(4) 4-6 Illustrated by George Booth. Nonstop puns and other wordplay (sometimes funny) reinforced by comical pen-and-ink drawings depict a week in the life of young Ron Faster. His schoolmates include Viola Fuss and Izzy Normal, all supervised by school personnel such as Ms. Celia Seeyalater and Mr. Hugh da Mann. Ron's adventures play second fiddle to a tangle of hit-or-miss witticisms.

Reviewer: Sarah Novogrodsky

(3) K-3 Illustrated by George Booth. Tennessee poultry-farm chicken Starlight LaPoule (née Ethel Fae Klucksworth) dreams of becoming a top-line fashion model--and suddenly she has a (chicken) fairy godmother who might make it happen. There's no denying the wit of Miss Nelson–books author Allard and the panache of New Yorker cartoonist Booth, whose layers of preposterous comical scenarios will tickle readers.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Illustrated by George Booth. "I was scritcha-scratchin' / while a batch-a bugs / was hatchin'..." A girl describes home remedies to rid her of head lice, as suggested by various family members. Finally, she's (unrealistically) cured with a single delousing-shampoo treatment. Frenetic digitally colored ballpoint illustrations show the girl's panic and discomfort. The running top-of-page visual status report on the bugs is amusing.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by George Booth. This long-out-of-print book, originally illustrated by Denman Hampson, has been republished with illustrations by New Yorker cartoonist Booth in his trademark sketchy pen-and-ink style. Booth has done a fine job capturing the inspired lunacy of the text, but devoted admirers of the original may feel a sense of betrayal engendered by tampering with childhood memories.

Reviewer: Terri Schmitz