(2) K-3 Illustrated by Jessica Lanan. An offstage narrator speaks directly to the moon, expressing thanks for the light it provides, and sometimes doesn't, to the inhabitants of Earth at night. Most animals (and one plant)--including such land animals as dung beetles and nightjars, and sea creatures, such as zooplankton and corals--benefit from the brighter phases, when moonlight allows them to see their food or a clear path to safety. Others, including lions and kangaroo rats, benefit from the darker phases, when a lack of light provides cover to sneak up on their prey or hide from their predators. An emotive main text ("Thank you for guiding tiny turtles to the sea") is accompanied by a secondary text where scientific explanations are detailed. The illustrations of moonlit land and seascapes are perfectly matched to both texts, including scientifically accurate representations of light interacting with the environment and changes in the moon across different lunar phases. The art also skillfully contrasts glowing light and tonal variations within darkness to emphasize the beauty of low-light landscapes. At the end of the book, two diagrams present the basics about moon phases and the path of reflected light from sun to moon to Earth. Facts about the featured animals are also included, as are selected sources and a brief bibliography.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2023

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Jessica Lanan. Manley presents a smart, careful, and thorough discussion of exoplanets. Lanan's illustrations take the concepts to the next level; the choices of scale, color, and detail in her planetary landscapes make visible the text's content. The clever use of a parallel visual narrative, which features a (brown-skinned) girl and her family visiting a planetarium, situates the images of possible other life-supporting worlds in that character's imagination. Timeline, websites. Bib.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2019

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jessica Lanan. During the late ninteenth century, when few women studied science, Anna Comstock became a Cornell-educated naturalist and artist; she championed the then-revolutionary concept of outdoor nature classes for children. Quiet, reflective prose, interspersed with quotations from Comstock's writings, highlights her passionate connection to nature, while the illustrations' translucent washes of leafy greens and yellows bring the outdoor world to life. "More About Anna" is appended.

Reviewer: Debora Pearson

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Jessica Lanan. A narrating mother "might" tell her adopted son one of several fantastical adoption stories (e.g., he "came from a land far away in a hot-air balloon"). Readers who want real answers about adoption may be frustrated until a two-page spread finally explains that an airplane brought the boy home. The watercolor and colored-pencil art strains for lyricism and sometimes succeeds.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Jessica Lanan. Bojangi (specially crafted wrapping cloths) are an ancient Korean folk-art form. In this story, young Ji-su strives to sew well enough to join her mother as a seamstress at the emperor's court. Schoettler illuminates the originality and craftsmanship involved in creating bojangi, but her telling is ponderous; more compelling are the beautiful cloths in Lanan's warm illustrations.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin