(3) PS After a child with brown skin is asked a mystifying question--"What are you?"--the spare text and childlike illustrations cleverly posit the many (often opposing) whats she is. "I am dark. I am pale" appears over three small (differently melanized) hands reaching into a huddle-circle; the opposite page shows one set of bare tan-lined feet: "In summer I am many colors." The girl is also, for example, a "scaredy-cat" (mid-thunderstorm) then "brave" (catching bugs), and "not mischievous / (most of the time)." A note from the Indian American author explains the dehumanizing nature of the question and expands on the themes of dialectical self-images and identities.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(4) PS In his second adventure (Little Owl's Night), Little Owl is awakened by a noisy squirrel. He excitedly explores the forest during the day and realizes it teems with different flora and fauna: flowers, butterflies, dragonflies, snakes, and turtles. Srinivasan's stylized illustrations take big-eyed Little Owl through a bright, sunlit day and into a cozy, moonlit night in this tame story.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(3) K-3 Shy Octopus is approached by several inquisitive seahorses that won't be shooed away. Avoiding the attention, she ends up in the dark depths where she enjoys solitude--until she misses company. The observation that it's nice to be alone sometimes is keen, as is the simple resolution that sometimes it isn't. Background colors in Srinivasan's bold illustrations represent changing ocean light marvelously.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(4) PS Although he enjoys watching his nocturnal forest friends come alive at night, Little Owl wants to know: "Mama...tell me again how the night ends." Her poetic response predictably lulls him to sleep. The functional story is a showcase for the notable art, which has the crisp edges of cut paper but the creamy warmth of paintings.

Reviewer: Nell Beram