(3) K-3 Illustrated by Doris Barrette. A boy shares ten rules for hosting a bear (e.g., "DON'T play ball outside with a bear"); rhyming text explains each rule, and clean-lined illustrations support the argument (the bear's ball demolishes a neighbor's birthday cake). The narrator's matter-of-factness regarding the animal's human behavior favorably recalls If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and others of its ilk.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) PS Illustrated by Susan Banta. Mouse Bubble asks her mother how she will help new baby Squeak cope with fear of the dark, monsters in her room, and other nighttime concerns; astute readers should quickly realize that these are Bubble's own worries. Colorful, detailed acrylic illustrations depict the cozy home, featuring the mouse mama wisely following Bubble's suggestions, in this somewhat text-heavy but reassuring tale.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Lina Chesak-Liberace. Curious Polly Hopper the kangaroo wonders why she has a pouch when none of her other animal friends do; all of her initial attempts to carry things in it, such as library books, loaves of bread, and peaches, fail. By the end, she knows the answer when she and her husband, Topper Hopper, have a baby, Minny. Lively pastel illustrations depicting an Australian setting add interest to this slim story.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian