(2) K-3 Illustrated by Steven Salerno. Fascinated by the natural world's many colors, Edwin Binney developed eight different colors of nontoxic crayons at his company in June 1903; they were an instant hit and are still made today. Whenever the text mentions a color, the word is set in bold for easy recognition by children. Salerno's dynamic spreads aptly burst with a variety of colors. Occasional helpful sidebars provide further explanations, particularly about the Crayola invention process. Bib.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2019

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Steven Salerno. Born Velma Bronn Johnston, "Wild Horse Annie" grows up watching her father tame mustangs. In 1971, adult Annie, with help from schoolchildren petitioning legislators, wins federal protection for wild horses. The text makes good use of anecdotes and quotes to capture Annie's personality and convey her personal challenges (including polio). Fluid, cartoonlike illustrations depict Annie's energy and subtly suggest her lifelong disability. Bib.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2019

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Steven Salerno. Bold colors and a rainbow motif decorate this picture book introduction to Harvey Milk, his cause, and the symbol he helped create (with designer Gilbert Baker) for gay equality. The book's first half focuses on Milk's biography; the second tells of gay rights achieved after his assassination and the evolution of the pride flag. Back matter includes notes and photos of pride demonstrators. Reading list, timeline, websites.

Reviewer: Christina Dorr

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Steven Salerno. Illustrated by Steven Salerno. Elizabeth "Lizzie" Magie developed a board game to expose unfair housing practices at the turn of the twentieth century. Charles Darrow makes the game brighter and bolder; he buys Magie out, becoming the sole proprietor of the newly named Monopoly. Stone smoothly navigates a changing cast of characters and time periods, repeatedly drawing readers in with thought-provoking questions. Salerno's mixed-media, retro-style illustrations convey a sense of the times. Bib.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2018

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Steven Salerno. A pirate family takes its dinghy out while the morning gruel cools. Meanwhile, a curious golden-haired sailor inspects the pirate ship, improving it as she goes. Prince's lively swashbuckling take on the classic tale includes an alternate ending and an appended glossary for the plentiful pirate lingo. In Salerno's sketchlike illustrations, characters' expressive faces convey every arrgh! and aye!

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Steven Salerno. In the 1920s, Houghton ("The Kid") played starting shortstop for the all-women's Philadelphia Bobbies--at ten years old. Vernick's conversational text describes the team barnstorming through the Northwest U.S., playing baseball in Japan, and learning about Japanese culture. Salerno's appealing charcoal, ink, and gouache illustrations evoke a bygone era of baseball with smudgy-looking uniforms, sepia tones, and double-page spreads for a touch of ballpark grandeur.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2016

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Steven Salerno. This absorbing picture-book biography of the engineer and inventor focuses on the design, construction, and success of his twenty-six-story observation wheel at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, later known as the Ferris wheel. Young readers will be drawn into Salerno's energetic, bright mixed-media illustrations, which strike the perfect balance between wonder, technical detail, and historical accuracy. "More About George Ferris" is appended. Bib.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Steven Salerno. Dog Rosie's only fear is thunder; fortunately, she has "the boy she knew best" (her owner) to comfort her (he tells her that the sound is just "watermelons rolling from a watermelon truck," among other contrived explanations). That's pretty much all there is to the book, although the illustrations are brimming with warmth, and several have a winsome 1950s-retro look.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Steven Salerno. The Acerras of Long Branch, New Jersey, had twelve boys and four girls. In 1938, the oldest nine boys created their own semi-pro team, which played together longer than any of the era's other (nearly thirty!) teams made up entirely of brothers. The illustrations bring the story to vivid life, while the beautifully designed pages capture the feel of this slice of American history.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2012

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Steven Salerno. Sugar-mad biped poodle Pantaloon is rebuffed by a baker hiring help. After the man injures himself tripping over Pantaloon's bike, the poodle proves his worth. This newly illustrated edition is old-fashioned in the best sense, with the rip-roaring story intently focused on one purpose: to entertain. Linked to no particular era, Salerno's jam-packed illustrations are thoroughly invigorating.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) YA Illustrated by Steven Salerno. High school students wondering who pays for a prom corsage or what to say in a graduation-gift thank-you note need look no further than this clear-cut etiquette guide. The cozy, idealized, old-fashioned style, embraced by occasional spot illustrations, sometimes extends to the scenarios (do deejays still cart around boxes of albums?); however, the basic principles of respect, consideration, and honesty are timeless. Ind.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Steven Salerno. In these poems students climb jungle gyms like monkeys, splash in puddles like hogs, and sometimes want to hide their faces like turtles. Some of the comparisons are fairly obvious but others show creativity, and they're rendered in generally solid rhyme and meter. Bright cartoonlike illustrations use broad strokes to portray the animal-like children.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(3) PS Illustrated by Steven Salerno. Elya describes a busy toddler's beach-day adventures. Like Bebé's pelota (ball), the verse bounces right along, with the mainly English text smoothly incorporating some Spanish words; round and bubbly mixed-media illustrations offer good visual support for most of them. This frolic-filled read will appeal to bilingual listeners and to adults looking for an informal way to introduce children to Spanish vocabulary. Glos.

Reviewer: Sethany Rancier Alongi

(3) PS Illustrated by Steven Salerno. A little girl is too busy playing to get ready for bed. Her mother, feeling that "someone has to get ready for bed," gives the dog a bath, brushes his hair, etc.--just the thing to get her daughter to hop to it. The kinetic art's skewed perspectives underscore the unique, slightly surreal take on an occasionally tedious nightly ritual.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) PS Illustrated by Steven Salerno. "Naptime--no!" This peppy, if slight, portrayal of a baby (and her mom and sister) on the go uses fragmented text ("To the bus! Doors hiss, open close, jingle-jangle coins") and cartoons against electric-colored backgrounds to roll out a vibrant cityscape. With all the hustle and bustle, it's no wonder the tot isn't ready to nap until the family collapses onto a bench at the end.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Steven Salerno. Word lovers might stand a better chance of becoming math lovers if more math lessons were like these: "apples + worms = sweet tunnels." The four seasons provide the framework for a book made up of equations and graphs, each one encapsulating a seasonal sight or experience. The watercolor and gouache pictures show a little girl styled like a sixties cartoon character; the pages brim with joyfully bright color.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2003

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Steven Salerno. A new generation will enjoy this gentle, humorous tale of a small boy's failed attempts at bathing himself by copying farmyard animals. Originally published in 1939 in Jack and Jill magazine, then later in an anthology as How the Animals Took a Bath, the new version features breezy illustrations with bold, black outlines and vibrant colors rendered in a variety of media--a surprisingly good match for Brown's lilting, insightful prose.

Reviewer: CHristine Sarrazin

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Steven Salerno. After ingesting an odd blue seed, a rooster sprouts a blue feather in the middle of his forehead, causing him to feel special enough to proclaim himself "boss of the barnyard." Retro-style illustrations contain bold lines and striking colors, with some decorative silver foil tossed in, in this animated tale, which moves from farm to circus as the animals seek a horse reputed to sport not one, but two blue feathers.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann