(3) PS Baby Rhyme Time series. Illustrated by Annie Kubler & Sarah Dellow. Bouncy babies and toddlers cavort in this catchy play rhyme that scans well in English and Spanish. Kubler and ­Dellow's cartoon tots, who wear bold colors and charming prints, perform each line of the verse against a white background. One welcome aspect of the entire Baby Rhyme Time series, often available in bilingual editions, is its inclusive diversity. In this offering, youngsters see a range of skin tones, a child wearing a hearing aid on the cover, and a tot with a therapeutic helmet. A Haitian Creole version, Fè Yon Ti Sote! / Hop a Little!, is forthcoming. For more bilingual offerings, try The Fruit Shop / La frutería and The Flower Shop / La ­florería (Candlewick) by Lourdes Heuer, illustrated by Zara González Hoang.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2025

(3) PS A spunky little girl, whose black-and-orange striped shirt reflects her tiger-like bravery, plays hide-and-seek with a brown bear, a raccoon, and a sneaky rabbit. Young listeners will notice a wolf, unmentioned in the text, who joins the game to add a touch of tension. Mostly, though, they'll notice the joyful child playing across expansive sun-drenched spreads of wildflowers and open fields.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(4) K-3 Wasteful lion King Leonard, who routinely throws the possessions he's done with out the window, is bereft when his beloved teddy bear becomes unstuffed. After he discovers that it can't be replaced, Leonard becomes an avid do-it-yourself-er. While the book leads with its hard-sell environmental message, the lesson goes down easy thanks to woodblock-like art in a soft color scheme.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Crisp, blocky illustrations accompany short, evocative text describing fifteen Amazon animals (identified at book's end), from leafcutter ants to a jaguar. In full-page spreads, the animals are presented starkly against bold, simple-colored backdrops and alongside poetic phrases emphasizing their wildness and capturing the quiet mystery of the rainforest (jaguar: "Slowly stalking, majestic and silent"). Back matter provides scientific information on each creature.

Reviewer: Erica Wetter

(3) K-3 Unassertive children, particularly younger siblings, may cheer Piggy's liberation from domineering boy Thomas, who's always called the shots in their household. After meeting Wild Pig, Piggy throws off his clothes and escapes to choose his own destiny. The simple text is much enhanced by Gulemetova's color-saturated, atmospheric illustrations--particularly those enticing green pastures beyond the fence.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(3) PS Brown-skinned Errol dreams about a garden of his own. When he discovers the unused rooftop of his apartment building, an idea sprouts: Errol invites his fellow neighbors to join him in planting and growing a garden. While the story is told in very simple text, it's much enriched by the illustrations, which celebrate a diverse and inclusive group of people gathering to create a thriving garden--and community.

Reviewer: Monique Harris

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Feronia Parker Thomas. In this warm story by a Romani storyteller, based on true events, a coal-mining pony escapes the drudgery and joins a family of British Travelers. Polonius saves the day when the family's truck breaks down and he helps to bring a load of handmade wooden stools to the dock to be shipped to the U.S. Mixed-media illustrations show the various types of caravans, both motorized and traditional horse-drawn ones. Includes a note on Traveling culture.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) PS When monster Bif encounters a big red rock in his path, he unsuccessfully tries to get it to move; other monsters' attempts prove equally futile. Admitting defeat, the monsters decide to play together: they form a conga line and find themselves...on the other side of the rock. Young readers will relish their intellectual superiority to this block-headed, disarmingly candy-colored bunch.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(2) PS "Sssh! Listen, what's that noise?" A child gives a tour of his or her home, pointing out the sounds that surround us yet largely escape our notice--the burbling of a coffeepot, a whirring laptop, etc. The text incorporates copious sound effects in a lighter font, a visual reminder of the home's sonic landscape; illustrations feature bright greens, reds, and yellows, recalling the iconic decor of Goodnight Moon.

