(2) K-3 Illustrated by Pete Oswald. A chicken crosses the road, crosses paths with a truck, and gets to..."THE OTHER SIDE"--the afterlife, that is. The neon-blue shadow of Chicken's former self learns about what's next from new companions, other undead animals. "It's time to get foul, fowl!" these mischief-makers gleefully state. Against the digital illustrations' midnight-dark backgrounds, the brightly colored poltergeists' silliness should prevent young readers from feeling too "weak in the beak" (as a ghostly former-rat puts it). So should Chicken's sentiment: "I don't want to haunt anyone, especially not innocent readers..." It's hard to feel chicken when a book is this clucking hilarious.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2021

(1) 1-3 Illustrated by Pete Oswald. Harry Bergen-Murphy is worried about a lot of things on the night before starting first grade--getting lost, mean kids, and "scary classroom guinea pigs," among others. Fortunately, he has a deft teacher in Ms. Peek-Schnitzel, who assigns him the task of sharpening pencils as the other children arrive--the activity and knowing that "he is the special person who gets to do the pencils" ease his worries. Jenkins structures the book using the first hundred days of school; by day four, Harry, now the confident one, can distract his friend Mason when he's upset. The entire book is solidly grounded in the slice-of-life details of first grade, with the wall of sight words and "sparkly words," the science unit on apples, and activities like making family circle charts (instead of family trees). Jenkins shows everything through Harry's perspective, as when he names the other children at his table: "Wyatt, a boy with a loud voice. Abigail from kindergarten, who looks down at her hands a lot. Kimani, a girl who prints very neatly. And Diamond, a girl with a big laugh." Harry is believably imperfect in a Ramona-like way, as he squabbles with other kids, gets mad at his teacher, and gradually begins to better understand people and their feelings. Though long for an early chapter book, the book's large print, plentiful white space, short sentences with simple words, and very engaging characters will make new readers want to tackle it. Oswald's lively color pictures sprinkled throughout the book also add to its ­accessibility and show a diverse group of kids. It's funny, authentic, and insightful, with an appended author's note providing details about some of the many children's book references Jenkins has worked in.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2021

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Saba Joshaghani & Pete Oswald. Despite Halloween being its favorite holiday, the curmudgeonly sunflower seed from The Bad Seed is in a "baaaaaad mood." The reasons: lack of a costume, extreme competitiveness, and...wistful nostalgia. "­Halloween used to be so much fun! My friends and I would all get dressed up together. Oh, the memories..." Deciding that a trick is in order, the seed announces the postponement of Halloween. "A HERD OF SEED-EATING SQUIRRELS IS RACING TOWARD US! YIKES!! WATCH OUT! SQUIRRELS AND RAIN AND THUNDER!" Fortunately, an empathetic fellow seed (pumpkin!) guides our hero toward rediscovering its Halloween spirit. The text cultivates emotion in the botanical protagonist, while the digital illustrations are seeded with funny facial expressions--now with bonus jack-o'-lanterns and silly costumes.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2021

(2) PS Illustrated by Pete Oswald. Rita and Ralph are best friends. Each day they meet at the apple tree midway between their houses and play games together. One day the two children try a new game ("Sticks and Stones") in which more than feelings (accidentally) get hurt. After the two return to their respective homes in a huff, Ralph decides to apologize and ventures back out to Rita's house. Going all that way, though, renders him a "smidge grumpy," and his apology comes out as less than heartfelt. Rita likewise makes the long trip, but all that time to think makes her madder than before. Both Rita and Ralph spend the rest of the day--and a sleepless night--sad and mad. Thankfully, a new day brings a new chance for true apologies. The book's broad landscape orientation shows the lengths ("down the hill, and up the hill, and down the hill, and up the hill, and down the hill, and up the hill, and down the hill, aaaaand up the hill") the two friends must go to get to each other's houses, until they can once again meet in the middle--in more ways than one. Playfully curved text follows the children's paths, and each sweeping view of the exhausting trek gives a glimpse into the passage of time and the shifting details of their surroundings. Oswald's digital illustrations fill the pages with swaths of color, energetic lines, and many emotive eyebrows, all of which work to capture the ups and downs of one rotten day. Adapted from the interactive story "Mr. Wiggle and Mr. Waggle," Deedy's narrative is made to be read aloud. A simple, silly, and satisfying picture book that shows just how far we'll go for our friends.

Reviewer: Grace McKinney | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2020

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Pete Oswald. The reliable duo behind the nondidactic (and puntastic) behavior-themed picture books The Bad Seed; The Good Egg (rev. 1/19); and The Cool Bean (rev. 3/20) tackle the topic of excessive screen time. Our couch-potato protagonist (a cheery, bright-eyed cartoon potato) has a favorite spot: the sofa. From there, it can see "a sea of shimmering screens, from wall to shining wall. What joy! What bliss!" As a TV-watcher, an online gamer, and a live-streamer, all of its social interactions are virtual. (The line "It's much easier than trying to meet up somewhere, like folks did in the olden days" has a particular resonance right now.) While plugging in its newest device--"a video camera that would allow me to watch myself react while I was watching all my favorite shows"--our hero blows a fuse. This leads to some much-needed fresh air, face-to-face interaction, and outdoor adventure besting anything with pixels. Text and illustrations ("scanned watercolor textures and digital paint") are packed with humor, from the potato's guileless expressions to its favorite shows ("M*A*S*H*E*D Potatoes") and ingenious inventions (self-pouring milk and cereal) to its pals, a.k.a. "best spuddies." By the end, the tater still loves electronic devices and couch-sitting, but its horizons have been expanded to the great outdoors, and to analog reading: Catcher in the Fry.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2021

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Pete Oswald. This third collaboration about an endearing food staple features John's and Oswald's trademark humor-wrapped-around-a-message that made The Bad Seed and The Good Egg (rev. 3/19) so entertaining. This time it's a cool-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder tale starring three beans (cool ones, natch) who rule the school, and our wide-eyed, bow-tie-wearing protagonist who used to be their friend "in the olden days, last year." Our bean tries to earn a place in the lima-light: "I wore sunglasses...I slicked my hair back," but the changes don't feel right. The misfit bean resigns itself to loneliness ("I lived my life and things were just...okay") until some surprising acts of kindness cause it to reevaluate assumptions about its former--or are they?--BFFs. Witty wordplay ("I was officially a has-bean") and silly gags in the digital and watercolor illustrations (The Great Gatsbean, A Midsummer Night's Bean, Leguma Beach]) help downplay the didacticism and up the cool factor.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2020

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Pete Oswald. In this humorous picture book, the protagonist is "a good egg," but the same cannot be said about the eleven others in his dozen. The pressure of policing everyone's behavior makes him crack (literally), so he strikes out on his own. The simple lessons in John's light-and-breezy text are useful; Oswald's textured watercolor and digital illustrations show an egghead personified, and one for whom readers will cheer.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2019

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Pete Oswald. After the Authorities imprison a "sad little fact" and its truth-telling brethren, all of which are colorful orbs with stick limbs, it's up to the fact finders (shovel-wielding geometric shapes) to rescue them. While the book's topicality won't elude older readers, kids will seize on the story's delightful absurdity and humor.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Pete Oswald. Exaggerated facial expressions (those evil eyebrows!) and clever page turns and perspectives reveal how a lone sunflower seed became a "baaaaaaaaaaad seed" with terrible manners. Detailed digital illustrations convey the other seeds' varied reactions to the baddie. Eventually he realizes he's "ready to be happy" again, and he begins to change his ways. Deadpan wit makes this a great read-aloud.

Reviewer: Rebecca Kirshenbaum

(4) K-3 Did You Know? series. Illustrated by Pete Oswald & Aaron Spurgeon. These numerous bites of musical information appear in a catchy Q-and-A format that is only occasionally distorted to achieve the gee-whiz factor (e.g., a "frog" is a component of the cello bow, but the animal doesn't play the instrument). Colorful cartoon animals aptly illustrate the information with a light touch, and the direct-address format and colloquial style are accessible. "Fun Facts" are appended.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(3) K-3 Did You Know? series. Illustrated by Pete Oswald. Each volume presents select trivia about a variety of creatures. For example, the peregrine falcon is the fastest animal on earth, diving at two-hundred miles per hour (from Chickens); and ants take about 250 one-minute naps a day (from Hippos). While the cartoon illustrations make no attempt to be accurate, they add even more humor to these jocular, enjoyable collections. Review covers these Did You Know? titles: Chickens Don't Fly and Hippos Can't Swim.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(3) K-3 Did You Know? series. Illustrated by Pete Oswald. Each volume presents select trivia about a variety of creatures. For example, the peregrine falcon is the fastest animal on earth, diving at two-hundred miles per hour (from Chickens); and ants take about 250 one-minute naps a day (from Hippos). While the cartoon illustrations make no attempt to be accurate, they add even more humor to these jocular, enjoyable collections. Review covers these Did You Know? titles: Chickens Don't Fly and Hippos Can't Swim.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(4) K-3 Did You Know? series. Illustrated by Pete Oswald & Aaron Spurgeon. These numerous bites of transportation-related information appear in a catchy Q-and-A format that is only occasionally distorted to achieve the gee-whiz factor (e.g., the illustration of wildlife crossing bridges relates rather confusingly to the text). Colorful cartoon animals aptly illustrate the information with a light touch, and the direct-address format and colloquial style are accessible. "Fun Facts" are appended.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(4) K-3 Did You Know? series. Illustrated by Pete Oswald & Aaron Spurgeon. This hodgepodge of solar system facts conveys solid information in an informal tone: "Neptune...is called an 'ice giant' because it is made mostly of... That's right! Ice!" The cartoony illustrations make no attempt to be accurate: animal astronauts and scientists (and some green aliens) cavort across the busy pages. The whole is an adequate introduction. "More Fun Facts" are appended.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(4) K-3 Did You Know? series. Illustrated by Pete Oswald. These numerous weather-based bites of information appear in a catchy Q-and-A format that is only occasionally distorted to achieve the gee-whiz factor (e.g., the South Pole's rainfall height but not its volume equals "2 tall glasses of water"). Colorful cartoon animals aptly illustrate the information with a light touch. Unfortunately, there's an incorrect transposition of North and South Poles. "Fun Facts" are appended.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian