(2) K-3 Illustrated by Isabelle Follath. What are little girls made of? More than "sugar and spice and everything nice" in Willis's narrative-flipping revision of the classic rhyme. Her update? "Sun and rain and heart and brain / that's what girls are made of." Sixteen more nursery rhymes get a similar feminist refresh, with girls and women redrawn as capable, brave, and independent. Jill fixes Jack's broken crown--and their scooter--after a tumble down the hill; Little Miss Muffet contentedly sits on her tuffet while petting a spider; and Little Bo-Peep rescues her sheep from a slimy ditch. In Willis's clever rewrites, girls take center stage; there's a queen, not a king; girls fight pirates and build spaceships. Plus, they speak up for themselves, as in this showstopper: "Georgie Porgie, pudding and pie, / kissed a girl as she walked by. / 'Don't kiss me unless I say!' / she said, and sent him on his way." Follath's mixed-media illustrations play nicely with pattern and texture. They're winsome and powerful portraits: a girl in a wheelchair can, of course, wear knight's armor and wield a sword. And what does this gender ­stereotype–busting book say about boys? Why, Joe can be a princess, and Kai can hold a teddy bear while pushing a pram, because what are boys made of? "Except for little things, much the same [as girls] / that's what boys are made of."

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2021

(3) PS Illustrated by Briony May Smith. In this warmhearted story, a girl feels she'll never shine like her older sister until her grandfather briefly (and simply, for preschoolers) describes the birth of the universe and the stars: "Everything and everyone is made of stardust." Appealing, detailed illustrations encourage repeated perusals, with the final pages hinting that the little sister indeed finds her way to shine (as an astronaut in adulthood).

Reviewer: Renée Wheeler

(4) PS Illustrated by Jarvis. Insisting "I'm in charge!", a defiant, naughty rhino learns about the importance of kindness in this rhyming Aesop-like parable. When a herd of wildebeests teach Rhino what it's like to be on the receiving end of someone else's thoughtlessness, the message to be considerate toward others is hammered home. Jarvis's candy-colored digital illustrations have an energy equal to Rhino's mischief.

Reviewer: Erica Wetter

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Tony Ross. "This is not just a book. / You can use it as a hat... / ...or a tent for your cat." So begins a rhyming litany of uses for a book, some more intellectual: "Books can make you really clever... / ...and they stay with you forever." A well-executed trifle with Ross's signature breezy art in watercolor and ink.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Tony Ross. Billy Goat finds the farmer's lost cell phone and--with his best friend, Cyril--takes selfies, makes prank calls, and cyberbullies a troll. The goats only learn half a lesson: they eventually befriend the tiny troll they bullied but suffer no consequence for keeping lost property as their own. Forced rhymes create an unnatural cadence, but Ross's entertaining illustrations are lively and expressive.

Reviewer: Janet Daniels

(3) 4-6 Also written by Kate Saunders. With decorations by Mark Burgess in the style of E. H. Shepard. The authors pay homage to Milne and his characters for the ninetieth anniversary of the publication of Winnie-the-Pooh. Four seasonal stories ably re-create the feeling of the original books, and Burgess does an admirable job of picturing Christopher Robin, Pooh, and the rest. Fans who want more Pooh adventures will be pleased (though purists may not).

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jarvis. A penguin family headed to a picnic accidentally winds up at the North Pole. A polar bear escorts them home--stopping in Italy, India, and elsewhere along the way. The book, which has a subtle (and timely) it's-a-small-world message, features funny whine-asides from the penguin kids ("I need to pee") and toothsome art with colors adjusted for each locale.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Adrian Reynolds. Why can't elephants jump? "'Something to do with our knees,' said [Elephant's] father." Elephant tries running, bouncing, and skipping dinner with no luck. His animal friends laugh, but in the end, he saves the day by focusing on what he can do instead of what he can't. The expressively rendered illustrations show the little elephant's frustration, determination, and eventual triumph.

Reviewer: Breanna J. MCDaniel

(3) PS Illustrated by Joel Stewart. For this clever story, Willis invents a genial ambulance crew who takes care of nursery rhyme accidents. "Has Jack Be Nimble burned his bum? / Has Little Jack Horner choked on a plum?" The illustrations are as sprightly as the rhyme; the ambulance bounces down the road, while ambulance-chasing characters from "Hey Diddle Diddle," such as the dish and the spoon, show up at each emergency.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jenni Desmond. "Once upon a slime, there was a Slodge. The first Slodge in the universe." She goes about her life and then gets a shock: "There was another Slodge!" After a competitive period, they realize that "the world...belonged to everyone." The Slodges, who resemble solid-color blobs, enact this atmospheric creation-story-like parable about altruism set in a near-barren mountainside setting.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Tony Ross. "Once upon a time-y, / there was a little slimy, / spotty, shiny, whiny slug." In this humorous rhyming story, Slug wants a hug from his mommy but worries he's too "slithery and sluggable." Taking advice from various creatures, he tries to make himself more "huggable"--in the end realizing he's just fine the way he is. Ross's winsome illustrations enhance the breezy verse's playfulness.

Reviewer: Aimee Chevrette Bear

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Tony Ross. Sincerely given birthday gifts prove disappointing for reasons obvious to Boa. (Mittens: he has no hands! A soccer ball: he has no feet.) But Dung Beetle's gift--a ball of "You Know What" containing a hidden seed--grows into something wonderfully appropriate, reminding Boa that it's the thought that counts. Ross's expressive illustrations add humor to a delicate question of etiquette.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(3) PS Illustrated by Adrian Reynolds. One day when "the world tipped upside down," its baby animals land in the wrong beds; the results are comically incongruous--e.g., "Lion Cub fell in a field on his head, / 'Eat up your grass, dear,' Mommy Cow said." The rhymes mosey along while secretly educating readers about the differences among animals. The slapstick-infused illustrations capitalize on the absurd premise.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Tony Ross. After a hippo finds a "spotamus . . . / on her bottomus," her animal friends dispense bad advice (e.g., "There’s only one treatment, / Exposing your seatment / To sunshine and heatment"). Willis’s rhymes drolly bounce along, and Ross’s art is cheeky (so to speak) through to the book's clever conclusion: the spot turns out to be a boy's bubble gum.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Tony Ross. A reluctant baby owl watches her siblings fly off but won't try herself, too aware of the dangers that await her. Finally, after much exhortation from her parents ("You belong in the sky!... Fly, little chick, just try!"), she dares to leave the nest. Textured pastel illustrations warmly portray the owlet's world as well as her imagined fears and ultimate joys.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Adrian Reynolds. An empty beach soon becomes crowded with townspeople, news crews, and even the military when one young boy cries dinosaur. Maybe he really did see a dinosaur--or perhaps it's just a clever (diabolical, really) ploy to sell ice cream treats from his dad's beachside stand. Willis's rhymes are airtight, and Reynolds's cloudy illustrations set an appropriately foggy cold-weather scene.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(4) PS Illustrated by Adrian Reynolds. Hyena plays a joke by placing a banana peel in Giraffe's path. This launches a chain of events that causes discomfort to Hippo, Snake, Ostrich, and other creatures. Although Hyena laughs hysterically, he receives his comeuppance when he falls in "a huge, steaming heap of Elephant's poo!" Bright, cartoony illustrations aptly picture the marginally funny story's chaotic events.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Gwen Millward. Two girls capture a Bog Baby--a fanciful, funny-looking blue creature--and keep him secretly as a pet. But when the winged, frog-sized little guy falls ill, the girls realize that if they love the Bog Baby, they must return him to his pond. Delicate, imaginative illustrations in blues, greens, and pinks help deliver the story's message with a light touch.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) PS Illustrated by Jan Fearnley. No matter what Little Chick says or does, whether he is good or bad, his mommy reassures him that she will always love him. Expansive double-page watercolor spreads of a brown feathered hen and her sometimes concerned, mostly happy yellow chick paint a comforting (if familiar) picture of a parent's unconditional love.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Tony Ross. Colin, the tiniest mouse of the litter, isn't allowed to play outside. His mother finally lets him venture "into the big, wide world," but Grandma suggests wrapping him in cotton--which only slows him down when faced with a boy, a duck, and a fox. Willis's message about overprotecting kids isn't exactly soft-pedaled, but Ross's expressive illustrations provide plenty of comic relief.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger