(2) YA Illustrated by Julie Morstad. The author best known for Anne of Green Gables left behind extensive letters and journals; Rosenberg has gathered information from these and other sources to create a detailed narrative that allows Montgomery's personality to come through. Morstad's ink line drawings would be right at home in an Anne book. It's a well-balanced biography that offers tidbits for fans without overly romanticizing the author's own story. Timeline. Bib.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2018

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Matt Myers. The narrator, a budding artist, is peeved at her best friend James; she's heard that James said she thinks she is perfect. Only when she stops to listen does the girl realize he's been singing her praises all along. Mixed-media illustrations ably convey simple emotion, the girl's wrath punctuated by angry splotches of paint. This story will resonate with the primary-grade crowd.

Reviewer: Sam Bloom | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2015

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Matthew Myers. Like many dads, Tobias's father works all the time; unlike other dads, Tobias's father is a (grumpy) T-rex. At Field Day, the dino dad ends up saving the day after a gang of bullies descends. The story's focus is scattered; however, the painterly illustrations of the tie-wearing, newspaper-reading, lawn-mowing suburban T-rex are almost worth the price of admission.

Reviewer: Carrie Harasimowicz Sullivan

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Julie Downing. George's imaginary friend, Nobody, wakes him up one Sunday morning, and they proceed to play messy games and concoct crazy breakfast ideas--which, fortunately, George is not allowed to cook "when Nobody was around." When parents arrive there are no repercussions. Messy but pleasing illustrations mirror the disarray and the humor of Rosenberg's delightful wordplay.

Reviewer: Susan Halperin

(3) PS Illustrated by Renée Reichert. "This is the wind that blew on the farm / on the night you were born." Cumulative text describes events leading up to a baby's birth one winter night. Rosenberg's rhythmic, fluid writing flows beautifully alongside Reichert's sinuous, deep-hued illustrations.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Peter Catalanotto. In this moving picture book about adoption, a mother and father tell their son how much they wanted him and how eagerly they awaited his arrival. The artwork, which features Caucasian parents and a Hispanic boy, begins with the son at high school graduation and shows him gradually getting younger until he is adopted as an infant, a thematic technique that emphasizes the enduring nature of the parents' love.

Reviewer: Anne St. John

(4) YA Bountiful imagery and an intense focus characterize this sensuous if rarefied first-person romance. While the writing, shaped into prose-poem paragraphs, is more effective than the plotting, the evocation of Stephanie and Denny's affair is richly felt.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton

(3) K-3 Illustrated by John Clapp. A family driving in a snowstorm on Christmas Eve must stop at a motel. After everyone is asleep, the middle child frets that Santa won't find them, but "just in case," he leaves out some treats. Not only does the boy meet Santa, but he gets to help carry a sack of presents. The milieu, strong characterizations, and realistic illustrations in icy blues and greens make this Christmas tale stand out.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Joanna Yardley. When Eli's night-light burns out one night, at first he's disconcerted by the dark; then he gradually begins to notice all the things that illuminate the night--his clock, passing headlights, and hundreds of stars. It's gratifying to see Eli create his own comfort in this subtly rhymed tale, whose soothing tones are echoed in the glowing pastel illustrations.

Reviewer: Erica L. Stahler

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Chris K. Soentpiet. Iskander and his family flee their unnamed war-torn homeland for America, but even in the rolling farmland they settle in, he longs for his homeland's pre-war rural tranquility. This immigrant story is original and satisfying, although young Iskander's adultlike preoccupation with silence mildly strains the plausibility. Characters are depicted either beaming or frowning, but the watercolors are otherwise nuanced.

Reviewer: Nell Beram