(4) K-3 Illustrated by Brad Sneed. The effect of wind on beach-goers begins this book, which then pictures offshore windmills as a source of renewable energy. A rhythmic text rhymes just enough, and lighthearted paintings effectively convey the movement and energy of the wind. But the implication that one windmill field supplies electric power that's "Charging the grid / That fuels our nation" is misleading.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Brad Sneed. Lizzie's mother is about to have a baby, so Lizzie must help her grandma with the wash; the feeling of a job well done and a surprise visitor make the day-long, arduous production worth it. Though they stumble with figures and faces, the pencil and watercolor illustrations aptly evoke the 1889 setting. Plenty of old-fashioned, pioneer-life details are woven into the text.

Reviewer: Chelsey Philpot

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Brad Sneed. This Kansas tall tale relates the exploits of Johnny Kaw, who was born six-foot-two and continued growing. Johnny's adventures recall Pecos Bill and Paul Bunyan's: he tames a cyclone, creates the Rocky Mountains, and clears trees from the plains. The awkward rhymes with uneven rhythm detract from the folksy narrative; soft illustrations capture the character's enormity and majesty of the Great Plains.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(3) PS Illustrated by Brad Sneed. "Old stairs creak. / Come fast as you can. / Ham pop-pops / In the frying pan." Onomatopoeia-flecked rhymes describe a typical day with a farm family that suggests the Brady Bunch in the Waltons' time (and clothing). The rhymes have the easy gait of a country song, and the American regionalist–style watercolor paintings invest the characters with simple-folk dignity.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Brad Sneed. Desperate to escape the pressures of his job, the president dons a disguise and returns to his old elementary school for one carefree day in kindergarten. Back at the White House he applies what he learned by helping two squabbling prime ministers make peace via the hokey pokey. This is all-ages-welcome social commentary facilitated by witty writing and just-right caricaturish art.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Brad Sneed. Wolf Rufus's parents think he needs toughening up, so they send him to the Big Bad Wolf Academy. Rufus's inability to get with the program becomes the book's one-note joke until he finally turns the tables. Kids will grin at the watercolor illustrations' nods to Goldilocks, Little Red Riding Hood, and other familiar wolf stories.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Adapted by Brad Sneed. Illustrated by Brad Sneed. Sneed provides a straightforward retelling of Andersen's tale of a tiny girl who is kidnapped by toads, escapes marriage to a mole, and finds a little king. With her large head and long, sticklike arms and legs, Thumbelina looks anorexic, but unusual perspectives help tell the story from her low-to-the-ground point of view.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Brad Sneed. Brothers Ebenezer and Obadiah live happily together on their farm until one day when Obadiah complains of lumps in the oatmeal and Ebenezer dumps the bowl on his head. A generations-long feud ensues, ended only when one of their great-grandsons utters the word that might have averted the whole familial catastrophe: "Sorry." The gangly expressiveness of Sneed's watercolors fits this outsized story to a T.

Reviewer: Erica L. Stahler

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Brad Sneed. Unlike her sister Velma Jean, who seems to be fearless, Ruby Jane doesn't feel courageous at all. However, when a tornado threatens, she braves the storm and coaxes Velma Jean into the cellar, despite the older girl's secret fear of going underground. The story drags somewhat at the climax, but Sneed's watercolors add excitement and portray the setting vividly.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Brad Sneed. Convinced that dogs have it better than boys, Robert McDoodle runs away and enrolls in a canine school, where he discovers that being a dog isn't as easy as he thought. Though some of the rhymes are forced, the rather predictable story has its funny moments. Sneed uses a variety of interesting perspectives and takes advantage of the humor in the boy-imitates-dog situation.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(4) 1-3 Step into Reading series. Illustrated by Brad Sneed. After Bruno the bear saves Henry's beehive, the two become friends. In two other episodic, easy-to-read chapters, Henry helps Bruno look for a place to live, and on a camping trip, Bruno helps Henry hide food from hungry bears. This isn't great literature, but kids will enjoy staying one step ahead of each tale, and the flat illustrations, boasting exaggerated proportions, will amuse.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Brad Sneed. In this tall tale inspired by a true story, a sixty-year-old Australian sheep rancher gains the energy to run around his ten-thousand-acre ranch by eating pumpkins. When he enters a nine-hundred-kilometer race, he surprises everyone but himself by finishing first. Oil paintings with unusual perspectives and a likable protagonist add to the text's understated humor.

Reviewer: Jackie C. Horne