(2) K-3 Illustrated by JoAnn Adinolfi. Abigail Archer (The Perfect Thanksgiving) and her family do Christmas Martha Stewart–style. Taking a less-manicured approach, the narrator's family pulls out the old fake tree and the bargain bin decorations. A Christmas snowfall brings both families outside "together / laughing and dancing / through the snow." Jolly collage art ties it all together, depicting each family's traditions with finesse.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2011

(3) K-3 I Can Read Book series. Illustrated by JoAnn Adinolfi. "Somebody / loves you / deep and true. / If I weren't / so bashful / I'd tell you / who." Hopkins gathers Valentine's Day poems by children's poets Rebecca Kai Dotlich, Heidi Bee Roemer, and others. Since these are easy-reader poems, they tend toward the roses-are-red variety, but they are all sweet and sometimes even funny. Adinolfi's art features lovestruck kids of different ethnicities.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke

(4) K-3 Step into Reading series. Illustrated by JoAnn Adinolfi. When a boy named Silent e comes on the scene, look out: "See that van / just down the lane? / Now it is / a weather vane." Although some of Hays's rhymes stumble, readers will learn many examples of how silent e affects words. The accompanying images are--perhaps rare in a phonics book--engaging and thoughtful.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by JoAnn Adinolfi. The narrator receives a skateboard for his eighth birthday, but his mother makes off with it: according to the embarrassed boy's dad, she's reliving her pre-mom days as a skateboarding champ. Odanaka defies our expectations of this mom without ridiculing her, and Adinolfi employs childlike art featuring unusual perspectives and vibrant color combos.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by JoAnn Adinolfi. In Abigail Archer's family, Thanksgiving means homemade pies, impeccably behaved children, and playing chess for fun. The narrator's holiday is just the opposite, consisting of store-bought food and complete chaos. But as the amusing rhyming text makes clear, both families are loving. Stylized illustrations wittily portray the families' antics, often employing sophisticated tongue-in-cheek humor.

Reviewer: CHristine Sarrazin

(3) K-3 I Can Read Book series. Illustrated by JoAnn Adinolfi. Bouncy cartoons and a lively page design add some zip to this collection of six short-short Halloween stories for beginning readers. The tone is more silly than scary, but the author uses rhyme and plenty of sound effects ("TAP! TAP! TAP!") to keep readers involved.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton

(3) PS Illustrated by Joann Adinolfi. In this whimsical look at the transition to a big-kid bed, Fred (in clownlike pajamas with a jester-type cap) turns down his mother's silly suggestions: "'Would you care to roll / down a rabbit hole / and snuggle up to sleep?' / 'Too deep,' Fred said." The simple, vivid, circus-colored illustrations make good use of contrast, while the text imbues its well-kept pattern with varied images and smooth rhyme.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(4) K-3 Illustrated by JoAnn Adinolfi. Tom is giving his dog, Louie, a birthday party. When Emilia insists on bringing her pet gerbils, "Louie" informs her by letter (Tom is Louie's scribe; Emilia's older brother, Pedro, is hers) that she's uninvited. So begins a feisty correspondence. Given the promising scenario, the ending is rather anticlimactic, and it's hard to keep all the characters straight, but the candy-colored illustrations expertly capture the party vibe.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by JoAnn Adinolfi. From a pumpkin's lament to Frankenstein's trip to the grocery store, this poetry collection celebrates the Halloween season and is full of scary playfulness, rollicking rhythms, and surprise endings. The pages are decorated with stylized, wacky illustrations, and amusing gravestone epitaphs are found on the endpapers.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley