(1) K-3 This story of cooperative problem-solving begins on a crystal-clear summer day as a massive tractor trailer is delivered via barge and tugboat to a small coastal island. Van Dusen's dynamic color-saturated gouache illustrations capture the excitement of the out-of-the-ordinary event, with varying gull's-eye and on-the-ground views. The real drama, however, happens soon after the truck takes to the island's main road: at one particularly tight curve, it jack-knifes, completely blocking the road. (Readers witness the accident, first from inside the cab along with the cartoonily shocked driver, and then harrowingly from the side of the road within inches of the gigantic wheels.) The blocked road is a problem for the four cars in a hurry (two headed north, two south) that can't move around the truck. Van Dusen is in full command of his rhyming text, using rhythm and sound to set the pace and convey mood. His expressive characters add humor to the situation. While the grownups in the cars "stew and steam," the four kid passengers come up with a genius ­solution--temporarily trading cars--that's a testament to island ingenuity and neighborliness. Everyone gets where they need to be--including the truck with its mysterious load, which is later revealed on a festive nighttime double-page spread. In his author's note, Van Dusen tells the real story about a truck accident on a Maine island: "I changed a few of the details and added some new fictional characters, [but] this is overall a true story." And it's one that is given life by a skillful storyteller.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2022

(4) K-3 While canoeing on a lake, young Hattie befriends an underwater monster she names Hudson. When other boaters spot him, they panic, and later conspire to banish "the Deadly Beast," so Hattie and Hudson hatch a plan to prove his goodness. Van Dusen's shimmery gouaches command attention, but his plotting is somewhat routine and lengthy. Still, the message about being open-minded about differences is apt.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Randy Riley, boy genius, is much better at math than baseball. When he discovers a giant fireball heading toward his town, he prepares for his biggest at-bat yet. Through meticulous calculations, Randy builds a mammoth robot to hit his first home run and save the day. The rhyme is spot-on, while the rich gouache illustrations reflect the story's inventiveness.

Reviewer: Carrie Harasimowicz Sullivan

(3) K-3 An entire village puts up with its megalomaniacal king. When he gets on the wrong side of a maiden (who's really a sorceress), she decides to teach him a lesson to suit his crime. Well-built rhymes sustain the plot to the fabulous finish. The gouache art is loud and busy, but then again, demure and refined this story isn't.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 On his first attempt at skiing, Mr. Magee finds himself hurtling downhill at perilous speeds, dangling over a precipitous ravine, and being inadvertently rescued by a birch-tree-seeking moose. As in Mr. Magee's previous two adventures, the spry, humor-filled verse is successful at getting readers to root for the ever-ebullient main character and his dog, shown in appealing retro-style gouache illustrations.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(2) K-3 The tiny kernel of a true story--a circus ship disaster--expands and transforms into rollicking verse. Van Dusen's tale ends up a hilarious romp complete with a villainous circus owner, a courageous fire-leaping tiger, and clever animals camouflaged as humans. The super-saturated gouache paintings are characterized by perspective changes and filled with the kinds of details kids will pore over.

Reviewer: Robin L. Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2009

(3) K-3 While riding in his dad's car, Jack fantasizes about the car he'd like to design and build: a gadget-loving kid's playground of giant fins and retractable wings outside, with swimming pool and instant snack bar within--a robot pilot is optional for amphibious or airborne adaptations. The text's clever verse is humorously extended by the sixties-style illustrations.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(4) K-3 In this story full of slapstick humor, a bumbling bear, noses around a campsite and accidentally unhitches Mr. Magee's camper from his Rambler, sending it careening into the river. It becomes lodged above a fifty-foot waterfall with Mr. Magee and his dog stuck inside. The smoothly flowing rhyme, accompanied by retro gouache illustrations, describes their silly, if a bit far-fetched, rescue.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(3) K-3 Mr. Magee and his dog, Dee, set off for a day on the water, but when a curious young whale accidentally lodges their boat in a tree, it takes the whole pod of whales and a creative solution to get them down. Obviously an over-the-top adventure tale, this rhyming story rolls along with understated humor, contrasting with the willful abandon of the animated, retro-style gouache illustrations.

Reviewer: Emma Loy-Santelli