(4) K-3 Illustrated by Christiane Kromer. Sarah, who looks about four but sounds older, describes her experience as the flower girl in her aunt's wedding, with all its pleasures and anxieties ("Suppose I trip and fall down?"). The textured mixed-media art shows a joyful African-American family wedding, including Sarah's predictably triumphant walk down the aisle. The writing is banal but captures a wedding from a child's viewpoint.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Pat Cummings. When their grandmother suggests celebrating her birthday by reprising one of their summer outings, Laurie and J. Matthew have trouble choosing just the right destination. They've simply been stalling, though, and soon the extended family arrives for a surprise party. The story has little dramatic tension but plenty of warmth, which is mirrored in the illustrations, with their rounded shapes and cheery palette.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) K-3 Illustrated by E. B. Lewis. Virgie wants to go to school with her brothers, but they reply that it's too far, too hard, and she's too little. Virgie asks her parents and, finally, her persistence pays off--she packs her pail for the week-long stay at the Quaker school for freed slaves. Lewis's watercolor illustrations enhance this addition to the author's collection of family stories.

Reviewer: Deborah L. Thompson

(3) PS Photographs by Nina Crews. A little boy spends the day playing with his grandmother and waiting for his sister to come home from school. Listening for the school bus, he hears other sounds--the plop of letters falling through the mail slot and the "CRCRICK" of tree trimmers working nearby. The color photos the busy boy will appeal to preschoolers, as will the repetition, sound effects, simple plot, and happy ending.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth