(3) K-3 I Can Read Book series. Illustrated by Andrés Landazábal. In the latest installment of the Reina Ramos series, Reina is preoccupied with a food drive her school has turned into a competition: whichever class collects the most wins a pizza party. Reina tries to enlist Abuela's assistance, but Abuela is focused on bringing a homemade meal to their neighbor, who is caring for her new baby. The text includes multiple sentences per page and a sprinkling of Spanish words, complex sentences, and even the use of a colon, giving kids the opportunity to stretch their understanding of punctuation while also building their vocabularies. Sunny cartoon illustrations fill out Reina's world, depicting an active, warm, connected neighborhood and school. A glossary of Spanish words rounds out this appealing book.

Reviewer: Adrienne L. Pettinelli | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2025

(3) K-3 My First I Can Read Book series. In their newest adventure, reminiscent of "The Tortoise and the Hare," impulsive Fox (Fox the Tiger, Fox Has a Problem, rev. 7/23) and Fox's hapless friends play football. "Fox wants to win. Elephant, Rabbit, and Bear want to win. And Snail? Snail wants to win too." As in other books in the series, the digitally assembled pencil and watercolor illustrations extend and add humor to simple, repetitive text. "Elephant kicks the ball far" graces a page in which readers see the ball fly out of the field and land deep in the mountains. When the players chase the ball, they take off on skateboards, a bike, and a scooter--except for Snail, who muscles along, playing independently. Soft lines, gentle textures, and smiling faces on cartoon-style characters (one of whom wears a colander as a helmet) give this a lighthearted, giddy tone that rewards reading practice.

Reviewer: Adrienne L. Pettinelli | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2025

(2) K-3 My First I Can Read Book series. Fox and his friends are back in this newest installment in Tabor's Geisel-winning (for Fox the Tiger) beginning-reader series. "Fox has a problem." When Fox's kite gets stuck in a tree, he sees many other kites stuck in trees. He brings in a giant fan to blow them down, and it blows all the kites, along with all the leaves on the trees, into Bear's den. "Now Bear has a problem..." This sets off a chain reaction of questionable choices and humorously disastrous results. Tabor is skilled at letting a controlled vocabulary and tight sentences play it straight while his illustrations bring the comedy. Short statements that lean on sight words and repetition read like wry commentary on Fox's antics, which are made plain in Tabor's colored-pencil and watercolor illustrations. The composition here is perfectly planned--not a line or gesture wasted--and the images grow ever more absurd as the pages turn and Fox brings in a giant vacuum to suck up all the leaves and accidentally sucks up Bear and blocks Rabbit's burrow. By the time readers learn that Fox has "a sharp idea" above an image of Fox's hand holding a very large, very sharp needle, they'll be giggling in anticipation of exactly how badly this is all going to end.

Reviewer: Adrienne L. Pettinelli | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2023

(2) K-3 I Can Read Book series. Here is a welcome new edition of this iconic, Caldecott Honor–winning easy reader, reissued with a section at the end of seven pages of background material. Fans are treated to glimpses into Lobel's working methods and mindset ("It is a kind of pleasant omnipotence that I feel at the drawing board. There is a little world at the end of my pencil"); see early sketches of beloved characters and a notebook page of scribbled text for chapter one of the book; get an explanation of the three-color art separation process; and see photos of Lobel--as a young man, at work at his desk, with one of his children, acting in a home movie. One quote will surely resonate with all of us, and does much to explain the appeal of Frog and Toad. When asked whether he saw himself more as Frog or more as Toad, Lobel answered, "Both, both. I think everybody is both."

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2020

(3) K-3 My First I Can Read Book series. In the domesticated otter's latest easy-reader outing, she craves adventure--a trip to the circus or the ocean, say. Instead, Otter Keeper (the adult human with whom Otter lives) takes her to the library, where she learns to have adventures through books. This persuasive plug for reading shows Otter's stuffies looking amusingly discombobulated in her fantasies of their great adventures.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 I Can Read Book series. Illustrated by Chin Ko. These early-reader biographies offer simple narratives that touch on highlights of these (frequently covered) subjects' lives. Large font is surrounded by plenty of white space to aid emerging readers. The cartoonlike illustrations are slick but occasionally emotive; an appendix includes photographs and/or period paintings as well as contextual information. Timeline. Review covers these I Can Read Book titles: Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, and Martin Luther King Jr.

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(4) K-3 I Can Read Book series. Illustrated by Chin Ko. These early-reader biographies offer simple narratives that touch on highlights of these (frequently covered) subjects' lives. Large font is surrounded by plenty of white space to aid emerging readers. The cartoonlike illustrations are slick but occasionally emotive; an appendix includes photographs and/or period paintings as well as contextual information. Timeline. Review covers these I Can Read Book titles: Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, and Martin Luther King Jr.

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(3) K-3 I Can Read Book series. Illustrated by Troy Cummings. Clarence, the superheroic picture-book truck, returns in these charming early readers. Clarence makes short work of his farm chores by secretly transforming himself into a super vehicle (Farm); he teaches news chopper Stella when to use her outdoor and indoor voices (Traffic); and he babysits for energetic truck-tots (Zip). Cummings's signature chunk-tastic art is, yes, super. Review covers these I Can Read Book titles: Mighty Truck: On the Farm, Mighty Truck: The Traffic Tie-Up, and Mighty Truck: Zip and Beep.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 I Can Read Book series. Illustrated by Troy Cummings. Clarence, the superheroic picture-book truck, returns in these charming early readers. Clarence makes short work of his farm chores by secretly transforming himself into a super vehicle (Farm); he teaches news chopper Stella when to use her outdoor and indoor voices (Traffic); and he babysits for energetic truck-tots (Zip). Cummings's signature chunk-tastic art is, yes, super. Review covers these I Can Read Book titles: Mighty Truck: On the Farm, Mighty Truck: The Traffic Tie-Up, and Mighty Truck: Zip and Beep.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 I Can Read Book series. Illustrated by Troy Cummings. Clarence, the superheroic picture-book truck, returns in these charming early readers. Clarence makes short work of his farm chores by secretly transforming himself into a super vehicle (Farm); he teaches news chopper Stella when to use her outdoor and indoor voices (Traffic); and he babysits for energetic truck-tots (Zip). Cummings's signature chunk-tastic art is, yes, super. Review covers these I Can Read Book titles: Mighty Truck: On the Farm, Mighty Truck: The Traffic Tie-Up, and Mighty Truck: Zip and Beep.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 I Can Read Book series. Ducklings channels McCloskey as the eponymous bear family makes way for Mama and Papa Duck and their just-hatched brood. In Machines, Gramps takes the cubs to a building site to watch trucks at work. Both feature the Berenstains' familiar characters and cartoon art. Simple sentences and limited vocabulary will help new readers through the pedestrian stories. Review covers these titles: The Berenstain Bears and the Ducklings and The Berenstain Bears' Big Machines.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(4) K-3 I Can Read Book series. Each volume asks developing readers if they would want to become the titular animal. An unusually substantive easy-reader text, accompanied by relevant full-bleed photos, details the animal's habits, daily life, and parenting behaviors. Hokey "Ranger Rick" dialogue bubbles encourage readers to make meaningless personal connections (in Orca: "Would you have fun living in a pod?"). Additional facts and an activity are appended. Glos. Review covers these I Can Read Book titles: Ranger Rick: I Wish I Was a Gorilla, Ranger Rick: I Wish I Was a Lion, and Ranger Rick: I Wish I Was an Orca.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(3) K-3 I Can Read Book series. Illustrated by Pat Schories. It's the day of the big parade, and puppy Biscuit is eager to participate. When a handful of balloons escape, it's Biscuit to the rescue. One to two sentences per page include lots of repetition and onomatopoeia ("Beep! Beep! Here comes the fire truck, Biscuit! Woof!"). Simple and sweetly illustrated, this book fits right in with the other "My First" easy readers starring irrepressible Biscuit.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(4) K-3 I Can Read Book series. On a "bug safari" in Cool, Pete brings home a caterpillar. He's concerned when it seems to disappear but excited when it finally emerges as a butterfly. Pete gets creative in Bake Sale, taking his baking failures and turning them into "groovy berry goodness." The stories are slight, but fans should enjoy the playful illustrations that complement the simple emergent-reader texts. Review covers these titles: Pete the Cat and the Cool Caterpillar and Pete the Cat's Groovy Bake Sale.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(4) K-3 I Can Read Book series. On a "bug safari" in Cool, Pete brings home a caterpillar. He's concerned when it seems to disappear but excited when it finally emerges as a butterfly. Pete gets creative in Bake Sale, taking his baking failures and turning them into "groovy berry goodness." The stories are slight, but fans should enjoy the playful illustrations that complement the simple emergent-reader texts. Review covers these titles: Pete the Cat and the Cool Caterpillar and Pete the Cat's Groovy Bake Sale.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) K-3 I Can Read Book: My Community series. Illustrated by Catalina Echeverri. Through simple, kid-friendly framing stories, children learn about the possibilities and the variety in each community-helping career field. Softly colored cartoon illustrations show a diverse array of approachable-looking characters and match the books' conversational tone. Each easy-reader narrative flows naturally while providing controlled vocabulary and concrete explanations for emerging readers. Review covers these I Can Read Book: My Community titles: I Want to Be a Doctor, I Want to Be a Police Officer, and I Want to Be a Veterinarian.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(4) K-3 I Can Read Book series. Illustrated by Kelly Light. Art-loving Louise must rethink her bake sale plans when little brother Art mixes all the icing colors together (Bake Sales); when Louise's cat scares the class guinea pig, Pigcasso, her brother saves the day (Class Pet). Emerging readers will appreciate the large font, ample white space, and appealing illustrations, but the subtle difference between art (noun) and Art (character) may confuse those unfamiliar with Louise's earlier picture books. Review covers these titles: Louise and the Class Pet and Louise Loves Bake Sales.

