(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jake Parker. A hairbrush-spurning girl discovers that mice have taken up residence in her tresses. This cautionary tale is soft-edged: it's her teacher's "only one friend for naptime" policy that finally convinces the girl to have a "calm talk" with her tiny tenants, whom she has good-naturedly tolerated. Parker cleverly shows the mice using the hair for a volleyball court, as a cinema, etc.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Chris Sheban. Here's a love story--between a girl and a library book that, while inanimate, responds emotionally as it’s overlooked, adored, misplaced, and so on over time ("The book grew lonelier and lonelier"). Readers won't be surprised by the outcome, but some may be interested in the inner workings of a library, with its volunteers, book sales, and mythical basement.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Nicoletta Ceccoli. A girl lives in a small castle exhibit in a museum, and children peer into the windows trying to catch sight of her. She dreams of friends, and at the end readers are invited to "leave a picture of yourself here for me." The self-consciously ethereal tone and misty mixed-media illustrations won't appeal to everyone, but dreamers will enjoy the fantasy.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian