(3) K-3 Illustrated by D. B. Johnson. In Johnson's fifth Henry Bear book, the Henry David Thoreau stand-in writes about his nighttime quest to find the whippoorwill ("Are you the one who sings / the song of night?"). The Walden-inspired text is poetic; fans of Henry's more concrete previous adventures may find it somewhat opaque. Johnson's signature gauzy mixed-media art takes on a dreamlike appearance.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by D. B. Johnson. A bear paints a picture that two "fine, proper gentlemen" criticize: "Nobody can tell what it is supposed to be." Readers will delight in being righteously indignant with the defensive bear ("It is MY picture"). Johnson's trademark angular illustrations are mostly black-and-white here; he reserves color almost exclusively for the bear's masterpiece.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Illustrated by D. B. Johnson. Using easy-to-find supplies, Zuzu creates things--a telescope, sunglasses--for a morose-looking new neighbor, but it's her "wishing cake" that finally makes the boy smile. The wishing cake seems like an arbitrary change agent; the strength of this inventive book is Zuzu's creativity, shown through Johnson's unmistakable gauzy and geometric art, and presented here in a comic-strip-style layout complete with dialogue balloons.

Reviewer: Nell Beram