(4) PS Preschoolers are encouraged to learn word recognition and to identify many objects through a series of double-page spreads of various environments, including a workshop, campground, and living room. Though stiff and glossy, the scenes and objects made of Fimo modeling material provide much to look at. This British import, however, is virtually indistinguishable from other books like it.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Christyan Fox. Photographs by Howard Allman & Tim Flach. Heavily illustrated with both silhouetted color photos and cheery cartoon illustrations, these books offer basic advice to new pet owners, including choosing a puppy or hamster, bringing it home and settling in, feeding, cleaning, playing, and keeping it healthy. Especially in Dogs, the advice can be quite general, so more specific guidance will be needed, but these books will get youngsters started. Ind.

Reviewer: Emma Loy-Santelli

(3) K-3 Usborne First Pets series. Illustrated by Christyan Fox. Photographs by Jane Burton. Heavily illustrated with color photos and cheery cartoon drawings, this informative, friendly guide offers basic advice to prospective rabbit owners, including choosing a pet, bringing it home and settling in, handling, feeding, cleaning, playing, and keeping it healthy. Also discussed are rabbit behavior, getting the right equipment, and both indoor and outdoor rabbit care. Ind.

Reviewer: Emma Loy-Santelli

(4) 4-6 Usborne First Skills series. Illustrated by Joanna Venus & Kevin Lyles & Chris Shields. This British import includes a readable discussion, photos set on white backgrounds, and colorful graphics on how to fish in different environments, tips on what materials to use, and an overview of a variety of fish. Missing from the book, however, is adequate information for young fishers about treating one's catch humanely. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Jack Forman

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Christyan Fox. Photographs by Jane Burton. Heavily illustrated with both silhouetted color photos and cheery cartoon illustrations, these books offer basic advice to new pet owners, including choosing a puppy or hamster, bringing it home and settling in, feeding, cleaning, playing, and keeping it healthy. Especially in Dogs, the advice can be quite general, so more specific guidance will be needed, but these books will get youngsters started. Ind.

Reviewer: Emma Loy-Santelli

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Isaac Quaye & Zöe Wray. This kid-friendly volume describes a series of Internet projects, most of which involve visiting a website. Clear instructions guide readers to point their browsers to pages about sports, dinosaurs, moviemaking, and other topics. Helpful illustrations include screenshots of websites. Unfortunately, it's tough for a book to keep pace with the ever-changing Net: at least six of the hundred or so suggested links are already dead. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(4) K-3 A brother and sister have adventures all over their farm in this alphabet book. Each page highlights a letter with two sentences that use that letter repeatedly; one comments on the farm activities and the other asks a question. The characters border on being too cute, and the color shows through the pages, but the book is a good interactive tool to use with toddlers and preschoolers.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(4) 4-6 Photographs by Howard Allman. In an overly crowded layout, directions for creating ten kinds of puppets include materials, measurements, hints, step-by-step illustrations, and photographs of finished puppets. Projects range from easy sock puppets to complex marionettes. Directions for making two puppet theaters, hints for polished performances, templates for some components, and addresses of two puppetry organizations are included.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(4) 4-6 The page layout is busy, almost overwhelming, in this British import that contains two sections ("Growing Up" and "Babies") and is packed with (mostly Americanized) information and reassurance about adolescence, pregnancy, birth, and early child development. Cartoon illustrations and very specific diagrams are included, but details in a few are lost in the gutter. "Growing Up" contains a glossary. Ind.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.