(3) PS Illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman. A group of energetic kids converges on an abandoned city lot. "Big plans today!" The lively mixed-media illustrations fill in story details: the plan seems to involve cleaning up trash, repurposing an old tire as a swing, and creating a new space to play. Getting from plan to finished project is a journey through many different emotions as the kids navigate disagreements and disappointment. Penfold's rhyming text is less concerned with the project than it is in naming feelings and offering ways to work together for a common goal. As in Penfold and Kaufman's All Are Welcome, the diverse cast (different races, abilities, cultural/religious markers) is the book's strongest feature.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(4) PS Illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman. A boy and girl on a farm rise and shine early and go bug-hunting in a jaunty rhyming text, illustrated with bright, slick digital art. They, and readers, find ten of a kind hidden on each two-page spread, for one hundred by book's end. Along with counting, readers also learn combinations that make ten, then combine tens to make one hundred. Each bug is briefly described at the end. Bib.

Reviewer: Paula M. Cairo

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman. In rhyming text, Penfold tells the story of a day--at a diversely populated urban school--that includes special events (a science fair, a cultural performance of a Chinese lion dance) and emphasizes the refrain, "All are welcome here." The mixed-media illustrations include interracial families, same-sex parents, and children with disabilities; the book includes a poster of children from many cultures reprinted on the inside of the dust jacket.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman. Young Claudine decides to be naughty in order to keep Santa Claus from entering her house on Christmas Eve. Why? Santa's reputation for watching which children are naughty or nice strikes her as "snooping," and he's "rude" to creep inside. Festive digital illustrations convey the spunky heroine's comical solutions and her older sister's and parents' attempts to change the young skeptic's mind.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman. "Most T. rexes liked to chase animals. Samanthasaurus liked to paint them." Samanthasaurus's un-dino-like ways have her family worried ("Clearly you need to evolve!") until her unconventional thinking saves them during a family hike up Mount Crushmore, where they're surprised by a volcano. It's all very well done, with never-a-dull-moment art using just the right amount of eye-catching candy colors.

Reviewer: Nell Beram