Reviewer: Minh Lê | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2017

(3) K-3 Captain Mouse faces "big waves and watery perils" on her adventure-filled sailing expedition to visit her brother. Luckily, friends Frog and Dragonfly are ready to answer her post-shipwreck cries for help. In a mainly seafoam and blue palette, the illustrations zoom in on the captain and her walnut-shell boat, before the wider perspective of the final spread reveals the humorously puddle-size "sea."

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(4) PS Boo, a bunny, appears out of nowhere to disrupt the life of Henry, a dog. Boo's constant presence drives Henry nuts...until Boo saves Henry from a bear and wins over his affections. Boo's appearance and motivations are weakly explained, but the developing friendship is entertaining. Brewis's tidy watercolors effectively use empty space and thought bubbles in unexpected ways.

Reviewer: Miriam Steinberg-Egeth

(3) K-3 A young fiery-redheaded girl and her dad select and exuberantly mix ingredients for a special project. A multilayered, elaborate birthday cake is ready just in time for the arrival of its recipient: a second man, presumably her other dad. A final spread shows family and diverse friends partying down. Spare text and childlike cartoon illustrations reflect the energetic preparations.

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(3) PS "Cats spend the whole day sleeping in a chair. Or do they?" While the human is away, a huge, multihued and -patterned group of cats has a busy day cooking, knitting, taking selfies, reading, swimming, dancing, painting--and, yes, occasionally sleeping. The dynamically designed illustrations' textures and bright colors play up the text's humor and the individual cats' personalities.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher

(4) PS Cat Lucy is a know-it-all. Toshi the panda does things differently from Lucy: he eats with chopsticks, plays "strange" music (on a lute), does yoga instead of gymnastics, etc. Lucy loses it ("That's NOT how you do it!") but comes around when Toshi makes her an origami crane, then offers to teach her how. Cute, candy-colored illustrations help overcome the story's obvious message.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(4) PS Illustrated by Paula Bowles. Little Monster isn't tired--knees, bottom, tail, and other parts want to keep moving. "My tail needs to swing, swing, swing." Friendly Big Monster encourages the effort, but eventually both monsters tire out and fall asleep. "Shhhhhhhhhh..." Loosely rendered illustrations capture Little Monster's energetic, wiggly antics in this familiar bedtime story.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Marieke Nelissen. A traditional tale portrays the resilience of the Romani, or Travelers, of England. Yokki is a storyteller (like the Romani author O'Neill), and he relates the story of the Parno Gry, a white horse that carries a whole family from an impoverished place to a land of rich resources. Soft paintings complement the story, which includes a note on Traveler culture. Glos.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Hannah Tolson. An original story portrays the importance of recycling and music within the Romani, or Traveler, community of England. Ossiri, a contemporary Traveler girl, wants to be a musician and creates her own instrument from recycled materials. While practicing in the hills, she wakes a hairy ogre, who ultimately sings along and rewards her. Bold, naive-style paintings illustrate the story, which includes a note on Traveler culture.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 On a girl's birthday, everyone is paying too much attention to the smelly baby. So sis launches into a comically long-winded, inventive tale--starring herself. Mimicking her meandering narrative, the text curves and spirals across sprightly illustrations, with "AND THEN..." before every page turn. Luckily, by the end of Alborozo's satisfyingly child-minded story, baby bro has grown on sister ("I suppose").

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(4) PS On a gray day, Cat strolls through the rolling landscape collecting colors from a green tree, red roses, the sunset, and other parts of the natural world. Inexplicably, each color marks her white fur. Later, the feline emerges from a plant followed by seven kittens, each one a different color mentioned before. Pleasing, simple illustrations somewhat compensate for the puzzling nature of the story.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(3) K-3 Meg has invented her own happiness ("it smelled of warm cookies and the ocean"), which she keeps in a jar. She takes it with her everywhere, sharing happiness with friends and family members. When Meg's jar goes missing, it's the others' turn to cheer her up. Warm, expressive illustrations capture Meg's emotions; the antics of a cat unmentioned in the text add humor.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano