(3) PS Illustrated by Peter Catalanotto. "Everything nests--Shh shh / Everything rests--Shh shh." In this gentle bedtime lullaby, the top two-thirds of the realistic watercolor and gouache illustrations show a tot playing with her parents while getting ready for bed. The bottom third, in nighttime shades of blue, depicts animals bedding down for the night. Music to accompany the text is included.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(2) 1-3 2nd-Grade Friends series. Illustrated by Peter Catalanotto. Emily's Pop-Pop is coming in to talk to her class about Veterans Day. She's worried, though, because he has narcolepsy, falling asleep at unexpected times. Frequent black-and-white illustrations keep readers involved and move the story to its brisk resolution. Emily's love for Pop-Pop is warm and respectful, and it's nice to meet her strongly individualized, opinionated grandfather.

Reviewer: Robin L. Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2008

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Peter Catalanotto. On the last morning of their summer vacation, Dylan and his mother, who's pregnant, enjoy their tradition of "catching the sun." As they wait at the shore for the sun to break the horizon, Dylan anxiously contemplates the changes a new baby will bring. Catalanotto's watercolor illustrations add warmth to this reassuring if sentimental story of the unwavering mother-son bond.

Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale

(3) 1-3 2nd-Grade Friends series. Illustrated by Peter Catalanotto. Emily and Vinni are best friends. When Vinni misses Emily's birthday party without any explanation, a rift in their friendship occurs. To make things worse, Vinni, jealous of all the post-party talk, ruins Emily's class pumpkin. The frustrations and emotions of both girls, shown in the sketchy black-and-white drawings, are realistic for the age group.

Reviewer:

(2) 1-3 2nd-Grade Friends series. Illustrated by Peter Catalanotto. Small changes threaten to derail second-grader Emily. This promising new series captures moments of anxiety in an elementary school day. While adults might dismiss these worries, the authors show them for what they are: important, sometimes overwhelming concerns. Expressive black-and-white illustrations help keep the story straight; an eye-pleasing font and generous white space will encourage youngsters to keep reading.

Reviewer: Robin L. Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2006

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Peter Catalanotto. After her older brother gets her in trouble with their mother, a girl fantasizes her revenge. What's Lyon's psychologically astute masterstroke? The girl directs her rage ("When you get little and I get big…") not at her brother but at a safer target: her defenseless doll. Catalanotto doesn't always manage facial expressions, but his painterly illustrations get everything else right.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Peter Catalanotto. In 1944, Helen Martini started the first nursery at the Bronx Zoo, becoming a "mother" to a host of baby animals. She increased the newborns' chances of survival and established sturdy lines of animals able to reproduce in captivity. Catalanotto employs his trademark action sequences of motion-picturelike stills in watercolors and charcoals. An afterword explains the author's interest in Martini.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2003

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Peter Catalanotto. In this patriotic picture book, a young boy describes his family's celebration of the nation's birthday. Osborne's description of their day at the park, with its pet parade, food and game booths, talent show, face painting, and band concert, presents a realistic slice of Americana, small-town style. The luminous watercolors depict the enthusiasm of the narrator and his family throughout the day.

Reviewer: Anne St. John

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Peter Catalanotto. One night, Pip runs into her cousin Joseph while visiting a fantastic shop that sells dreams. They both lay claim to a wondrous baby dragon, but when it gets loose and wreaks havoc, they work together to recapture it and contain the damage. Though the story's magical element is a bit too self-conscious and purposeful, Catalanotto's colorful shadow-and-light filled paintings provide dramatic images of the stuff that dreams are made of.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Peter Catalanotto. In this moving picture book about adoption, a mother and father tell their son how much they wanted him and how eagerly they awaited his arrival. The artwork, which features Caucasian parents and a Hispanic boy, begins with the son at high school graduation and shows him gradually getting younger until he is adopted as an infant, a thematic technique that emphasizes the enduring nature of the parents' love.

Reviewer: Anne St. John

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Peter Catalanotto. A free verse poem strives to evoke the imaginative and world-widening possibilities of a story by comparing a book to "a house / that is all windows and doors," "a chest / that keeps the heart's treasure," and "a farm / its field sown with words." Softly blurred watercolors featuring a young girl mirror the text literally and extend it metaphorically. While somewhat contrived and not a real grabber, this is a quiet picture book celebration of the pleasures of reading.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Peter Catalanotto. A year of Jewish holidays, including Shabbat, Sukkot, and Purim, is introduced with stories adapted from the Bible and other sources. Sections entitled "What We Celebrate" and "How We Celebrate" and suggestions for holiday-specific crafts and recipes accompany each well-told story. Watercolor illustrations highlight and complement the text. Ind.

Reviewer: Amy Kellman

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Peter Catalanotto. Thomas and his family wait anxiously for their postman father to finish making his rounds on horseback in the midst of a blinding snowstorm. He returns burning with fever, but by morning both the storm and his fever have broken. The story line feels too quick and pat to sustain the weight of its title. Catalanotto's illustrations vary widely in execution.

Reviewer: Susan Halperin

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Peter Catalanotto. In this improbable story about the interconnectedness of the inhabitants of the Alaskan tundra, a young boy and his mother help an otter pup, who helps an injured raven, who in turn helps a caribou calf, and so on--each small, selfless act of kindness from one affects the other's life profoundly. In the end an Arctic fox helps the boy and the circle is complete. Moody illustrations effectively convey the changing seasons.

Reviewer: Susan Halperin

(4) K-3 Lake lovers will understand young Rosie's wintertime longing for summer at the lake. The illustrations move from gray, purple, and blue winter scenes to full-color, carefree summertime ones, and interestingly combine the two settings--though some compositions work better than others. The story itself, which features a reflective, introspective young girl, also alternates between summer and winter.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.