(2) PS Illustrated by Zachariah Ohora. Sonny, an anthropomorphized and very fuzzy red fox, "finds a thing" on the playground and quickly becomes attached to the pink plush bunny, which he dubs Bun-Bun. "Mine!" Then Honey (a furry pink animal) and Boo (a rabbit) approach the sandbox with solemn faces: Boo has lost Suki, her beloved pink plush bunny. Sonny claims he's never seen Suki, and slyly tucks the toy he found out of sight. Sonny tries various tactics to distract Boo from her missing stuffie, but her sadness stretches on, and Sonny is faced with a quandary. Within a limited color palette of OHora's bold digital illustrations, the creatures' emotions are augmented through thick-lined black brows, dotted eyes, and small but expressive snouts. The simple and repetitive text easily involves young listeners in familiar and relatable scenarios: losing something precious and practicing empathy. On the last spread Sonny says, "Come back soon!" as he waves with his friends, breaking the fourth wall and transforming the tale into a role-played fable of sorts. Inviting and light-handed in its morality, the story offers safe territory for exercising that empathy muscle alongside Sonny and his friends.

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

(3) PS Illustrated by Edward Underwood. "Big box / Little box / HUGE box / Tiny box." So begins this look at boxes and the gray cat who can't get enough of them. While the book's narrow focus will appeal most to cat lovers, Underwood's visually pleasing pencil, ink, and computer-assisted collage illustrations make each box look snazzy. The book concludes with a cute (literal) game of cat and mouse.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) PS Illustrated by Lauren Tobia. These sturdy cardstock books (originally published in the UK) waste no space: the gently rough-and-tumble adventures of tots Billy and Bee span from endpaper to endpaper. The friends play and socialize (sans parents) at community playgroup and visit a complete but contained city farm. Singsong rhymes are bolstered by Tobia's wonderfully child-friendly illustrations, which highlight the diversity surrounding these urban toddlers. Review covers these titles: Let's Go to Playgroup and Let's Go to the Farm.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(3) PS Illustrated by Lauren Tobia. These sturdy cardstock books (originally published in the UK) waste no space: the gently rough-and-tumble adventures of tots Billy and Bee span from endpaper to endpaper. The friends play and socialize (sans parents) at community playgroup and visit a complete but contained city farm. Singsong rhymes are bolstered by Tobia's wonderfully child-friendly illustrations, which highlight the diversity surrounding these urban toddlers. Review covers these titles: Let's Go to Playgroup and Let's Go to the Farm.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Sarah Warburton. Looking to make a friend, "brainy and bright" Princess Eliza leaves her snowy northern palace and stumbles upon Santa's distressed elves at his workshop. Eliza secretly builds contraptions to help her new friends save Christmas while Santa recovers from the flu. Channeling Andrea Beaty's Rosie Revere, Engineer, this read-aloud-ready holiday story, with lilting rhymes and whimsical mixed-media illustrations, celebrates helping others and girls in STEAM.

Reviewer: Janet Daniels

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Sarah Warburton. Young Sophie is kept awake at night by the giant up the magic bean stalk in her yard, so she reads some fairy tales and hatches a plan. Everything herein is inspired, from the nimble rhymes to the plentiful against-type visual details (the giant wears bunny slippers) to Sophie's epiphany about the giant's insomnia: he just needs a bedtime story.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Sarah Warburton. "'But where's my giant tree house?' / bawled the greedy little tyke. / 'You promised me a cell phone, / three puppies, and a bike!'" Brat-tastic birthday princess Ruby embraces a less-is-more attitude only after the palace capsizes under the weight of her gifts, burying her father. It's well done, with gently mocking illustrations featuring all the pink décor you'd expect.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Sarah Warburton. In Hart's playful loose “Princess and the Pea” spinoff, Lily-Rose May leaves home and moves to the palace where she can be a rightful princess who's not required to eat peas. After eating cabbage stew, enduring waving lessons, and other royal duties, she quickly learns there's no place like home. Energetic, pink-heavy mixed-media illustrations add to the cautionary princess story's humor.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty