(4) K-3 Illustrated by Molly Idle. Zombelina is excited to share her new hip-hop routine at show-and-tell, but when the time comes, "things begin falling apart" (literally). By channeling her embarrassment into empathy and support for nervous new (ghost) kid Morty, Zombelina gains a friend and dance partner. The singsongy rhyming text and didactic message are enhanced by Idle's lively and humorous colored-pencil illustrations.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Poly Bernatene. Even though Bird makes a great umbrella, keeps Hippo "bug-free," and tells jokes ("I'm a hippopota-mustache"), Hippo repeatedly shoos Bird away. The nod toward symbiosis gets lost in the predictable reluctant-friends plot, and Hippo and Bird's reconciliation comes too suddenly to feel authentic. However, energetic mixed-media illustrations shift color to reflect Hippo's mood and expand on the limited dialogue-based narrative.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Molly Idle. Zombie-girl Zombelina is overjoyed to win the part of Clara in The Nutcracker, but she's sad for Lizzie, cast in a minor role. When Zombelina's ghostly grandpa causes mischief during opening night, however, Zombelina lends Lizzie her (detachable!) legs to take over the performance while Zombelina handles Grandpa. Colored-pencil illustrations capture the dancers' graceful movements and supplement the punny rhyming text with visual humor.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2015

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Molly Idle. Rhymed couplets chronicle a young zombie girl's progression from dancing at home to ballet classes (her detachable limbs give her amazing extension) to a recital. Although Zombelina has a moment of stage fright during her performance, her supportive family's shrieking, howling, and cheering see her through. The charming, funny, and technically accurate dance illustrations outshine the somewhat hokey text.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher

(2) K-3 Illustrated by David Catrow. "I've got the middle-child blues. / I feel forgotten and confused... / And I am REALLY not amused." Things improve after pompadoured "Mid-Kid" Lee picks up his guitar and attracts a crowd of, among others, fellow middle children; no one can ignore a rock star, even one wearing "middle-sized shoes." Catrow's irreverent day-glo caricatures are in tune with Crow's catchy song of woe.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2009

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Mike Lester. Cool Daddy Rat, the heppest cat on the New York jazz scene, heads out to play some gigs. After going "an odd way / down Broadway," the daddy discovers a stowaway in his bass case: his son, Ace. The text revels in its jazzy improvisational rhythms without losing sight of the story. Lester's pencil, watercolor, and digital illustrations capture the heavy scene.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Macky Pamintuan. Rhymed text interspersed with a "Splish splash rumba-rumba bim bam BOOM!" refrain tells the story of a boy "sittin' by a swamp." He gets freaked out by monster sounds, only to discover, with relief, that the noises are actually coming from a benign source close to his heart. Digital illustrations with blue-greenish backgrounds have a synthetic look but effectively highlight the humor.

Reviewer: Jack Forman