sentences, Hayes's illustrations tell most of the story of a bear family (presumably from The Winter Visitors) watching humans vacationing at a summer cottage. The bears cleverly--and humorously--appropriate the people's possessions only to return everything (mostly) at the end. Readers will enjoy interpreting the looks of dawning comprehension on the humans' faces.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Rebecca Harrison Reed. The cows set up shop in the barn and won't let the other animals in. They go over the cows' heads to the clueless farmer; eventually, the cows retreat to the house. Illustrations chronicle the antics with playfulness and humor. However, the text, with its hit-or-miss puns, is frustratingly hard to follow.

Reviewer: Sethany Rancier Alongi

(4) PS Illustrated by Nicole Fazio. The rhymed text, to the tune of "Over in the Meadow," counts Maine's sea and bird life from one to ten: "Down East in the ocean," one baby seal, three ospreys, four crabs, eight clams, and ten lobsters swim, fly, crawl, squirt, and hide, respectively. Illustrations are appropriately framed with ocean-life motifs. The package, though slight, has regional appeal.

Reviewer: Carrie Harasimowicz Sullivan

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Amy Huntington. Fearing he will have to give up his farm when his horse becomes too old to work, Jean du Bois and his grandson Ti'Jean find a clever solution in Muskeg, the moose they rescued when he was an orphaned calf. The lengthy text presents a bygone farming era. Full-spread paintings, though stiff, depict Maine in all its seasonal glories. Glos.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Amy Huntington. A blizzard threatens to cancel the town's annual Carol Sing, "the best party of the season." It's up to Grandma, who runs a snowplow business, and grandson Billy to ensure that the show will go on. Humorous wintry illustrations match the text's (occasionally forced) down-home tone, but some scenes are difficult to interpret.

Reviewer: Cindy Lombardo

(4) K-3 Writer Harriet Harrington, who lives happily alone, reluctantly agrees to care for a puppy "just for a week." After she returns rambunctious Snowflake to her owner, Harriet predictably realizes that her new companion has captured her heart. Hayes's fine-lined illustrations feature a playful pup oblivious to the havoc she's causing around her.

Reviewer: Cindy Lombardo

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Heather Austin. When Lily crafts a basket decorated with a water lily, she expects high praise from her relatives. Instead, each of them admires the basket briefly but says they must return to work since, "many hands make the basket." In this message-y story, Penobscot basketry is shown to be a community effort. The illustrations are occasionally awkward.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(4) K-3 Illustrated by John Aardema. The Blizzard Wizard has lost his snow spell. As winter progresses he tries other spells, with results that are just a little off. When the spell finally turns up, winter is long over, but a sunny day at the beach won't stop him from using it. Cartoon illustrations help fill in the blanks of the formulaic text. Blizzard facts are appended.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(4) K-3 After fisherman's son Tim carves his first lobster buoy, it proves lucky--until its line is accidentally cut. The buoy's wild journey across the ocean and, eventually, back into Tim's arms is depicted in wordless panels. The cartoonlike buoy sits discomfortingly against the more realistic-looking illustrations, but young readers may suspend disbelief long enough to enjoy the implausible ride.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Summertime friends Suzanne and Hillary discover a pair of mallard ducks nesting in a dinghy. They spend the days watching and learning as the female patiently tends to her ten eggs until they all hatch into quite a family. Soft pencil sketches illuminate the wordy, old-fashioned story.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Karel Hayes. Three children follow golden retriever Willy into the snowy outdoors, seeing not only his paw prints but also those of animals he's tracked. Delicate illustrations of a snow-covered forest include accurate animal tracks and woodsy borders. The spare text uses repetition effectively in this book for nature lovers.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Amy Huntington. Matthew tells his parents that his stuffed bunny is worried about camping. Loving reassurances from Mom and Dad help Matthew (and rabbit) prepare for the outdoor adventure. All goes well until bedtime when, "the tent seemed to hold the darkness in." Luckily, a delightful discovery of fireflies comforts the boy. Many of the illustrations look amateurish, though the firefly finale is effective.

Reviewer: Carrie Harasimowicz Sullivan

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Mary Beth Owens. The "dump man" of Shiretown, Maine, creates a library and repairs and delivers books to the disenfranchised. When he doesn't show up for work, it's kids to the rescue. The local-flavor writing is forced, but the dump man's enthusiasm for books is infectious. Readers will get a kick out of recognizing the covers of classic kids' titles in the book-strewn panoramas.

Reviewer: Nell Beram