(3) PS This sweet story, told through cheery watercolor, ink, and pastel illustrations with just enough text to hold them together, follows four animal friends as they venture out for a hike on a rainy day. The going gets a little rough at times--"We can always go back home again!"--but the friends persevere and are eventually rewarded with sunshine, wild blackberries, and a spectacular view before they return to the comfort of home.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann

(2) K-3 Floca's spirited, fictionalized account of the American Museum of Natural History's expeditions into Mongolia in the 1920s provides welcome historical perspective for children who already know loads of facts about dinosaurs. The upbeat dialogue feels historically appropriate, a tone that is reflected in the illustrations' careful attention to period details, and the attention to scientific detail is also excellent.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2000

(2) YA This first novel traces the lives of eleven narrators over seven years. The characters, most of whom attend a high school in Brooklyn, are from various racial and socioeconomic backgrounds, and their language and dialogue sound true to life. Though their experiences unrealistically run the gamut of problem-novel topics, Frank succeeds most of all in showing how lives are shaped over years by the people kids run into, away from, and with.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2000

(3) PS Illustrated by Shane W. Evans. This book reflects the importance of family and memories in the African-American community. Uncles and aunts who raised the young narrator's father are the centerpieces of this story that takes the reader from the kitchen table to a dip into the lake fully clothed. Evans's bright, stylized illustrations add to the joy of a visit with the "Old Ones."

Reviewer: Deborah L. Thompson

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by Hervé Blondon. Strewn with lovely, precise images, this quiet reminiscence features a boy from a musical family who, along with his father, finds solace in playing the piano after his mother's death. The amber and rust-colored tones of the refined, stylized illustrations reflect the nostalgic glow that permeates this poignant, sophisticated story. An afterword gives historical background on "Für Elise."

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Irene Trivas. In this well-crafted picture book, a tornado approaches, hits, and scatters Nick's family's less well-crafted trailer, with his baby sister inside. The grownups search frantically for Becky under the debris, but it's Nick who finally finds her miraculously unharmed. Lyon's telling--based, apparently, on a true story--has the spareness and vividness of poetry. The watercolors portray a family and neighborhood united by calamity and joy.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2000

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Diane Palmisciano. Before country-bred Hannah boards the bus to visit her grandparents in the city, she buys her grandmother a present: a whistling teakettle with a little red bird on the top. When robbers arrive in grandma's candy shop, we know the whistling bird will save the day. Skolsky has a wonderful time bringing the mayhem to its climax, and gently caricatured Hannah and her grandparents help keep the outrageous theatrics in comic perspective.

Reviewer: Susan P. Bloom | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2000

(4) YA The author of Go and Come Back has written a more conventional story about a lonely girl coming to terms with her mother's impending death. As Mindy follows the downward spiral of her mother's illness, her isolation is palpable, and meaningful human connections are scant. Since the ending is a foregone conclusion, the static narrative centers on Mindy's development within a rather narrow framework.

Reviewer: Nancy Vasilakis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 1999

(3) K-3 Space-obsessed narrator Tommy and his dad plan to watch the story of America's first space walk on the news together. When Dad returns from work crabby, Tommy goes to great lengths to secure his attention. The surreal watercolor illustrations (work-preoccupied Dad drives his car into the house) and fantastical text capture perfectly Tommy's inner turmoil.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 In Paris, cows Minnie and Moo go traveling and mistake various local sights for Africa, Paris, and China. In Earth, when some large "bugs" attack, they fight back mercilessly with a flyswatter, unaware that they're actually exterminating space invaders. While Paris ends a bit abruptly, both books, including the lively watercolor and pencil illustrations, are refreshingly wacky.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) K-3 In Paris, cows Minnie and Moo go traveling and mistake various local sights for Africa, Paris, and China. In Earth, when some large "bugs" attack, they fight back mercilessly with a flyswatter, unaware that they're actually exterminating space invaders. While Paris ends a bit abruptly, both books, including the lively watercolor and pencil illustrations, are refreshingly wacky.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(2) PS "Five drivers for five trucks" begins this concept book, as five workers head out across a tarmac to prepare an airplane for take-off. At close inspection, there's more to see--a boy, his dad, and an overstuffed, rainbow-colored plaid suitcase pop up in various illustrations. The book's simplicity is engaging and age appropriate--even those who are vague about airport operations will catch on quickly.

Reviewer: Mary Burkey | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 1999

(3) YA Joy's bad luck at finding a boyfriend through her school's "Match Quiz" is compounded by her interfering (but lovable) uncle, who moves in with the family following his stroke. With his "help," Joy cautiously befriends Max, a boy who wants to avoid the identity-swamping "derangement" of teenage crushes, but derangement eventually wins out in this hopeful examination of family ties and young love.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Diane Greenseid. In this offbeat, humorous story, Mrs. Piccolo's moody chair develops "a sudden craving for cheese puffs." It follows her to the store, swallowing up several people who annoy it along the way. Fortunately, the chair burps them out again, and Mrs. Piccolo invites everyone in for a snack. The vivid acrylic illustrations lend personality to the characters, including the voluminous pink chair.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Tsukushi. Long ago, in order to scare away invading ships, the inhabitants of a Japanese village put on frightful masks and danced furiously on the beach to the threatening music of a variety of drums, large and small. According to James, their triumph is still celebrated today. Richly colored cut-paper illustrations vigorously portray the drama and movement of both drumming and dancing.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Ponder Goembel. When Iguana's dewlap droops and her skin peels, she decides it's time to leave her comfortable life with her human friend and "almost sister," Alison Frogley. Iguana heads to Key West, where she enjoys the high life until her luck and allowance run out. Text and illustrations contain a slyly humorous balance of fantasy and realism, making the surreal seem plausible. Iguana is a well-developed character on an intriguing odyssey.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 1999

(4) K-3 Illustrated by G. Brian Karas. In words sounding like an incantation, the text describes a desert-dwelling woman who "searches the sand, / searches and sifts / for bones, bones." Piecing together bones from various animals, she brings a wolf to howling life. Spare pictures capture the parched setting as well as the story's mysterious mood. The story is evocative but somewhat puzzling, as readers are left wondering exactly who the enigmatic conjurer is.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(4) K-3 In this story about accepting differences, a robot family is shunned when they move into a new neighborhood. Once the neighbors get to know the Robobots, however, they realize how much they actually have in common. The cartoonlike illustrations keep the moral from overwhelming the story for younger readers, but older ones will see the obvious analogies for what they are.

Reviewer: Susan Halperin

(4) YA Illustrated by Marilee Heyer. Narrated by the three goddesses, three accounts personalize well-known episodes from Greek mythology. Background information, a map, and reproductions of classical artwork are all helpful; however, the fanciful epilogue and afterword, in which the author and the goddesses address the reader, seem gimmicky and too young for the intended audience. Lavish artwork adds to the dramatic presentation of the familiar tales. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Anne St. John

(3) K-3 A minimalist text coupled with splashy, expressively lined artwork conveys the lonely life of a cat who at last finds a mate with whom to romp through the roses. As usual, Raschka's story bounces along to its own distinct rhythm, and its union of two different colors of feline--white and brown--hearkens back to the friendship embarked upon by the two boys in Yo! Yes?.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann