(3) PS "Rain falls, / Kitten dashes. / Rabbit races, / Turtle splashes." As Kitten runs home, she passes by various forest animals also seeking shelter from the rain. The double-page mixed-media collages featuring clay and acrylic paint are impressive. Readers will enjoy seeing their animal friends in their natural habitats; the simple rhyming text would work well with both preschoolers and beginning readers.

Reviewer: Sarah Novogrodsky

(3) PS In Kitten's fourth seasonal adventure, the inquisitive feline explores a snowy woodland landscape. Ten simple couplets--"Snow blows, / Kitten hurries. / Pond freezes / Fox scurries"--are accompanied by mixed-media collage illustrations with alluring wood and clay textures. The cross-section visual perspective offers above-and-below-ground vantage points, adding a glimpse at some animals' dens, nests, and hibernation practices.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(3) PS Ten short couplets reflect a kitten's observations about mother-baby interactions on a farm at springtime. The text is swift and engaging: "Morning hums, / Kitten listens. / Frog croaks, / tadpole glistens." At day's end, "Evening whispers, / Moonlight beams. / Door opens, / Kitten dreams." Colorful mixed-media illustrations reflect the tone and tenor of the text, with glimpses of Kitten tucked into each double-page spread.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(3) PS Young children can easily follow along with Kitten's brief journey. She encounters various creatures on a nature walk then returns to the warmth and safety of home. Most of the accessible rhyming text is the name of an animal plus a verb ("Hummingbird sips, / Caterpillar munches..."). Mixed-media illustrations--clay, paint, and collage--look pleasingly three-dimensional.

Reviewer: Aimee Chevrette Bear

(3) PS Illustrated by Kim Fernandes. To prepare for her birthday party, Little Mouse does a different task every day. On Monday she cleans house, on Tuesday she does laundry, and so on. The perky rhyming text highlights opposites: "Balloons are fat. Balloons are thin. / She takes some out and leaves some in." The detailed illustrations, made from modeling clay, have an eye-catching three-dimensional effect.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(4) PS Illustrated by Kim Fernandes. A mouse who doesn't want to take her nap cries so many tears that they float her bright yellow sneaker-bed right out to sea. There she frolics with the sea animals and birds of the air until sleep comes to her and her mother floats out in her own sugar-bowl boat to rescue her. Although the story is a bit contrived, the detailed pictures, molded from Fimo, a modeling material, are intriguing.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt