(3) PS Elliot, a toy moose, finds a map with a big X on it, and he and his stuffed animal pals dig for buried treasure. After digging themselves in deep, the gang learn that the map is a garden map, and the X marks the spot where their friend Lionel will plant a tree. Now they have to figure out how to get out of the hole and how to explain themselves to Lionel. The crisp, detailed drawings capture the gentle humor of the situation.

Reviewer: Sara Pearce

(4) K-3 A timid girl tries to overcome her fears by pretending to be a witch and chanting such magic words as please and thank you. She realizes that the snakes and monsters she imagines are actually just shoelaces and bushes. Children will identify with her fears, amplified by the bold illustrations, even if her method for working through them is a bit confusingly presented.

Reviewer: Sara Pearce

(3) K-3 Illustrated by S. D. Schindler. Santa's elves are unhappy. Despite all their best efforts there is always a last-minute rush to get Santa out the door and on his way on Christmas Eve. Their solution is to automate, but can the imposing "Deliverator" outdo Santa? Obviously not, but the story's conclusion contains a surprise twist. The ink drawings are meticulously executed and full of droll details in this sequel to How Santa Got His Job.

Reviewer: Sara Pearce

(4) PS Backyard Books series. Illustrated by Tudor Humphries. Speaking directly and simply to preschoolers, these books spin off from the title questions to discuss the life cycles of snails and ladybugs from their hatching to maturity. Both books conclude with unnecessary, tongue-in-cheek explanations of how a human child is different from a ladybug or a snail. Detailed illustrations give close-up views. More facts are included in a "Did You Know" section at the end of each book.

Reviewer: Sara Pearce

(4) PS Backyard Books series. Illustrated by Tudor Humphries. Speaking directly and simply to preschoolers, these books spin off from the title questions to discuss the life cycles of snails and ladybugs from their hatching to maturity. Both books conclude with unnecessary, tongue-in-cheek explanations of how a human child is different from a ladybug or a snail. Detailed illustrations give close-up views. More facts are included in a "Did You Know" section at the end of each book.

Reviewer: Sara Pearce

(3) 4-6 Headliners series. A straightforward text discusses the age-old conflicts in the Balkans that have torn the region apart. Past and present are thoroughly explained in simple, clear language with informative boxed text on key people, places, events, and terms. Maps, black-and-white and color photos, and a time line round out the book. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Sara Pearce

(3) K-3 Dial Easy-to-Read series. Illustrated by S. D. Schindler. The cast of Sam's Wild West Show is headed home on Christmas Eve when they come across a train that has been robbed right down to the passengers' Christmas presents. With the help of Rodeo Rosie, Sam catches the criminals and the holiday is saved. The fine-lined ink and watercolor illustrations are as deadpan as the humorous text.

Reviewer: Sara Pearce

(4) 4-6 Indian Nations series. These books introduce eight Native American nations through their history and customs. Each volume opens with a folktale and/or a creation story before moving on to discuss past and present culture. The texts are informative but rather dry. Tribal games, songs, prayers, and/or recipes are included, as are average-quality color and black-and-white photographs. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Sara Pearce

(4) K-3 Translated by J. Alison James. Illustrated by Hans de Beer. Alexander, a young mouse, dreams of being brave like Mighty Bruno, a teddy bear superhero. When Alexander's family runs out of food, he ventures into the kitchen, disguising himself from the housecat by wearing a bear costume. While readers will applaud Alexander's daring and enjoy the comic illustrations, the story ends too abruptly, with the cat improbably "adopting" the bear-mouse.

Reviewer: Sara Pearce

(4) 4-6 Indian Nations series. These books introduce eight Native American nations through their history and customs. Each volume opens with a folktale and/or a creation story before moving on to discuss past and present culture. The texts are informative but rather dry. Tribal games, songs, prayers, and/or recipes are included, as are average-quality color and black-and-white photographs. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Sara Pearce

(4) 4-6 Indian Nations series. These books introduce eight Native American nations through their history and customs. Each volume opens with a folktale and/or a creation story before moving on to discuss past and present culture. The texts are informative but rather dry. Tribal games, songs, prayers, and/or recipes are included, as are average-quality color and black-and-white photographs. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Sara Pearce

(3) PS Illustrated by Stephanie Peterson. In short, jaunty rhymes, a half-dozen animals describe their tails, from a skunk that lifts its tail to send a message that it doesn't want to play, to a beaver that uses its tail to build its home. The vividly colored animals sprawl across the double-page spreads, and large, fairly sturdy flaps allow preschoolers to flip the tails back and forth.

Reviewer: Sara Pearce

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Joe Cepeda. When the lights go out, Ronda becomes apprehensive during a sleepover at her friend Pat's house. The room is a little too dark and a mysterious tapping keeps her awake. The bright paintings and happy ending (the tapping is Pat's dog, Rip) will reassure those having second thoughts about their own first sleepover, but the easy-to-read story is thin.

Reviewer: Sara Pearce

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Carol Thompson. With the aid of his understanding mother, a young boy adapts to a new home. William picks out wallpaper for his new room and finds a friend next door. Dad is only shown in a family photo--a mystery cleared up at the end when William's mom assures him that he'll be able to choose paper for his room at his dad's new house, too. Splashy mixed-media illustrations accompany the reassuring story.

Reviewer: Sara Pearce

(3) PS "Ten red apples hanging on the tree. / Yippee, fiddle-dee-fee!" One by one, the apples are eaten by nine farm animals and the farmer, depicted in the gouache folk-art-like paintings as flat, jointed, wooden figures. When the farmer's wife arrives to pick apples for a pie, she finds none ("Fie, fie, fiddle-dee-fee!"). The rhyming verse is lively, and the endpapers reinforce the counting lesson.

Reviewer: Sara Pearce

(4) K-3 Read About series. Each book introduces basic facts of history, geography, people, civilization, and religion for new readers. Textbook-like illustrations, some photo re-enactments using models and costumes, and small color photographs of artifacts and ruins accompany the accessible texts. Report writers may need to supplement these volumes with more in-depth studies. Ind.

Reviewer: Sara Pearce

(4) K-3 Read About series. Each book introduces basic facts of history, geography, people, civilization, and religion for new readers. Textbook-like illustrations, some photo re-enactments using models and costumes, and small color photographs of artifacts and ruins accompany the accessible texts. Report writers may need to supplement these volumes with more in-depth studies. Ind.

Reviewer: Sara Pearce

(4) 4-6 Indian Nations series. These books introduce eight Native American nations through their history and customs. Each volume opens with a folktale and/or a creation story before moving on to discuss past and present culture. The texts are informative but rather dry. Tribal games, songs, prayers, and/or recipes are included, as are average-quality color and black-and-white photographs. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Sara Pearce

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Eva Eriksson. In her third book, Rosa the dog becomes grumpy when summer ends and she has to go back to the city. Her "aunt" sends her to a doggie daycare center, which Rosa isn't happy about at first. Then she meets dozens of dogs, and slowly her behavior changes. By the end, Rosa is her old sociable self. The story drags, but the lighthearted illustrations are appealing.

Reviewer: Sara Pearce

(3) PS As a young owl flies from dusk to dawn, she learns to count from one to ten. She spies one prairie dog on a hill, two mice in a field, three ducks flying over a pond, and so on. The feathers on Owl's wings change into the shape of each new number in clever cut-paper illustrations that also contain the numbers within the features of the animals themselves.

Reviewer: Sara Pearce