Reviewer: Amy Seto Forrester

(4) K-3 I Can Read Book series. Illustrated by Kelly Light. Art-loving Louise must rethink her bake sale plans when little brother Art mixes all the icing colors together (Bake Sales); when Louise's cat scares the class guinea pig, Pigcasso, her brother saves the day (Class Pet). Emerging readers will appreciate the large font, ample white space, and appealing illustrations, but the subtle difference between art (noun) and Art (character) may confuse those unfamiliar with Louise's earlier picture books. Review covers these titles: Louise and the Class Pet and Louise Loves Bake Sales.

Reviewer: Amy Seto Forrester

(3) K-3 I Can Read Book: My Community series. Illustrated by Catalina Echeverri. Through simple, kid-friendly framing stories, children learn about the possibilities and the variety in each community-helping career field. Softly colored cartoon illustrations show a diverse array of approachable-looking characters and match the books' conversational tone. Each easy-reader narrative flows naturally while providing controlled vocabulary and concrete explanations for emerging readers. Review covers these I Can Read Book: My Community titles: I Want to Be a Doctor, I Want to Be a Police Officer, and I Want to Be a Veterinarian.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(3) K-3 I Can Read Book: My Community series. Illustrated by Catalina Echeverri. Through simple, kid-friendly framing stories, children learn about the possibilities and the variety in each community-helping career field. Softly colored cartoon illustrations show a diverse array of approachable-looking characters and match the books' conversational tone. Each easy-reader narrative flows naturally while providing controlled vocabulary and concrete explanations for emerging readers. Review covers these I Can Read Book: My Community titles: I Want to Be a Doctor, I Want to Be a Police Officer, and I Want to Be a Veterinarian.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin