(2) K-3 Illustrated by Christopher Weyant. Boobies are birds that live along the coasts of the Eastern Pacific. In this book, the red-footed boobies live on one rock in the sea; the blue-footed boobies live on a rock across the way. The groups vie for dominance and taunt each other (shouting "BEST!" and blowing raspberries), frustrating the hermit crab that lives on the rock between them. A Shakespearean drama unfolds when a blue-footed booby and a red-footed booby meet and fall in love. Ink and watercolor cartoon illustrations with heavy lines contrast with gently shaded colors, creating a sense of character and whimsy while also depicting realistic flourishes such as accurate booby courtship behaviors. Plentiful white space focuses the eye and presents opportunities for oversize text in expressive type to bring the words and art together. The text is a mix of straightforward and comical, with asides to make adults smile, as when readers learn that the hermit crab can perform the lovers' wedding ceremony "thanks to a certificate he got on the internet." As is the case in many families nursing an ancient grudge, the emergence of a baby makes everyone reconsider their antagonistic positions. "And finally, all the boobies actually agreed!" Back matter provides facts about boobies. Humorous lessons on life and animal behavior make this a memorable offering.

Reviewer: Adrienne L. Pettinelli | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2024

(2) K-3 Ready to Read: Monster Og series. Illustrated by Elio. Picture book author Dyckman (Wolfie the Bunny, rev. 3/15; How Dinosaurs Went Extinct, rev. 3/23) steps into the beginning reader market with this book for the earliest readers. Og is a turquoise monster with puffy hair, blunt horns, and one tooth -- not even a little frightening. The book uses simple words, short sentences, and a lot of repetition ("This is Og. Og is nice") to ease children just starting to sound out words into this story about the day some sort of creature appears stuck in a block of ice. Og is scared but also determined to get the creature out. Og tries bonking the ice with a log, and when that doesn't work, it's time for a new strategy: "Og can think and make a plan!" For its simplicity, the text has a gentle rhyme scheme and pleasing sense of rhythm that reward the work of decoding. Elio's cartoon-style illustrations are bright, cheerful, expressive, and clearly composed, creating a path for readers who may be struggling with early phonics skills to follow the story. Once Og finally releases the creature from the ice, a new friendship is formed, and readers get a setup for future adventures with this duo.

Reviewer: Adrienne L. Pettinelli | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2024

(2) 1-3 Bat, Cat & Rat series. Illustrated by Mark Teague. These delightful, very brief stories entertainingly touch on the joys and complexities of friendship. In chapter one, Bat, Cat, and Rat move into a new house together. Each character is distinct: Cat is serious, Rat is mischievous, and Bat is clever. Cat takes the upstairs and pulls books from a suitcase. Rat gets the downstairs and unpacks a satchel of joke props. When Bat declares, "UNDER the stairs is THE BEST!" the friends all end up hanging out in Bat's snug closet. In the second chapter, Rat plays a joke, scaring Cat with a rubber spider. But Bat turns the tables and plays an even bigger joke on Rat. Using only a handful of basic words and repetition, Dyckman creates an inventive, warm text filled with humor. Teague magnifies that humor even further with his trademark cartoonlike drawings rendered in acrylics. The big, bold illustrations capture expressions of joy, anger, contentment, and camaraderie. Young readers will enjoy the stories and discover that a home with friends, even with its ups and downs, is a cozy place to be.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2024

(2) K-3 Ready to Read: Monster Og series. Illustrated by Elio. In their entertaining second outing (Og Meets Mog!, rev. 3/24), Og (a gentle turquoise monster) and sidekick Mog (a large, round, catlike creature) are using a tool to "make something cool." Feeling left out, Dog snatches the last cog and drops it into a bog. "Og yells once. Og yells again." In some books, the repetition of sounds can become tedious, but Dyckman's agile deployment comes off as charming and allows children who are just beginning to decode print the opportunity to practice and build confidence in service of a cheerful, relatable story. The strong lines and bold, vaguely retro hues in Elio's images add to the appeal. Characters pop off pages that alternate between double-page spreads and spot illustrations, which controls the pace and gives this straightforward, low-stakes friendship story a feeling of movement and drama. The character design rides the line between cute and weird in a way that will encourage young readers to pick the book off the shelf. In the end, Og executes a plan to get the cog out of the bog, Dog makes amends, and then Og, Mog, and Dog create their "something cool" together. Three cheers for this unique and enjoyable story and friendship team.

Reviewer: Adrienne L. Pettinelli | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2024

(2) K-3 Illustrated by James Burks. Bugs and bad weather and bears...oh, my! At first, camping seems like a "fun and easy" vacation. For a family of inexperienced campers, however, disaster lurks around every pine tree. Luckily, the frustrated family (portrayed in the illustrations with a variety of skin tones) stumbles upon Campingland, a bright, plastic-y, climate-controlled paradise, complete with an abundance of modern conveniences and politely accommodating animatronic forest friends. "Not like our first camping trip," whose details are revealed in a series of zany flashbacks that parallel the Campingland activities. Dyckman's straightforward and energetic prose makes for an engaging story. The use of speech bubbles with a large, playful font for the dialogue encourages interactive participation for emerging as well as more proficient readers. Burks's digital illustrations are full of humorous details. The candy-colored vistas of Campingland are in sharp contrast to the gray-weather outdoor scenes of the real campsite. But that first trip, it turns out, was the one full of "real family memories," and now the family is "a lot more prepared" to give outdoor camping another try and to "just roll with it...no matter what." (Uh-oh.)

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2024

(2) K-3 On a family visit to the natural history museum, a high-energy kid wearing a dinosaur suit asks how the dinosaurs went extinct. Mom's scientific explanation quickly gives way to Dad's imaginative and exhaustive list of silly reasons: Gallimimus "ran with scissors"; Ankylosaurus "tipped in their chair"; Brachiosaurus "swallowed their gum." Dyckman's wacky, over-the-top humor is paired well with Harney's exuberant Photoshop collage illustrations. Dinosaurs fill every frame with improbable hijinks, and hilarious facial expressions abound, from human and dino alike. Mom's exasperation turns to glee when the kid, having heard Dad's long list of bad behaviors that led to extinction, declares, "I AM NEVER DOING ANY OF THOSE THINGS AGAIN!" In a huge bonus for any grownup reading the book aloud with a young dinosaur fan, phonetic pronunciations for each creature are included right on the page.

Reviewer: Laura Koenig | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2023

(1) PS Illustrated by Abhi Alwar. Two bright green volcanoes, one big and one little, live happily in a tropical paradise until: "Something unexpected happened." A bird accidentally drops a coconut on Little Volcano. "Would Little Volcano...BLOW THEIR TOP?" Big Volcano gently reminds Little Volcano how to calm themself down: deep breathing, counting to five, thinking happy thoughts--"it worked!" And then the bird returns and drops two unexpected coconuts. Overwhelmed, Little Volcano forgets all about deep breathing and counting. "KABOOOOOOOM!" After the ash and lava settle, Little Volcano feels sorry and Big Volcano is empathetically reassuring: "Sometimes it happens." Dyckman's (How Dinosaurs Went Extinct, rev. 3/23, and others) warm-hearted story stars two surprisingly relatable landform characters. Big Volcano's understanding reaction to Little Volcano's outburst is a good reminder to young humans and their caregivers that, when meltdowns happen, a steady, loving presence can help restore equilibrium. Alwar's animated digital illustrations give the expressive volcanoes lots of personality. Vibrant saturated colors and thick outlines bring energy to the offbeat tale. At the end, when Big Volcano is hit with three airdropped coconuts and is in danger of kabooming, a calm and regulated Little Volcano helps keeps the peace in paradise.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2023

(2) PS Illustrated by Charles Santoso. A lion father is proud of (read: obsessed with) his well-manicured lawn. When a dandelion brazenly sprouts, Daddy races to get rid of the eyesore...but his little cub, Sweetie, has already befriended (and named) the "flower." Dyckman's well-paced text digs into the comedic contrast between Daddy's stressed-out hysteria and Sweetie's unhurried calm. Santoso's cartoony digital illustrations enhance both the humor and the loving father-daughter relationship.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2019

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Scott Magoon. Dyckman's quick-witted, humorous text stars Shark, who interrupts a marine-animal crew making a live underwater television show. Shark feels very misunderstood, and shark facts shared throughout support Shark's claims. Magoon's expressive illustrations pop off the page, and word-bubble asides from fish plus fantastic page-turns sustain the suspense; the twist ending is reminiscent of Jon Klassen's I Want My Hat Back.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Liz Climo. This tongue-in-cheek exposé reveals the "reality" of life with a unicorn. A unicorn-loving kid wishes a unicorn into being; the (offstage) narrator, after admitting that having a unicorn is undeniably "awesome," presents the case for why "it's not worth it." Climo's rainbow-bright illustrations take Dyckman's silly premise to a whole new level of absurdity. This is a crowd-pleaser, complete with cupcake poops and rainbow burps.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2017

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Zachariah OHora. Reading from Everything About Lemmings, First Mate Foxy of the S.S. Cliff says: "lemmings don't jump off cliffs." Three onboard lemmings overhear one word: "Jump? I'll jump!" After saving his impulsive shipmates, Foxy demands, "Read the book, lemmings!" What Foxy doesn't know is the little guys can't read. Dyckman's text is entertainingly patterned (if somewhat confusing), and OHora's limited-color acrylic illustrations play up the slapstick.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(2) PS Illustrated by Zachariah OHora. A snoozing bear breaks a little girl's kite ("CRUNCH!"). The girl wakes the creature by shouting "HORRIBLE BEAR!" then storms off. The put-out bear stomps down to the girl's house, ready to wake her up--and he's unprepared for the apology he receives. This lively conflict-resolution-in-picture-book's-clothing is as entertaining as it is instructive. OHora's acrylic illustrations with thick black lines enhance the humor.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2016

(1) PS Illustrated by Zachariah OHora. Dot isn't pleased when a baby wolf foundling is left on the Bunny family's doorstep--"HE'S GOING TO EAT US ALL UP!" Her smitten parents ignore her. At the market, however, Wolfie is a boon to his big sister when a bear lunges toward them yelling, "DINNER!" The text's humor keeps scariness in check; cartoonish acrylic paintings with comical touches match the tone.

Reviewer: Megan Dowd Lambert | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2015

(3) K-3 Illustrated by K. G. Campbell. Cub stumbles upon a backyard tea party and must follow the tea party rules--get clean, neat, and fancy--in order to eat some cookies. When Cub finally gets his treats, he almost forgets the most important rule of all: sharing. Illustrated with soft sepia-marker and colored-pencil art, the playful story is perfect for lovers of tea parties (and rule-breaking).

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Dan Yaccarino. A boy and a robot befriend each other, even though they each fail to comprehend the other's functionality: when Bot's switch is turned off he appears sick to Boy, and when Boy falls asleep Bot assumes Boy has malfunctioned; the inventor helps Boy and Bot understand one another's needs. Yaccarino's vibrant gouache illustrations with cartoon figures skillfully relate the story's touching arc.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan