(2) PS Illustrated by Sonia Sánchez. Davies's playful rhyming text depicts a child's eventful afternoon at a pool brimming with swimmers of all ages, sizes, and skin tones. Readers are quickly immersed in the young swimmer's exploration of the under: "You under-sit. / You under-talk. / You under-smile. / You under-walk." The irregular, blocky text shape-shifts alongside the splashes and somersaults on each page. A sudden afternoon thunderstorm rolls in, "so loud it makes your eardrums ring / so loud it makes the young one cling." Swimmers huddle undercover, wrapped in towels, until the all-clear sounds and they jump back into action. A young child's rubber ducky floats off into the deep end, but a quick rescue leads to celebration and a towel break at pool's edge--that is, until the water beckons to the child once again. Sánchez's (Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away, rev. 9/20) textured mixed-media illustrations brilliantly capture the sensations of a pool excursion, from the reflective blues of tiles wavering beneath the water line to the fizzy bubbles from cannonball jumps. Every turquoise-covered page evokes the sound of splashes, excited squeals, and squeaky inflatables familiar to frequent swimmers. An ebullient ode to a simple summertime joy that will surely ­encourage both novice and adventurous swimmers to make a splash of their own.

Reviewer: Grace McKinney | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2021

(3) PS Illustrated by Sydney Hanson. During a walk in the woods, an (unclothed) adult panda and cub debate the necessity of a certain clothing item (Child: "Pants look good." / Adult: "Pants look ridiculous--on a panda"). But something is tailing them that's more serious than their argument. Davies captures the particular voice of a youngster's rationalizations, while Hanson's mixed-media illustrations depict the characters' emotive facial expressions.

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(2) 4-6 Sixth grader Maggie enjoys "hacking," a form of pranking her late father learned at MIT. When equally nerdy Lena moves to town, Maggie shares this once-private part of her life. Maggie's mother struggles with alcoholism and her grandfather's health is declining, adding depth to the shenanigans. Full of unapologetic girl power, the book also includes appended activities based on the girls' interests in physics and Dadaism.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2016

(3) 4-6 Lemonade War series. The fifth and last Lemonade War book is the most serious of the bunch. Twins Jessie and Evan's eccentric long-lost father shows up and volunteers to watch them while their mother travels for work. The children end up disappointed by his failings--and endangered when they're left alone during a hurricane. Davies handles the big issues with her reliably light touch.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) 4-6 Twins Evan and Jessie approach Valentine's Day as differently as they approach everything else. Evan writes poetry (though he's afraid of admitting that to anyone) and Jessie puts her scientific mind to work solving a classroom Valentine mystery. The Lemonade War series' fourth book captures the nuances of elementary-school drama and sibling dynamics. School-newspaper excerpts, poetry terms, and famous poems are appended.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) 4-6 In their third book, siblings Jessie and Evan (The Lemonade War; The Lemonade Crime) investigate the disappearance of their grandmother's antique bell. More importantly, they must adjust to the changes resulting from her loss of memory and failing health. Fans of the previous books will find this one equally accessible, with additional thoughtful points of discussion.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(2) 4-6 When the boy who stole $200 from Jessie and Evan in The Lemonade War brags about his newly purchased Xbox, Jessie demands a trial, with her brother as plaintiff and herself as his lawyer. Davies again does a good job showing what motivates each character, depicting them with some shades of gray as they don't always live up to their own standards.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2011

(2) K-3 Illustrated by S. D. Schindler. "Tallyman" Phineas Bump's arrival in 1790 Tunbridge, Vermont, causes consternation. Afraid that a higher count will mean higher taxes, Mrs. Pepper claims herself as the sole inhabitant. Upon learning that the number will also determine representation in Congress, she demands a re-count. In Schindler's detailed illustrations showing meticulous renditions of early settlements, historical features coexist comfortably with tall-tale humor.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2009

(3) YA Sixteen-year-old Triangle Shirtwaist Factory worker Essie befriends mysterious Harriet Abbott. Harriet helps Essie come to grips with her sister's death, but their bond is strained when Harriet's past is revealed. Davies's use of flashbacks keeps readers on edge, while her incorporation of historical facts firmly roots the story in its era. An author's note tells more about events that inspired the tale.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Lee White. After the vacation-bound Petersons drive away, their house heads for the beach. Davies's kooky premise and characters are brought to life in White's spirited oil-paint and colored-pencil illustrations. Oddball scenes, such as the house stuck in traffic, ably support the pun-filled text. Some of the wordplay may not register with youngsters, but that doesn't detract from the story's absurd humor.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2007

(4) 4-6 Evan is horrified that his younger sister is skipping third grade and joining his class. In the last days of summer, they compete for who can make the most profit selling lemonade. The plot heavy-handedly works in business theory and math. However, the sibling relationship is sensitively drawn, and readers will be invested in who comes out on top.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Melissa Sweet. Audubon, the famous ornithological painter, was also distinguished for scientific curiosity, as dramatized in this slightly fictionalized account from his young adulthood. Sweet's relaxed watercolor style and skillful incorporation of collage, plus a lively narration that illuminates Audubon's passion for observation and sets his pivotal insight into context, make this appealing vignette a fine introduction to his work. Bib.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2004

(3) 4-6 In this well-crafted first novel, Hazel and her parents live in Los Alamos, New Mexico, because of her father's work on the Manhattan Project, where security precautions and hastily transferred lives are described in convincing detail. Her mother's pacifism and her friends' exploits with amateur radio and other risks complicate Hazel's emerging ethos; though her family returns home to New Jersey in the end, they'll never be the same.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian