(4) PS Illustrated by Jane Dyer. A newcomer galvanizes a gang of bored babies in a gentle wish-fulfillment tale for the toddler set. Grabbing instruments, plump babies parade down the street to ransack a market for snacks before naptime. Their adventures are told in metered rhyme and depicted in soft, textured colored pencil against white backgrounds. Less musical than title and cover art promise, but suitable for reading aloud.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald

(3) PS Illustrated by Michael Fleming. In this lively counting rhyme, a little witch flying on a long broom picks up eight more witches, avoiding various spooky creatures en route. The overloaded broom crash-lands near a tenth witch, who--unlike the others--is an ordinary girl in costume. Cheerfully, they all go trick-or-treating together. The witches' brightly colored outfits, each one unique, stand out well against the dark-purple night sky.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(4) K-3 Step into Reading series. Illustrated by Isidre Mones. Loosely following one fictional stingray, this text introduces newly independent readers to stingrays' hunting, birthing, and defense mechanisms, along with species variation, stingrays' (limited) threat to humans, and ongoing research. Photographs and drawings coexist uneasily, and a spread on petting stingrays at a particular aquarium feels out of place. Still, despite its awkward construction, the book is informative and accessible.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbeler. In each book, a kid visiting an out-of-state cousin receives state-specific gifts, one per day, during the twelve days of Christmas. Chatty, overly explanatory letters written home to Mom and Dad expand the information; additional state facts are appended to the stories. The books' cheerful illustrations get ever more crowded as the presents accumulate. Review covers these titles: The Twelve Days of Christmas in Oregon, The Twelve Days of Christmas in Ohio, The Twelve Days of Christmas in Indiana, and The Twelve Days of Christmas in Pennsylvania.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(4) PS Illustrated by Tracey Campbell Pearson. In this comforting if syrupy addition to the bedtime-story canon, an off-page narrator (Mama) talks a child into a tuckered-out state from head to toe, ending the rhymed ritual with a tickle, squeeze, and kiss. Pearson's filmy illustrations are fitting for the subject matter. A floppy-eared puppy adds humor to nearly every spread.

Reviewer: Chelsey Philpot

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Eugene Yelchin. With each poem featuring two distinct voices, Gerber subtly creates informative conversations between flowers, seeds, roots, bees, and other living things in this playful poetry book. Yelchin's graphite and gouache art, full of cool greens and electric yellows that pulsate off the pages, effectively captures the movement of the subject matter. A final page sums up the science behind the chatter.

Reviewer: Shara Hardeson

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Leslie Evans. Rhyming couplets follow two little girls frolicking in a park in early spring as they notice various blooming trees. Some have easily recognizable flower forms, such as dogwood and magnolia, while others have less obvious flowering parts, like white pine. Pink-tinged linoleum-block-print, watercolor, collage, and digital art showcase the flora. A simple guide to the trees and an author's note are appended.

Reviewer: Paula M. Cairo

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Christina Wald. This picture book biography traces the life of the woman who developed the classification system currently in use for stars; Annie Jump Cannon (1893–1941) still holds the world record for number of stars classified--over four hundred thousand. Text and illustrations are both a bit static in this catalog of her life. Timeline. Bib.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Leslie Evans. Tramping through snowy woods with his golden-furred dog, a red-jacketed boy observes the shapes of seven common trees, including maple, birch, and white spruce. Brief rhyming text presents simple facts about the trees, and the digitally enhanced linoleum block, watercolor, and collage illustrations are graphically pleasing. Together, text and art pay homage to some of nature's wintry wonders.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Leslie Evans. Leaves are falling everywhere in this autumn offering richly illustrated with linoleum block prints. A rhyming text identifies leaves from trees including maples, oaks, and willows, as two children and a dog frolic among the red, yellow, and brown shapes around them. This is a simple look at the beautiful designs found in nature. An afterword provides additional leaf facts.

Reviewer: Hilary Breed Van Dusen

(3) PS Illustrated by Marty Husted. A young boy enjoys a blizzard from inside the confines of his cozy house and then goes out to make a snow angel just before bed. The gray chill of the natural world contrasts with the golden glow of his warm country house depicted in the watercolor and colored pencil illustrations. Creating a quiet mood, the spare, poetic text is perfect for bedtime sharing.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Marty Husted. "Firefly, guide my way to sleep / in the forest, green and deep." In this poem inspired by lines from Longfellow's The Song of Hiawatha, singsongy verse tells of a young Chippewa girl who meets and befriends forest and bog animals on her way to her village--and her bedtime. The text and sometimes awkwardly rendered watercolors convey the girl's respect for nature.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(4) PS Illustrated by Marty Husted. In this soothing, rhythmic free-verse poem, an Eskimo mother coaxes her child to sleep by calling forth images of the sights, sounds, and inhabitants of the Arctic tundra. The child imagines himself in every scene, kayaking among seabirds and frolicking with bears, before finally falling asleep. The watercolor illustrations aptly capture the landscape but are stiff, especially when depicting human characters.

Reviewer: Emma Loy-Santelli