(3) K-3 Fire Fight! The Bravest series. This series profiles some of the more unusual firefighting specialties, making the volumes useful additions to library collections. Each book covers recent fires or emergencies, the specialized training required to join the force, the risks, and the necessary gear. Dramatic photos of the firefighters in action (a few women are included) add to these accessible titles' appeal for second and third graders. Reading list. Bib., glos., ind. This review covers these Fire Fight! The Bravest titles: City Firefighters, Hotshots, Marine Firefighters, Smokejumpers, and Aviation Firefighters.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(3) 4-6 Work of Heroes: First Responders in Action series. This well-organized series explores the education, specialized training, and daily responsibilities of the featured first responders. Photographs capture the action and enhance the accessible texts, which include details about routine as well as extraordinary incidents, notable rescues, and firsthand accounts. Rescue fans will find much to pore over in these engaging and age-appropriate volumes. Reading list, websites. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Work of Heroes: First Responders in Action titles: Doctors to the Rescue, Firefighters to the Rescue, Paramedics to the Rescue, and Police Officers to the Rescue.

Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale

(3) 4-6 Work of Heroes: First Responders in Action series. This well-organized series explores the education, specialized training, and daily responsibilities of the featured first responders. Photographs capture the action and enhance the accessible texts, which include details about routine as well as extraordinary incidents, notable rescues, and firsthand accounts. Rescue fans will find much to pore over in these engaging and age-appropriate volumes. Reading list, websites. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Work of Heroes: First Responders in Action titles: Doctors to the Rescue, Firefighters to the Rescue, Paramedics to the Rescue, and Police Officers to the Rescue.

Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale

(4) K-3 Cat-ographies series. These volumes discuss history, characteristics, and how to care for the title cat breed. Anecdotes about famous or otherwise noteworthy cats (e.g., the Siamese whose meows drew attention to its unconscious owner) are included. The many photographs will appeal to cat lovers, though they--combined with captions and text boxes--tend to crowd the main texts. Reading list. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Cat-ographies titles: Persians, Abyssinians, American Shorthairs, Ragdolls, Maine Coons, and Siamese.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(4) K-3 Cat-ographies series. These volumes discuss history, characteristics, and how to care for the title cat breed. Anecdotes about famous or otherwise noteworthy cats (e.g., the Siamese whose meows drew attention to its unconscious owner) are included. The many photographs will appeal to cat lovers, though they--combined with captions and text boxes--tend to crowd the main texts. Reading list. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Cat-ographies titles: Persians, Abyssinians, American Shorthairs, Ragdolls, Maine Coons, and Siamese.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(3) PS Illustrated by Bruce Degen. In this inexpensive paper-over-board edition, Jesse Bear dances and cavorts through his day, answering the title question with all sorts of silly ideas: "I'll wear carrots and peas / And a little more please..." After his bath he wears pajamas "and three kisses, too." Degen's illustrations of Jesse Bear's first literary appearance are as warm and cozy as Carlstrom's rhyming text.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Richard Cowdrey. Readers are enjoined to appreciate the beauty and diversity of "God's creation" by spending time outside in nature each day of the week. The effect of the quiet verse and panoramic paintings featuring animals and landscapes is somewhat impersonal, but the book may find use in Sunday schools.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) PS Illustrated by Paul Tong. A young fox, hare, and child ask repeatedly, "Mama, will it snow? / Mama, will it snow? / Mama, will it snow tonight?" "No. / No. / No snow tonight," their mothers reply. Anticipation builds until snow falls at last. Oil paintings, vivid with blues and rusty oranges, set the scenes; some of the mother-daughter illustrations are awkwardly composed.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Margie Moore. Anxious about her first day of school, pup Annie Claire poses a series of what-if questions to her mother: "What if I spill my milk / All over the floor?" Mom's calm voice and reassuring answers, related in singsongy rhymes, help allay the little dog's fears. Black-pen and watercolor illustrations showcase Annie Claire's mishaps, misgivings, and ultimate success in her new classroom.

Reviewer: Cindy Lombardo

(4) K-3 Going Green series. These books describe different ways we can address environmental issues, on a large scale (e.g., building environmentally friendly skyscrapers) and in everyday life (e.g., riding bicycles or walking, being aware of food growth practices). There are some generalizations and oversimplifications, but mostly the texts are informative. Accessible diagrams and attractive photographs illustrate the information. Reading list. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Going Green titles: Eating Green, Traveling Green, Making Cities Green, Building Greenscrapers, and Using Earth's Underground Heat.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(4) K-3 No Backbone! The World of Invertebrates series. This series combines gross-out elements with ecological and scientific details. The crisp close-up photographs are large and well captioned, with overall layout consistent throughout the series. The facts provided, though informative, seem randomly chosen, repetitive, and/or too vague at times. Some text is repeated among books. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these No Backbone! The World of Invertebrates titles: Leggy Centipedes, Stinging Scorpions, Wiggly Earthworms, Bloodsucking Leeches, Roly-Poly Pillbugs, and Creeping Land Snails.

Reviewer: Miriam Steinberg-Egeth

(4) 4-6 Fangs series. This series deals with six of the world's most poisonous snakes. The texts, accessible but choppy, give factual information about each species' characteristics, behavioral habits, and natural habitats. Snake-lovers will be drawn to the large, clear photographs, which allow for close inspection of the deadly creatures. Sidebars enhance the texts. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Fangs titles: Black Mambas, Coral Snakes, Death Adders, Diamondback Rattlers, Fer-de-Lance, and King Cobras.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) 4-6 Fangs series. This series deals with six of the world's most poisonous snakes. The texts, accessible but choppy, give factual information about each species' characteristics, behavioral habits, and natural habitats. Snake-lovers will be drawn to the large, clear photographs, which allow for close inspection of the deadly creatures. Sidebars enhance the texts. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Fangs titles: Black Mambas, Coral Snakes, Death Adders, Diamondback Rattlers, Fer-de-Lance, and King Cobras.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) 4-6 Fangs series. This series deals with six of the world's most poisonous snakes. The texts, accessible but choppy, give factual information about each species' characteristics, behavioral habits, and natural habitats. Snake-lovers will be drawn to the large, clear photographs, which allow for close inspection of the deadly creatures. Sidebars enhance the texts. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Fangs titles: Black Mambas, Coral Snakes, Death Adders, Diamondback Rattlers, Fer-de-Lance, and King Cobras.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) 4-6 Fangs series. This series deals with six of the world's most poisonous snakes. The texts, accessible but choppy, give factual information about each species' characteristics, behavioral habits, and natural habitats. Snake-lovers will be drawn to the large, clear photographs, which allow for close inspection of the deadly creatures. Sidebars enhance the texts. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Fangs titles: Black Mambas, Coral Snakes, Death Adders, Diamondback Rattlers, Fer-de-Lance, and King Cobras.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) 4-6 Fangs series. This series deals with six of the world's most poisonous snakes. The texts, accessible but choppy, give factual information about each species' characteristics, behavioral habits, and natural habitats. Snake-lovers will be drawn to the large, clear photographs, which allow for close inspection of the deadly creatures. Sidebars enhance the texts. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Fangs titles: Black Mambas, Coral Snakes, Death Adders, Diamondback Rattlers, Fer-de-Lance, and King Cobras.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) 4-6 Fangs series. This series deals with six of the world's most poisonous snakes. The texts, accessible but choppy, give factual information about each species' characteristics, behavioral habits, and natural habitats. Snake-lovers will be drawn to the large, clear photographs, which allow for close inspection of the deadly creatures. Sidebars enhance the texts. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Fangs titles: Black Mambas, Coral Snakes, Death Adders, Diamondback Rattlers, Fer-de-Lance, and King Cobras.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) K-3 Dino Times Trivia series. Each volume profiles eight dinosaurs or other prehistoric creatures. Left-hand pages include pronunciation guides, helpful to-scale comparison to humans, and a few facts. On the right are full-page, static, sometimes blurry illustrations of the creatures in action. Maps of where the species' fossils have been found and timelines showing when they lived are appended. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Dino Times Trivia titles: Ocean Monsters, Pet-Sized Dinos, Savage Slashers, Sky Terrors, Giant-o-saurs, and Armored and Dangerous.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(4) K-3 No Backbone! The World of Invertebrates series. This series allows readers to come safely eye-to-eyes with larger-than-life spiders of all shapes and sizes. The texts, which are occasionally too vague, offer basic and interesting facts about spiders' body structures, their young, how spiders eat, and where they live. Their many vivid close-up photographs are the books' main appeal. Glos., ind. Review covers these No Backbone! The World of Invertebrates titles: Hairy Tarantulas, Jumping Spiders, Spooky Wolf Spiders, Tricky Trapdoor Spiders, Deadly Black Widows, and Crafty Garden Spiders.

Reviewer: Betsy Murray

(4) K-3 Dino Times Trivia series. Each volume profiles eight dinosaurs or other prehistoric creatures. Left-hand pages include pronunciation guides, helpful to-scale comparison to humans, and a few facts. On the right are full-page, static, sometimes blurry illustrations of the creatures in action. Maps of where the species' fossils have been found and timelines showing when they lived are appended. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Dino Times Trivia titles: Ocean Monsters, Pet-Sized Dinos, Savage Slashers, Sky Terrors, Giant-o-saurs, and Armored and Dangerous.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford