(3) K-3 Translated by Paul Kelly. Young Theo introduces the reader to his neighbors, including Carla, the woman who feeds the birds in the park, and Deshaun, who recites poetry while walking his son to school. Each spread of this German import includes a collage-style portrait in a retro palette featuring clean shapes and flat colors. The rich observations remind readers that everyone walking by has an interesting story to tell.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) K-3 The major ages, periods, and epochs of geologic time literally unfold across a continuous twenty-six-foot-long illustration. Print block-style images of the time periods' major geologic features and inhabitants are featured on each double-page spread, accompanied by a brief written description. The unfolded image very effectively conveys relative time and the explosion of life across the ages. The reverse side has a stripped-down timeline with major events delineated.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(3) PS It's spring--time for a little bird to chirp, which will attract feathered friends (or so he thinks). Unfortunately, he can't remember "the song of spring," so he sings "Woof," which attracts a dog, who encourages him to try again ("Oink"), which attracts a pig, and so on. This celebration of unlikely friendships features ebullient art in Mother Nature's palette.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(2) PS Bold colors, thick paint strokes, and a slice-of-life story beautifully coalesce in this whimsical, contemplative, and visual exploration of the everyday. The nearly wordless tale begins, "Max can bring a letter to the mailbox all by himself today." An adventure ensues, all in pictures, as Max explores his urban neighborhood. When Max’s errand is complete, the mailbox is revealed to be...right outside Max's home.

Reviewer: Elisa Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2019

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Vincent Bergier. Sandy, a blue cat, leads readers through nocturnal adventures in NYC on dark-blue acetate overlays imprinted with clear windows allowing shapes from the digital pictures below to create strange nighttime images. Flip the acetate page to see a different, day-lit view of the city, guided by red squirrel Frankie, including Central Park, urban traffic scenes, and other sights. This French import's interesting concept isn't always successfully executed.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 This German import introduces important philosophical ideas to young children with respect for their capacity to wonder: "How will I see the world when I grow up?" "Why am I afraid of what I don't know?" Teckentrup's illustrations, reminiscent of block prints, successfully use color, shape, and texture to convey the feelings behind the "big questions" and invite readers to explore their world.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) K-3 Translated by Paul Kelly. Illustrated by Miguel Bustos. In this Spanish import, young Lucas visits a variety of crowded spots (circus, airport, park) in search of a friend. His search is unsuccessful, but the reader is asked to spot dogs, ducks, cars, and more in bustling, stylized pictures dominated by the color purple. Final pages challenge readers to expand their seek-and-find experience by including friends ("I see something you can't see... What is it?").

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Ana De Lima. An omniscient narrator encourages readers to peruse this "atlas," which is dedicated to a "make-believe world." Spreads are devoted to a city that rains fish, a volcano that spews not lava but bubble gum, etc.; endpapers offer an aerial view of the fantasyland. Set to intricate psychedelic art, this reads like "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" for the picture-book crowd.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) 4-6 Translated by Paul Kelly. In each of 133 spreads, the left-hand page identifies a color ("Khaki," "Lichen," "Beet," and so on) and offers an illustration and a paragraph-length description (e.g., "In Persian, khaki actually means 'soil' or 'dust'"); the right-hand page presents the featured color as a giant-paint-chip-like rectangle. This gorgeous but hefty French-import book should live on a coffee table, not a child's bookshelf.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Translated by Paul Kelly. Illustrated by Florence Koenig. Friends Anna, a servant, and Johanna, the master's daughter, discover a secret on their shared twelfth birthday in seventeenth-century Delft. The picture book's plot, explained in the author's note, is based on two Jan Vermeer paintings, The Milkmaid and The Lacemaker. Lush acrylic paintings use some of Vermeer's imagery. More information about Vermeer and reproductions of the source paintings are included.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 Translated by Paul Kelly. With finesse and pizzazz, Guiraud depicts a random but marvelous assortment of exotic and familiar birds, bugs, and sea creatures in this large-format "cabinet of curiosities." Whimsically written chapter introductions (translated from the French) urge appreciation and conservation and are followed by several spreads of meticulously detailed illustrations of various animal parts; notes on the pictured creatures conclude most chapters. Guiraud's spectacular art is not soon forgotten.

Reviewer: Erica Wetter

(3) K-3 Translated by Paul Kelly. Illustrated by Annabelle von Sperber. Translated by Paul Kelly and Liam Tarr. This beautifully illustrated and informative large-format book (translated from the German) brings readers around the world and throughout history to highlight architectural wonders, including Germany's Neuschwanstein Castle, the Buddhist Tōdai-ji Temple in Japan, and the Sydney Opera House. A text box on each spread offers a brief introduction and several images to seek in that illustration's bustle. Includes endpaper maps and detailed answer keys. Timeline. Glos.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(3) K-3 The shapes, sizes, and uses of feathers as well as the structure and purposes of wings are thoroughly explained and beautifully illustrated. Discussions include the ways in which feathers protect birds from the elements and advertise their assets to potential mates. Teckentrup's art is particularly effective in conveying the fluff and fringes of feathers, and the way they splay in unfurled wings.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Elsa Mroziewicz Bahia. Fourteen yoga poses are described here, some more commonly seen (e.g., dog, lion) in children's yoga books and others more unusual (e.g., locust, fish). Lovely illustrations and decorated borders accompany each pose, and amusing stick figures help readers understand the step-by-step instructions. The spreads are busy with additional adult-centric text in multiple fonts, but committed yogi parents and caretakers may appreciate the detail.

Reviewer: Bridget McCaffrey

(3) K-3 This part-aesthetic, part-scientific consideration of eggs (mainly from birds but also those of insects, reptiles, fish, and amphibians) includes musings on the form and structure of eggs, the nests built to shelter them, and the role of eggs in human culture. The spare illustrations use a gorgeous mellow palette to represent the varieties of eggs and their producers.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(3) 4-6 This volume introduces over a century of urban architecture with striking photographs, key facts, running timelines, and descriptions of the skyscrapers' designs and constructions. The coverage of the thirteen selected buildings reveals broader political, economic, and social histories. Design choices for the series, such as asterisks for glossary terms, only slightly detract from an overall attractive and informative package. Glos.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(4) K-3 Translated by Agathe Joly. Illustrated by Vanessa Hié. In this origin story for Matisse's collage The Parakeet and the Mermaid, a mermaid stranded in a tree is saved by a parakeet cum human-bird-hybrid prince. The storytelling is rather sentimental, but Hié's cutouts (reworked with pencil and painting), while less abstract, capably echo Matisse's vibrant palette. A reproduction of the source painting and contextual and biographical information are appended.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(3) K-3 Translated by Agathe Joly. Illustrated by Anja Klauss. An old woman gives young Djalil a special seed. Years later, when Djalil eats the tree's fruit, he has a vision of a terrible flood and warns the kingdom before its dikes break. The folkloric-feeling story, inspired by Klimt's Tree of Life frieze, is faithfully illustrated in his lavish, decorative art nouveau style. A reproduction of the source work and biographical information are included.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(4) K-3 A child narrates her dream journey, on which she's accompanied by a friendly lion (first seen as a stuffed animal), before she wakes up to a crisp, sunshiny morning. Despite some uneasy rhymes, Teckentrup's verse is carried by lyrical imagery. Although often muddied by dark colors and grainy elements, the layered, textured illustrations hide tantalizing, shadowy images, creating a wonderfully surreal dreamscape.

Reviewer: Amy Seto Forrester

(3) PS Oskar, a bird, "loves the deep blue ocean... / ...and soft green grass," and so on. Oskar is pictured enjoying each of his passions in what appear to be silkscreened images, expertly composed. So won over will readers be by the affirming bird that they will gladly ponder the question posed on the book's last page: "What do you love?"

Reviewer: Nell Beram