(3) PS Illustrated by Javaka Steptoe. When a child asks his mother what about him is special, she provides a list of his physical traits and character qualities (e.g., "the way you share"). The sweetness of the mother's answers is often calibrated by the boy's honesty ("but sometimes I feel like keeping all my toys to myself"). Textured collage illustrations with varying perspectives broaden the book's appeal.

Reviewer: Bridget McCaffrey

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Javaka Steptoe. Golio ably introduces young readers to the rock legend by describing his humble childhood (he was raised by a cash-strapped single dad), first guitar (purchased from the landlady's son for $5), and creative drive ("He wondered: Could a person use music / like chalks and colored pencils?"). Steptoe accommodates the poetic, shape-shifting text in his heavily worked-over mixed-media illustrations. Websites. Bib.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) YA Illustrated by Javaka Steptoe. Myers recasts the romance of Swan Lake in the projects. Amiri is headed for "a life that's straight"; Odette is "hopelessly enslaved...promised to Big Red." The details of the plot sometimes strain to fit the setting, and Myers's poetry, often stunning, can also be pedantic, but the power of the story--done justice by Steptoe's jagged, dynamic, emotive collages on asphalt--shines through.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross

(3) PS Illustrated by Javaka Steptoe. "At the park / the sky grows dark." Short rhyming lines describe children at play during a rainstorm. When lightning threatens, though, they head home in the car ("Wipers swish. / Sneakers squish"). Steptoe's loose cut-paper collages depict a warm, joyful scene. Both text and art do a fine job evoking a situation that every child will recognize.

Reviewer: Lolly Robinson

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Javaka Steptoe. In a gritty Cleveland neighborhood, a disillusioned middle-school math teacher enlists four students in a giant tetrahedron project to get themselves into the Guinness Book of World Records. The participants take it in turn to tell the story, revealing their own lives and reasons for joining the project. The characters are sharply observed and distinctly voiced; there's a good balance of comedy, drama, and middle-school life.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2006

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Javaka Steptoe. On a sweltering day when the "fat sun drifts in the blue sky," best friends Kishi and Renée are not speaking. Finally, the siren song of a double-dutch chant from down the street lures the pair back together. The high-energy collage illustrations layer paper onto roughly painted planks of wood. This is a satisfying summer story about community and friendship, and about the way hot weather can spark hot tempers.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2004

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Javaka Steptoe. "Mama's window box-- / purple flowers shout the news. / Finally--it's spring!" Celebrating a young girl's urban life throughout the year, a haiku and a simple free-verse poem are paired on each double-page spread. Both verses are inspired by the same word (e.g., spring, pigeon, hot, pumpkin). Steptoe's lively found-object collage illustrations, though sometimes a little cluttered, provide a rich visual experience.

Reviewer: Henrietta M. Smith

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Javaka Steptoe. "Do you know what I'll do at the seashore? I'll bring you a shell to hold the sound of the sea. . . . Do you know what I'll do at the movies? I'll remember the song and sing it to you." An African-American girl relays her devotion to her younger brother through a series of playful questions and answers. This exuberant revised text has also been reillustrated with bold mixed-media collage illustrations that practically jump off the pages.

Reviewer: Nell Beram