(3) K-3 Step into Reading series. Illustrated by Norman Gorbaty. Sleepy Dog needs a lot of help. His mom helps him wake up and cleans up his spilled milk. Then he plays ball with Kitty Cat but winds up stuck under the chair. Simple-shaped, brightly colored illustrations on full spreads are a perfect match for the easy-to-read text with plenty of word repetition that will benefit beginning readers.

Reviewer: Julie Bartynski-Fenner

(3) K-3 Think About series. Illustrated by Emily Bolam. These animal behavior/social studies hybrids follow a similar pattern. Silly animal questions ("Does a squirrel cook?") and informative answers ("A polar bear sleeps on the snowy ground inside a den") are followed by simple discussions of human customs. Bolam's inviting illustrations make the most of the premise and reflect the text's informal tone. Prompts for further investigation are appended. Review covers these Think About titles: Does a Bear Wear Boots?, Does a Panda Go to School?, Does a Camel Cook Spaghetti?, Does a Beaver Sleep in a Bed?, and Does a Woodpecker Use a Hammer?.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) K-3 Think About series. Illustrated by Emily Bolam. These animal behavior/social studies hybrids follow a similar pattern. Silly animal questions ("Does a squirrel cook?") and informative answers ("A polar bear sleeps on the snowy ground inside a den") are followed by simple discussions of human customs. Bolam's inviting illustrations make the most of the premise and reflect the text's informal tone. Prompts for further investigation are appended. Review covers these Think About titles: Does a Bear Wear Boots?, Does a Panda Go to School?, Does a Camel Cook Spaghetti?, Does a Beaver Sleep in a Bed?, and Does a Woodpecker Use a Hammer?.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) K-3 Think About series. Illustrated by Emily Bolam. These animal behavior/social studies hybrids follow a similar pattern. Silly animal questions ("Does a squirrel cook?") and informative answers ("A polar bear sleeps on the snowy ground inside a den") are followed by simple discussions of human customs. Bolam's inviting illustrations make the most of the premise and reflect the text's informal tone. Prompts for further investigation are appended. Review covers these Think About titles: Does a Bear Wear Boots?, Does a Panda Go to School?, Does a Camel Cook Spaghetti?, Does a Beaver Sleep in a Bed?, and Does a Woodpecker Use a Hammer?.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) K-3 Think About series. Illustrated by Emily Bolam. These animal behavior/social studies hybrids follow a similar pattern. Silly animal questions ("Does a squirrel cook?") and informative answers ("A polar bear sleeps on the snowy ground inside a den") are followed by simple discussions of human customs. Bolam's inviting illustrations make the most of the premise and reflect the text's informal tone. Prompts for further investigation are appended. Review covers these Think About titles: Does a Bear Wear Boots?, Does a Panda Go to School?, Does a Camel Cook Spaghetti?, Does a Beaver Sleep in a Bed?, and Does a Woodpecker Use a Hammer?.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) K-3 Think About series. Illustrated by Emily Bolam. These animal behavior/social studies hybrids follow a similar pattern. Silly animal questions ("Does a squirrel cook?") and informative answers ("A polar bear sleeps on the snowy ground inside a den") are followed by simple discussions of human customs. Bolam's inviting illustrations make the most of the premise and reflect the text's informal tone. Prompts for further investigation are appended. Review covers these Think About titles: Does a Bear Wear Boots?, Does a Panda Go to School?, Does a Camel Cook Spaghetti?, Does a Beaver Sleep in a Bed?, and Does a Woodpecker Use a Hammer?.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Josée Masse. This colorful picture book features an assortment of simple riddles that ask young readers to think outside the box. From "What dog is NOT a dog?" (a hot dog) to "What room is NOT a room?" (a mushroom), children will enjoy the playful text paired with Masse's vibrant illustrations. The book includes additional riddles, the answers to which can be found online.

Reviewer: Julie Bartynski-Fenner

(4) PS Illustrated by Barroux. A rocket ship moves around the bright orange, yellow, and blue pages of this book introducing young children to prepositions: e.g., the rocket is behind a whale then in front; it zips from the top of a tree to the bottom. The attractive art is clean and simple, but the text does little to pull the images and ideas together.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) K-3 Think About series. Illustrated by Emily Bolam. These animal physiology/human body (animal/human behavior for Smile) hybrids follow a similar pattern. Silly animal questions ("Does a zebra go to the doctor?") and informative answers ("A zebra grazes in the wild") are followed by simple discussions on human health and behavior. Bolam's inviting illustrations make the most of the premise and reflect the texts' informal tone. Prompts for further investigation are appended. Review covers these Think About titles: Does a Hipppo Go to the Doctor?, Does a Seal Smile?, Does a Tiger Go to the Dentist?, and Does an Owl Wear Eyeglasses?.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) K-3 Think About series. Illustrated by Emily Bolam. These animal physiology/human body (animal/human behavior for Smile) hybrids follow a similar pattern. Silly animal questions ("Does a zebra go to the doctor?") and informative answers ("A zebra grazes in the wild") are followed by simple discussions on human health and behavior. Bolam's inviting illustrations make the most of the premise and reflect the texts' informal tone. Prompts for further investigation are appended. Review covers these Think About titles: Does a Hipppo Go to the Doctor?, Does a Seal Smile?, Does a Tiger Go to the Dentist?, and Does an Owl Wear Eyeglasses?.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) K-3 Think About series. Illustrated by Emily Bolam. These animal physiology/human body (animal/human behavior for Smile) hybrids follow a similar pattern. Silly animal questions ("Does a zebra go to the doctor?") and informative answers ("A zebra grazes in the wild") are followed by simple discussions on human health and behavior. Bolam's inviting illustrations make the most of the premise and reflect the texts' informal tone. Prompts for further investigation are appended. Review covers these Think About titles: Does a Hipppo Go to the Doctor?, Does a Seal Smile?, Does a Tiger Go to the Dentist?, and Does an Owl Wear Eyeglasses?.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) K-3 Think About series. Illustrated by Emily Bolam. These animal physiology/human body (animal/human behavior for Smile) hybrids follow a similar pattern. Silly animal questions ("Does a zebra go to the doctor?") and informative answers ("A zebra grazes in the wild") are followed by simple discussions on human health and behavior. Bolam's inviting illustrations make the most of the premise and reflect the texts' informal tone. Prompts for further investigation are appended. Review covers these Think About titles: Does a Hipppo Go to the Doctor?, Does a Seal Smile?, Does a Tiger Go to the Dentist?, and Does an Owl Wear Eyeglasses?.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Amanda Haley. Combining playful narration and factual information, these volumes introduce readers to the details of their bones and senses. The formats are not identical: Bones catalogs the skeleton and the connections therein and includes X-ray images; Pickle features rhyming poems and questions for the reader as well as more variation in layout. In both, Haley's loose-lined watercolors balance the text and add humor. Review covers these titles: You Can't See Your Bones with Binoculars! and You Can't Taste a Pickle with Your Ear!.

Reviewer: Hannah Rodgers Barnaby

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Amanda Haley. This overview of space for young readers begins with the lunar basics and expands to include the history (and possible future) of space travel. Ziefert carries the playful tone through all four chapters, balancing factual information with poems and humorous turns of phrase. Haley's loose-lined watercolors add lightness and movement. A table of contents and discussion questions are included.

Reviewer: Hannah Rodgers Barnaby

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Amanda Haley. Combining playful narration and factual information, these volumes introduce readers to the details of their bones and senses. The formats are not identical: Bones catalogs the skeleton and the connections therein and includes X-ray images; Pickle features rhyming poems and questions for the reader as well as more variation in layout. In both, Haley's loose-lined watercolors balance the text and add humor. Review covers these titles: You Can't See Your Bones with Binoculars! and You Can't Taste a Pickle with Your Ear!.

Reviewer: Hannah Rodgers Barnaby

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jenni Desmond. When the leading lady's cat, Simon, is frightened by a noise, he climbs a tree on the play's set. After the stage manager, stagehands, and electrician fail to lure him down, the star steps in and the show goes on--until something frightens her and Simon takes the spotlight. The story and the sketch-like illustrations both capture the theater's backstage world with humor.

Reviewer: Amy Kellman

(3) PS Illustrated by Tom Slaughter. Rhyming statements followed by questions prompt kids to think about everyday things in new ways. Clean, striking collage art with ample white space provides clues to the riddles, while several gatefolds and lift-the-flaps add surprise. A final page of ten more rhyming questions challenge the reader to "put on your thinking cap" and find the answers on his or her own.

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(3) PS Illustrated by Barroux. A boy begins his day walking toward the city saying, "Good morning," to everything he sees. Halfway through the story, he changes direction saying, "Good night," to everything in reverse order. The circular verse and repeating visual themes reinforce the home/away/home pattern, with sunrise mirroring sunset. Barroux's broad brush strokes and rich colors fill out and give shape to subtle pencil outlines.

Reviewer: Shara Hardeson

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Travis Foster. Princess-wannabe Rosebud is so particular--about clothes, about food--that she throws a royal tantrum. Later her father tells her the story of the Princess and the Pea; it's unclear what it's meant to elucidate (is the marble he finds under Rosebud's bed the reason she's so ornery?). Unlike Rosebud's dinner, the text and airy illustrations go down easy.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Barroux. A little girl brings Lucy, a white dog with a black circle around one eye, home from the pound, but the dog will not stop howling--until Lucy collects a family of her owner's stuffed animals to share her bed. In small handwritten font, Lucy's howls ("wah-ooo-ooo-roo") fill many of the illustrations, conveying the magnitude of her sadness in this simple, satisfying story.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt