(3) K-3 Step into Reading series. Illustrated by Diane Greenseid. When a tornado hits a farm on Saturday night, a chaotic string of events mixes things up: chickens are in the corn, mule in the coop, etc. By Sunday morning, no animal is where it should be, but Farmer Brown's family grows "mighty fond" of the peculiar new arrangement. The Ghignas' silly rhymes bounce along; Greenseid's textured illustrations will elicit giggles.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Diane Greenseid. This Texas "Jack and the Beanstalk" has cowgirl Waynetta climbing a cornstalk to find a ranch in the sky owned by a nasty giant cowboy. Waynetta retrieves her family's treasures, including a longhorn that produces golden cowpats, and tames the giant. The country expressions add regional flavor (though they get a bit tiresome). The boldly colored illustrations are appropriately larger than life.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Diane Greenseid. Vivid acrylic paintings drenched in primary colors accompany a Caribbean version of "Stone Soup." Granny has no food until she uses a seashell to help her convince the people in the marketplace to contribute to a magical soup. Soon meat, fish, vegetables, and spices are filling the pot and the kallaloo (Caribbean gumbo) is boiling away. Two recipes are appended.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Diane Greenseid. Human emotions are as capricious as the weather in this topsy-turvy book. In one half of the story, a fresh spell of rain delights everyone, until days later, when it's still raining. Flip the book over, and the sun shines, making everyone happy, until they grow cranky from the summer heat. A lively text and rich acrylic paintings convey the two extremes of weather and emotions.

Reviewer: Marika Hoe

(3) PS Illustrated by Diane Greenseid. When restaurateur Don Carlos, who always wants más (more), gathers too many snails for his menu, they take over the village. Alonzo, his little brother, recruits birds to eat the snails but is stuck with the pigs he recruits to scare off the birds. Like the story, the bold illustrations, featuring scenes of people and animals milling around adobe buildings, are vivacious and amusing.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Diane Greenseid. In this offbeat, humorous story, Mrs. Piccolo's moody chair develops "a sudden craving for cheese puffs." It follows her to the store, swallowing up several people who annoy it along the way. Fortunately, the chair burps them out again, and Mrs. Piccolo invites everyone in for a snack. The vivid acrylic illustrations lend personality to the characters, including the voluminous pink chair.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(4) K-3 Teeka and Grandma go to the annual family picnic, where the variety of relatives is outdone only by the assortment of dishes they bring. Woodson's chatty prose and Greenseid's vibrant acrylic illustrations capture the bustle and bounty of a large family picnic, but there's more description than story to be found here.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.