(3) PS Barefoot Singalongs series. Illustrated by Brian Fitzgerald. Adapted from a cumulative Irish folk song, this picture book is also a delightful science lesson about the flora and fauna found in bogs. Technicolor, woodcut-inspired illustrations follow a “rattlin’ bird” in a “rattlin’ tree” through the “rattlin’ bog.” Back matter provides facts about bogs and the life cycle of birds and trees, as well as sheet music for “The Rattlin’ Bog.”

Reviewer:

(2) PS Duck is looking for his spaghetti, but as Tiny Horse puts it, "spaghetti is the trickiest of all the pastas." A search ensues, and while the deadpan narration addresses the mission seriously, Duck and Tiny Horse look in all the wrong places (inside a boot, under a rug) and use all the wrong methods (digging, fishing). A recipe book provides a useful clue, pooh-poohed though it is by confident Tiny Horse: "You can't just MAKE spaghetti." Boldly hued illustrations, painted in gouache and digitally colored, range from vignettes and sequential panels to full-bleed spreads, with absurdity taking center stage. Why is Tiny Horse tiny while Duck is just the right size to live in a teapot? Doesn't matter. The silliness offers young readers and listeners plenty of opportunities to figure things out before the characters do (if your spaghetti is hissing, it might be snakes) -- and that's a heady-spaghetti feeling.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2024

(1) PS In a brief picture book whose impact is greater than its size, a series of gorillas demonstrates the concept of opposites. On twelve double-page spreads, they gaze directly out at the viewer with arresting expressions. The first spread is a portrait of a kindly looking, grizzled gorilla. "What's the opposite of old?" A page-turn reveals the answer: "Young." And now we see, alone against a field of white space, a big-eyed, pinkish-haired, baby gorilla sucking its thumb. This pattern continues ("What's the opposite of sad?" "Happy") until the final pairing, which disrupts the pattern in a funny and original way. "What's the opposite of opposite?" "The same!" And here the illustration -- this time of a gorilla scratching its head and bearing a quizzical expression -- is repeated, humorously and perfectly. Readers will want to linger on each compelling watercolor and gouache portrait and spend some time communing with the creatures.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2024

(2) PS Illustrated by Julie Paschkis. A mischievous crow spends his day getting into and out of trouble. He steals a button, bullies some songbirds, snatches a cat's kibble -- and he's just getting started. Each double-page spread is devoted to one of Crow's antics; taken all together, his busy day demonstrates a broad array of documented crow behaviors. Lord's text rollicks along with the avian mischief, variations on the titular phrase acting as a refrain. In one scene Crow hops on a peanut-jar lid and slides down a barn's roof: "He steps onto the lid and pushes off the edge. / Crick, crack, WHOA! / Slippery as snow! / Crow rides his sled to the edge of the roof / and flutter-flaps to the ground. Nice ride!" Paschkis's ink and gouache paintings incorporate her signature folk art–like details, embellishing flowers' petals and birds' feathers with stylized designs not found in nature. But not Crow -- rendered in an inky black with little-to-no individuation of feathers, his matte form draws the eye with its textural simplicity. Young listeners will notice that Crow's exploits lead him into ever greater danger, until he finds himself facing a massive hawk. Happily, one crow behavior is "mobbing" (the term is introduced in the back matter), and with the aid of his friends and family, Crow drives the hawk away before settling for the night. Clever, fun, and informative.

Reviewer: Vicky Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2024

(2) PS Illustrated by Satoshi Kitamura. Creature-of-No-Words is content being "furry. And never in a hurry." The large, ungainly fellow enjoys his life, and although he doesn't "know how to say HAPPY" or "YUMMY" or "SAD" (having no words), he expresses himself through body language. Creature-of-Words, on the other hand, loves to use words; when she sees Creature-of-No-Words looking sad, she reaches toward him with outstretched arms and teaches him the word "HUG!" Creature-of-No-Words has a big red nose, his orange body is filled in with squiggly lines, and he's accompanied by eleven white birds. Creature-of-Words is smaller and redder, with a group of critter companions, including a fox, a cat, a squirrel, and two birds. Part of the book's fun is noticing the ways all of the animals interact in the illustrations. The text is written in triplets with occasional rhymes and includes such whimsical thoughts as the wish that pebbles would "burst like bubbles." Kitamura's paintings use intense color to show the pair living in a varied and beguiling landscape as they find joy together, sometimes sharing words and sometimes cuddled up "just listening to sweet silence." This tender tale illustrates the ways in which creatures, and humans, are alike and different from one another, especially in communication styles.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2024

(2) PS Illustrated by Bruce Ingman. In this tale of humorously escalating adventure and silliness, Elsie discovers a series of animals under the family dining table, an extravagant catalog that includes an elephant, kangaroo, and penguin. What to do with such a zoo? In each case the visitor finds a useful role in the family (e.g., car-washing, unloading groceries). The form and tone of the narrative beautifully capture the experience of an adult co-creating a story with a young child on the spot. The pleasures of pattern; the back-and-forth of improvisation; delicious, suspenseful page-turns; and the loopy energy of a plot twist coming in from left field -- all add up to a warm and jokey conversation happening in the immediate present. "There was once a girl. Elsie, her name was -- yes, Elsie Cannon." Ingman's naive-style paintings in primary colors, reminiscent of Ludwig Bemelmans, are perfectly suited to the flavor of the tale as they pursue and develop their own subplots. An anthropomorphic boiled egg, piano stool, saltshaker, and cutlery add an obbligato of animation, comedy, and naughtiness. What happened to Mildred the family cat? Oh, there she is, sipping lemonade at the picnic. And what about Bertie, that boiled egg who appears on almost every spread? Is he possibly our unidentified narrator? Ahlberg, a veteran of almost fifty years of picture book writing, pulls yet another irresistible rabbit out of his storyteller's hat.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2024

(2) PS There's a lot happening in this clever picture book with an all-dialogue text that introduces the nonsense words used when we can't remember the proper name for something. An adult elephant "can't find the...I forget the word...the...thing-a-ma-jig," so their little one confidently dashes off with a magnifying glass to track it down. Forgetfulness is in the air: a small yellow bird is missing its "hoo-zee-wots-it that makes thunder" and offers to help search. As they investigate, more animals (and stand-in words) join them, including a slug that can't find its "hoo-pull-dee-pewp. It kept the sun off my back" and a squirrel on the hunt for "the shis-moo I was using to carry things from here to there." Is there "a thief in the neighborhood"? Alexander's (You Rule!, rev. 7/23) deceptively simple illustrations, rendered in collaged photographs and hand-cut rubber stamps, are composed of bold primary and secondary colors that pop against ample white space. The expressive animal characters add humor and bring this who(didn't)dunit to life. Three double-page spreads provide a visual hint to what's really happening: the thing-a-ma-jig, hoo-zee-wots-it, shis-moo, etc., are all the same blue bottle cap, which began its journey through the neighborhood when the elephant left it on a tree stump. Spoiler alert: The cap is returned to its bottle, and together the group finds "something for everyone" to replace the multipurpose item, a process that will have young listeners turning back to the beginning to spot subtly placed details in the illustrations. A final spread provides the language of origin for the nonsense words employed in the text.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2024

(2) PS Daniel (Daniel Finds a Poem; Daniel's Good Day, rev. 7/19) is back in another open-hearted, child-friendly picture book. It's spring, and Daniel is meeting his grandfather in the park. When Grandpa asks him what's new, Daniel heads off to find out. He learns that his favorite rock is soaking up the sun, the redwing blackbirds are back, ducklings have hatched, a snake has shed its skin, tadpoles are growing legs. Daniel reports his findings and then updates Grandpa with his own news: he can whistle like blackbirds; he "can run fast 'cause [his] legs are growing, just like the pollywogs'"; and he has a new tooth, just as the snake has a new skin. The book ends with our thoughtful hero turning the tables: "Now it's your turn, Grandpa...what's new with you?" Archer's expertly composed double-page-spread illustrations, in "acrylic inks and collage, using patterned collage papers created by the author," portray a world bursting with life and vivid color: the deep blues and greens of the ducklings' pond; the light green of new leaves; the bright spots of red on the blackbirds. (Red is also the color of Daniel's hoodie, surely a call-out to The Snowy Day.) From the spectacular illustrations to the warm relationship between Daniel and Grandpa to Daniel's curiosity about the natural world, there's much to savor here; and the question of "what's new?" may elicit a wealth of reader response and interaction.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

(2) PS Illustrated by Ivan Bates. Mamma Duck is leading her ducklings to the lily pond, and little Puck, with his downy feathers and tiny feet, always seems to fall behind. When Mamma encourages him forward ("Keep up, Duck!"), Puck first hops on a paddle boat to catch up, then a skateboard, bicycle, and others. The text has a gentle rhythm and uses a lot of onomatopoeia ("Whizz! and Whirr! went all the wheels. Whizz! Whizz! Whirr! Whoooo!"), perfect for reading aloud. The watercolor and colored-pencil illustrations make beautiful use of delicate lines, subtle textures, and pastel colors, particularly the gradations of blue and green that abound in the water and the landscape surrounding it. The spreads are at once peaceful and full of motion, particularly with Puck, who is a pop of sunny yellow that jumps off each page, leaving confused creatures and mild chaos in his wake. In the end, Puck winds up ahead of his family and gets to shout, "Keep up, Mamma!" On a wordless page, Puck quivers with joy in his accomplishment, and when the family is reunited, Mamma has the good grace not to look irritated. Humorous and charming.

Reviewer: Adrienne L. Pettinelli | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2024

(2) PS Illustrated by Rashin Kheiriyeh. A jaunty, rhythmic text sets the mood for considering similarities and differences among people: "Somewhere in the big big city across a beep-beep street...up two tall buildings...two happy babies look out their morning windows at the very same time. / This baby. / And that baby." Rich, textured mixed-media art showcases an urban environment full of color, music, and life. The two babies set about their similarly structured but individual days. They both like games and songs, but not the same ones. They both require frequent diaper changes, get hungry, and need naps. The illustrations create humorous distinctions in the parallel routines, and the well-paced story offers plenty of room to pause and notice these details. When one baby's nap ends in tears and the other's failed nap ends in grumpiness, both are whisked out for walks headed in opposite directions. In an appropriate conclusion to this cheerful compare-and-contrast story, the babies end up at the same park bench, each one delighted to see the other.

Reviewer: Julie Roach | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

(2) PS In this companion to Caldecott Honor Book Nana in the City (rev. 11/14), Nana comes out to the country to visit with her grandchild. The young narrator is excited to introduce Nana to the special things about rural living but is disappointed to find that "Nana doesn't seem surprised. Not even a bit! I can't show Nana how to do anything in the country." Castillo's detailed ink, watercolor, and pastel illustrations are as at home in portraying this small-farm setting as they were in conveying the hustle and bustle of Nana's beloved city. The art in both books honors the special relationship between grandparent and grandchild. A middle-of-the-night thunderstorm and a sheep on the loose rattle Nana -- and provide her farm-ambassador charge with an opportunity to show off some animal-husbandry know-how. This is a satisfying return visit with two engaging characters.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

(2) PS Illustrated by Guilherme Karsten. In this animal-themed version of the "Ten in the Bed" nursery rhyme, it's a speckled hen who cries out the "Roll over! Roll over!" refrain. An unusual mix of bedfellows includes other farm animals as well as a lion, a sloth, a bear, and a snake. The ten animals brush their teeth on the title-page spread, then climb into bed and snuggle in to read. At this point, the spreads transition to split pages (a la The Very Hungry Caterpillar), where successive right-hand pages get progressively larger as each animal falls out of bed until only the hen remains. "Come back, please. I miss you!" Beyond this interactive feature, young listeners will enjoy the story's repetition and gentle humor, plus counting along and making the animal sounds included as each character rolls to the floor. The horizontal book format cleverly helps showcase the wide bed, which fits all ten animals. The preschooler-friendly illustrations' bold hues and simple textures are eye-catching (and are the colors and that bedroom layout nodding to Goodnight Moon?). A free Stories Aloud audiobook is available via a QR code on the back cover.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2024

(3) PS Cat is a little too honest with friends, resulting in some hurt feelings, until gentle feedback and practice with a friend gets him to consider his words more carefully. The message is clear in this heartfelt story, and cheerful illustrations of a host of animal pals add to its humor.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(2) PS Illustrated by Leah Hong. The passage of time can seem painfully slow to young children who haven't yet mastered how to measure hours, days, weeks, months, or years. This is especially true when a child is waiting for something to happen after a certain duration of time. In Conklin's text, a little girl awaits her mother's return from a weeklong business trip. Her father and baby sibling are home with her, and they cross off days on a calendar and fill their time with trips to the local pool and with window shopping in town. Throughout, Hong's watercolors create a reassuring depiction of the child's family and environment, with a calming, cool palette of mostly blue and green settings and soft, rounded forms. This comforting visual atmosphere is reassuring as the girl repeatedly appears dejected despite her father's loving care. While anticipating her mom's return is her main concern, other kinds of waiting underscore her longing. Standing in line at the pool or bemoaning how long it takes to get big enough to ride a two-wheeler, she often pulls on her father's arm, as if willing him to change his pace would hurry time along. Small pleasures punctuate the waiting time, and the family's joyful reunion provides a satisfying conclusion, augmented by a new bicycle as the cherry on top of this sweet story.

Reviewer: Megan Dowd Lambert | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2024

(2) PS "Emma was a large dog with many small dreams." She dreams about her favorite things, such as rolling in the grass and splashing in water. In Cooper's (most recently Yes & No, rev. 5/21) cheerful black-outlined watercolors, Emma's dreams are pictured as small bluish-gray dogs frolicking vision-like above her. When not dreaming, Emma sometimes worries or feels all alone, and sometimes "her whole body [feels] strange." Readers may wonder if our protagonist is sick or elderly, but -- surprise! -- one day, out from Emma's body emerges a tiny puppy, arriving headfirst into the world. Big Emma (literally "full of wonders") hasn't been thinking back to her frisky puppyhood, but rather ahead to her future, very-active puppies. Re-reading is a treat: audiences will now see that lumpy Emma is obviously pregnant, her "favorite things" are her soon-to-be-born pups, and her growing dreams are her seven growing babies. Once again, small dogs cavort around Emma, this time, brown-and-tan like mom and solid as can be. Cooper's small line drawings of a plump Emma adorn the book's opening endpapers while chubby puppies romp about on the closing ones. There's much to appreciate in this story about a gentle giant of a dog whose "dreams came true."

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2024

(2) PS A child explores the outdoors on a sunny day, observing living things all around: a tall, verdant tree and animals on land, in the air, and underwater. Author Daniel gives voice to each of these living entities: "I'm afraid," says a leaf in the air. The tree from which the leaf fell tells it, however, that it's not alone. A bird nestled in the same tree notes: "I could fall," and the wind replies, as the yellow bird soars through the air: "I will lift you." And so it goes: the stream provides water to a thirsty skunk; a fish provides camaraderie to a lonely crab; the creek cools a hot bear; the grass comforts a worried deer; and more. Daniel stresses the interdependence of living things, stating in a short appended note that "every single living thing depends on another living thing" (such as, for instance, the story's "bored" mushrooms that accept a mouse's invitation to play). The illustrations in thick acrylics are inventive: in one spread, a butterfly's wing, adorned with a pupil-like shape, overlaps with the child's left eye as that eye looks at a snail needing encouragement, and in the final spread, the child sleeps under a full moon while dreaming of creatures. James personifies the animals, many of them with tears and frowns. It's an empathetic primer for the youngest of readers on the interconnectedness of all living things on our planet.

Reviewer: Julie Danielson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2024

(2) PS Illustrated by Lauren Child. This visually and metaphorically resonant picture book follows a child living through a day when they are not "sunshine yellow" or "balloon bright." Instead, they describe themself as "gray today. I just am. I am gray. Gray is when I don't feel like me." Dockrill uses simple and evocative metaphors to reflect a feeling to which many young readers and listeners (and probably many older ones, too) can relate, and to demonstrate the bleakness of dour thoughts. A sympathetic caretaker provides gentle reassurance that the colors inside a person don't go away, even on gray days, and their love for the protagonist won't go away either. Child's distinct mixed-media illustrations, with engagingly varied compositions, shift between grayscale and sunny hues to create a contrast that embodies the sense of being "gray like the storm in the clouds" in a colorful world. The text lets readers and listeners accept feelings of darkness, and reminds them, "It's OK to feel gray." The art manages to convey both the protagonist's emotions and the wonders that can be present on an average gloomy day. Altogether a welcome reminder that even on the grayest days, hugs (and support from others) can help, and color can return.

Reviewer: Amy Pattee | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2024

(2) PS In this companion to Hello, Moon (rev. 7/21), Downing records the activities of a group of woodland animals, including rabbits, bears, butterflies, and a hawk, as they engage in their daytime routines. The book sets a gentle tone: "Hello, sun! / Goodbye, night. / Sunrise chill, pale dawn light." Similar quatrains ("Morning shines, / ferns unfurl. / Acorns crack. / Hungry squirrel") detail the action, which includes frolicking, nest building, and even napping. A hawk flies overhead ("Feathers flash / all around"), interrupting the bucolic scenes, but the rabbits: "Hide away, / safe and sound." Although yellow predominates the palette of the watercolors and liquid acrylics, Downing employs soft blues and greens in the flora and fauna to create a pastoral tableau that beautifully complements the rhythmic text.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2024

(2) PS Illustrated by Kate Hindley. Hindley brings a Richard Scarry vibe to Fitzgerald's zany bedtime frolic. From the start, the direct-address narrator breaks the book's titular promise: the "quickest bedtime story EVER" is "only ten words. BUT before we begin, listen up." Listeners join a cast of pajama-clad animals in a series of interactive bedtime-stalling antics. They pledge to go to bed at the end of the book, while grownups promise to use their best reading voices. Everyone warms up (aided by silly, near-page-filling text), stretches (rotating the book to achieve a full vertical extension), tucks in their toys (from biggest to smallest, in colors and patterns, or "even try out [their] own ideas"), practices careful page-turning, and so on. Finally it's time for the story, which sums up this delightful romp: "Once upon a bed, / you laughed, / and played, / and read." Colorfully cluttered illustrations offer myriad details, inviting repeat readings, encouraged by the book's closing words: "(Until tomorrow!)." In the final pages, Hindley's bright, wakeful colors give way to sleepy shades of blue, glowing from decorative string lights, and everyone -- well, almost everyone -- is sound asleep.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2024

(2) PS Illustrated by Sonia Sánchez. Gopal and Sanchez celebrate impromptu community-making through music: "One sweet song / for heart and soul. / One sweet song / to make us whole." In a scene recalling balcony performances in places like New York City during the COVID-19 shutdown, someone plays the flute by an open window; a girl listening from the building across the way chimes in with a triangle. This, in turn, spurs a third musician, then a fourth, and so on. More join in with everything from cello, violin, ghatam, and morsing to unconventional instruments that will cause audiences to giggle (pots and pans, bottles filled with dried beans, singing into a remote control "microphone," and even a horn made of a funnel and tube). The rhyming, rhythmic text counts up to ten participants and back down to one, first animating readers and then bringing them back to a quieter, peaceful state that gives this book a dual function as a bedtime story. Colorful painted and digital illustrations show individual lines, an almost scribbly texture, and imperfectly drawn shapes, all of which make the pictures buzz with energy and movement. Even if they didn't personally experience these types of balcony performances, readers will understand the way music-making can bring people together.

Reviewer: Julie Hakim Azzam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024