(2) K-3 Illustrated by Patrice Barton. Thirty-five poems cover the school year, from "Bus Stop" to "Sing a Song of Summer," with lots of everyday experiences in between. Winters's poems are short, mostly upbeat, and funny, and she playfully uses punctuation and capitalization for emphasis and to create pauses. Barton's digital pictures feature exuberant and active children who seem to be around first grade–age, with a range of skin colors and ethnicities.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2018

(4) 1-3 Illustrated by Patrice Barton. Chinese American Anna Wang, eight, has just moved to a new house; over (part of) a year, she begins an up-and-down friendship with neighbor Laura, rescues a baby bunny, starts a garden, and celebrates a birthday. Although fans may be happy for more of Anna's story, this brief prequel mostly revisits themes of The Year of the Book, albeit less memorably and cohesively.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Patrice Barton. Dog Moose loves "hello" and hates "goodbye." That dogs aren't allowed in school doesn't deter Moose from repeatedly visiting her girl Zara ("It's time for goodbye, Moose"). After Moose trains as a therapy dog for wheelchair-using Zara, it's finally "hello, Moose!" from everyone at school. Soft, expressive illustrations enhance this engaging story of a strong dog-owner bond and the school-wide benefits of therapy dogs.

Reviewer: Rebecca Kirshenbaum

(3) PS Illustrated by Patrice Barton. Happy, curious toddlers of different races revel in the wonder of the natural world as they experience little creatures, a willow tree, buttercups, etc. The warm artwork (pencil sketches painted digitally), the skillful use of white space, and thoughtful placement of the gentle rhyming couplets all result in a visually inviting book that would make a great addition to toddler storytime.

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan

(3) PS Illustrated by Patrice Barton. The song-like rhyming tale celebrates children playing outside through the four seasons. Luminous digitally colored pencil sketches show children of many races sloshing through spring mud, frolicking at the beach, gathering fall apples, and bundled up in snow. A gentle refrain--"We're bringing the outside in, then..."--adds a playful jingle as the children bring inside the remnants of their outside play.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Patrice Barton. In this fourth book, Anna is both excited and apprehensive when her waitress friend from China, Fan (introduced in The Year of the Fortune Cookie), comes to Cincinnati as an exchange student. Anna must both adjust to seventh grade (without Laura and Camille) and help Fan learn a new language and customs. Another sensitive and thoughtful entry in the Anna Wang series.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(3) PS Illustrated by Patrice Barton. The toddlers from Mine!, Crum and Barton's previous collaboration, spend a day at the beach. They use their extremely limited vocabularies--or sometimes just facial expressions and body language--to respond to the unpredictable nature of seagulls, water, and...each other. The collaborators must have a direct line to preschoolers' sensibilities. Barton is especially good at depicting summer breezes.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) PS Illustrated by Patrice Barton. "Tired little knees, / crawling to and from, / Tired little tummy, / full of yum, yum, yum." This book follows a familiar premise of naming body parts in treacly rhymes as a baby gets ready to go to sleep. Barton's pencil and mixed-media illustrations with whisper-soft digital coloring are calming and laudably diverse in terms of race and kinds of families.

Reviewer: Miriam Steinberg-Egeth

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by Patrice Barton. In her third chapter book, Anna Wang (The Year of the Book; The Year of the Baby), now eleven, begins to question her identity as an Asian American; a trip to China to help friends adopt a baby helps her sort out her feelings. As always, Cheng keeps the focus tightly on highly sympathetic Anna as she observes and processes her world.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Patrice Barton. A Mexican American girl and her great-aunt Lobo learn the Pledge of Allegiance: young Libby practices so she can lead her class at school; Lobo will recite the Pledge at her upcoming citizenship ceremony. Their love for each other is affectionately shown in the soft, digitally rendered illustrations, full of red, white, and blue. An author's note introduces the real Lobo.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by Patrice Barton. In this sequel to The Year of the Book, sensitive fifth grader Anna Wang is worried about her new adopted-from-China baby sister, Kaylee, who isn't eating enough. Anna and her two best friends, Laura and Camille, decide to build their science project around helping Kaylee. Frequent homey spot illustrations enhance this warm family and friendship story.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Patrice Barton. Shy Brian often goes unnoticed by his rowdier classmates. Then Brian comes out of his shell to make a first gesture of friendship with a new student, easing him into socialization. Digitally painted pencil sketches deftly convey Brian's gradual evolution from black-and-white "invisibility" to full-color inclusion by newfound friends. Helpful discussion questions and suggestions for further reading about introverted children are appended.

Reviewer: Russell Perry

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Patrice Barton. In rhyming verse, a little girl celebrates hand-me-down clothing, and imagines the past lives of "Clothes with a history. / Clothes with a mystery." This new edition features Hoberman's original text but offers brand-new illustrations; Barton is up to the challenge: her digitally assembled and painted pencil-sketch and mixed-media pictures are tender and have an ethereal glow.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen | Horn Book Magazine Issue: August, 1976

(3) PS Illustrated by Patrice Barton. When a baby and a toddler confront a pile of toys, the elder says "Mine," grabbing every plaything in sight. By the end of this giggle-inducing book--all the more so because of a feisty dog and its water bowl--the baby has the final word. Barton hits the bull's-eye with her illustrations of round-bellied, plump-tushied tots.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Patrice Barton. Rosie is so fed up with a constantly one-upping classmate that she does something unconscionable to the girl's plant-growing project--and then finds a way to make things right. There's not a misstep in sight, from Wortche's sure plotting to her subtle ending. Barton is uncanny at capturing the body language that says so much about children's moods and attitudes.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Patrice Barton. In a sentimental adoption story that reads like a fairy tale, a Chinese baby floats away from her birth parents down a river, watched over by the moon. Meanwhile, her adoptive parents travel toward her on their own journey. The moon presides over text and illustrations alike, a reassuring reminder of the way they're all linked: China, birthparents, and the newly created family.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Patrice Barton. In this sequel to The Naming of Tishkin Silk, Millard continues to follow the stories of Layla and the Silks as they deal with the ups and downs of life. Here, Layla searches for an elderly companion to bring to her school's Senior Citizens' Day. She strikes up a friendship with Miss Amelie, who has memory troubles. A touching tale of intergenerational friendship.

Reviewer: Pearl Higgins

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Patrice Barton. Gentle, homeschooled Griffin Silk faces classmates for the first time after his mother goes off to cope with an unnamed sadness. New friend "Princess" Layla helps ease Griffin's path both in school and at home, as his large, bohemian family finally finds a way to acknowledge their recent loss. A moving and sensitive story illustrated with warm black-and-white drawings.

Reviewer: Susan Halperin