(3) PS Johnson's spring-toned paintings soften the gleeful sadism of this camp song favorite: for "boppin' 'em on the head," Little Bunny Foo Foo employs non-lethal mudpies. Children disappointed with this comparative harmlessness can still enjoy the way Little Bunny raises the stakes, graduating from trail bike to front-end loader to derrick in his assaults.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Paul Brett Johnson. To welcome the new preacher, members of Jory's family assemble a blackberry pie, a pail of milk, a sack of feed corn, and a basket of eggs. Jory wants to contribute but feels that he's too small to do so until Grandpa shows him a gift that he can give from the heart: a bag of skipping stones. The story has a satisfying arc, and its rural Southern flavor and warm, placid illustrations give it a down-to-earth sensibility.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Paul Brett Johnson & Lou Fancher. Swirling paintings reflect the warmth emanating from a Native American family's wood burning stove, which is both the literal center of comfort and security in their household and a symbol of the fading open "range" outside their door. Arresting images of meals cooked and cold nights endured nicely balance the story's mystical elements to deliver a poignant message about preserving the past.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann

(4) K-3 Adapted by Lou Fancher. Illustrated by Paul Brett Johnson & Lou Fancher. Fancher adapts the classic story of a stuffed rabbit who becomes real when he experiences the love of a little boy. The adaptation retains much of the formal language and sentimental tone of the original and the oil paintings have a crackled look that contributes to the old-fashioned feel of the story. The story is sophisticated enough, even in this edited form, that it will appeal to the older picture book audience.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Paul Brett Johnson. "Amanda was crazy about insects. Maggie was wild about reptiles." This perfect friendship is interrupted by the arrival of another reptile lover, but eventually all three girls join forces. The concept and the bug and reptile facts are neat, but the girls, who sometimes use secret scientific names for each other, are hard to tell apart. The acrylic artwork includes realistic examples of reptiles and insects.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(4) PS Illustrated by Paul Brett Johnson. Susan puts off bedtime by conjuring up a series of imaginary distractions in the form of animals--a moth becomes a bat, a mop is an octopus, and so on. Her father patiently plays along, and soon she's all tucked in. Though sometimes awkward, the rhyming text aptly conveys a child's creativity. Amusing illustrations show the various animals, invisible to Daddy, traipsing around the house.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Paul Brett Johnson. A young girl tells how a stray cat becomes part of her household, giving birth to kittens before disappearing into the hills, presumably to renew her wandering ways. Neither sentimental nor maudlin, the text--which reads like a well-made, very short story--is understated yet evocative, allowing the arresting illustrations to convey place and action.

Reviewer: Mary M. Burns | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 1998