(4) PS Illustrated by Eiko Ojala. In this dual-purpose concept book, short perky rhymes link twelve shapes to typical month-specific activities: a heart in February, a baseball diamond in June, etc. Two children and a dog demonstrate each activity. Some associations are forced and the rhyme sometimes falters, but cheerful solid-color illustrations, embellished with eye-catching three-dimensional shading, ably support the concept.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) PS Illustrated by Lynn Munsinger. Well-metered rhymes tell the ABCs of school. From books, crayons, and dump trucks to letters, numbers, and opposites, this alphabetical list of school elements smoothly covers even the trickiest of letters. Munsinger's pictures feature expressive bears making glitter art, practicing writing, and playing in the sandbox. Not the least bit didactic, this concept book will be returned to repeatedly.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Robert Neubecker. In forty-three poems, Katz gives each of our U.S. presidents their due, with footnotes providing a more complete discussion of the highlighted event or character trait. Neubecker's illustrations emphasize the playful tone without deconstructing the verse. Appended is a list of presidents with their dates in office; birth and death dates; nicknames; a "first" accomplishment of the man or office; and a famous quote.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2012

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Stacey Schuett. These free-verse poems tell the story of a boy's slow winning-over of his frightened guinea pig. The text is brief and direct, conveying Katz's keen observations with well-chosen words. Using an acrylic palette of browns, blues, and greens and incorporating intense shades and white to highlight textures, Schuett captures all the guinea pig's moods and appeal.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2007

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Lee Christiansen. Nineteen poems impart information about various rainforest animals and some plants, from the familiar tiger to the less-well-known okapi. The poems, paired with appropriately greenish pastel illustrations, are uneven but offer an accessible, often lighthearted, cross-curriculum introduction to the rainforest habitat. Additional facts about the species and rainforests are appended.

Reviewer: Bridget McCaffrey

(4) K-3 Illustrated by R. W. Alley. Twenty poems written in a variety of verse patterns describe a class's experiences on a field trip to a historical village. Though they don't always reflect the mood of the poems, the cartoonlike watercolors are appealing. Colonial-period words--breeches, gooseberry fool, spontoon, etc.--are explained in context or in the glossary.

Reviewer: Barbara Barstow

(2) 4-6 Katz tells the poignant story of a family's slow healing after a freak accident kills seven-year-old Johnny. Unconventional eighty-two-year-old Cousin Ruth, a contemporary Mary Poppins, sweeps onto the scene, but even if she seems too good to be true, the book needs a catalyst in order for the family to move on with their lives; ancient Cousin Ruth, who has lived long, loved hard, and known loss, will warm the saddened reader.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.