(3) PS Illustrated by You Byun. Little Baby Buttercup spends the day with her mother, stacking blocks, playing in the garden, taking a stroll to the playground, and ducking into a coffee shop to avoid a rain shower. The smooth, pleasing rhymes describe these and other simple activities familiar to most toddlers, and Byun's cheerful digitally manipulated ink paintings add character and energy to the story.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(4) 4-6 Troy, "the new kid in town," is comforted when he adopts a new dog at the shelter; Tilly is afraid of dogs and Buddy is happy at the shelter, but somehow the two bond. Each short story by a different popular author is connected through the Pawley Rescue Center, which places dogs with their families. Some of the stories lack a strong emotional core.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(3) PS Illustrated by Noah Z. Jones. No matter what two ducks do, their clumsy friend Moose messes things up. After one catastrophe too many, they banish Moose but later have to convince him to come home again for his surprise birthday party. Using only the words duck and moose, the story is told through punctuation and brightly colored, expressive cartoon vignettes with plentiful white space and lots of tension.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(3) 4-6 Grow with Me series. This volume follows the life cycle of a snake. Beginning with general information about these reptiles, the overview covers birth, maturation, behavior, diet, reproduction, and life spans. Most double-page spreads have a large, clear photograph to illustrate the topic and a smaller one showing related material. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(3) 4-6 Grow with Me series. This volume follows the life cycle of an eagle. Beginning with general information about these raptors, the overview covers birth, maturation, behavior, diet, reproduction, and life span. Most double-page spreads have a large, clear photograph to illustrate the topic and a smaller one showing related material. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(3) 4-6 Grow with Me series. This volume follows the life cycle of an apple tree. Beginning with general information about the fruit and the plant, the overview covers growth from seed to sprout, from blossoms to ripe fruit. Most double-page spreads have a large, clear photograph to illustrate the topic and a smaller one showing related material. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(3) 4-6 Grow with Me series. This volume follows the life cycle of a spider. Beginning with general information about the order, the overview covers birth, maturation, behavior, diet, reproduction, and life spans. Most double-page spreads have a large, clear photograph to illustrate the topic and a smaller one showing another aspect of it. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(3) PS Starting with the traditional song lyrics, this rhyme adds cheerful new verses as a puppy and kitten encounter monkeys, crocodiles, tigers, and more while rowing their boat; readers are encouraged to sing along and make each animal sound ("If you see the swimming mice, / Don't forget to squeak. / EEEEK!"). Bright acrylics with bold black outlines extend the fun. Sheet music is appended.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(3) K-3 I Can Read Book series. Illustrated by Pat Schories. On Read to a Pet Day, Biscuit and his little-girl owner go to the library, but the pup isn't interested in books. When the librarian offers one with a familiar-looking puppy on the cover, Biscuit jumps into a big cozy chair, ready to be read to. Sweet illustrations and lively repetition ("woof, woof!") pull new readers through the simple story.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(4) 4-6 More than anything, Sammy wants a purebred German shepherd to replace his scruffy mutt, Max. To earn money, he starts a dog walking service in the nearby gated community. His school nemesis, however, sabotages the business, and the pranks lead to tragedy. Clifton is heavy-handed in describing ethnic differences among Sammy's multicultural group of friends, but Sammy's determination makes him an interesting character.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw. Tucked inside his blue suitcase are all Dog's special treasures and everything he thinks he needs to be happy. Then he spends the day playing with Mouse and discovers he needs something--or someone--more. The expressive mixed-media illustrations help readers appreciate Dog's change of heart as he invites Mouse into his life in this charming story of friendship.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(4) PS Pete the Cat and a turtle wander around Old MacDonald's farm noting the animals--chickens, dogs, horses, etc. (Oddly, the goat says baa and the sheep says maa.) The illustrations feel somewhat static, and there's not much here to hold the viewer's attention. However, Pete the Cat fans may enjoy seeing him down on the farm.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(3) K-3 Did You Know? series. Illustrated by Pete Oswald. Each volume presents select trivia about a variety of creatures. For example, the peregrine falcon is the fastest animal on earth, diving at two-hundred miles per hour (from Chickens); and ants take about 250 one-minute naps a day (from Hippos). While the cartoon illustrations make no attempt to be accurate, they add even more humor to these jocular, enjoyable collections. Review covers these Did You Know? titles: Chickens Don't Fly and Hippos Can't Swim.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(3) K-3 Did You Know? series. Illustrated by Pete Oswald. Each volume presents select trivia about a variety of creatures. For example, the peregrine falcon is the fastest animal on earth, diving at two-hundred miles per hour (from Chickens); and ants take about 250 one-minute naps a day (from Hippos). While the cartoon illustrations make no attempt to be accurate, they add even more humor to these jocular, enjoyable collections. Review covers these Did You Know? titles: Chickens Don't Fly and Hippos Can't Swim.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by J. P. Coovert. After attending his friend's bar mitzvah, Charlie Joe realizes that having a coming-of-age party is a super way to make money without actually having to work. Since he's not Jewish, a bar mitzvah is out, but what about an Ethiopian cow-jumping ceremony? Although the characters are not deeply developed, the enjoyable story races forward with lots of slapstick humor.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(3) K-3 If Farmer Greenstalk needs someone to take the pumpkins to market, if the hens need a babysitter for their chicks, if the Greenstalks need a new scarecrow, it's "Duck to the rescue!" The text is spry, and lively pencil and watercolor illustrations show the humorously disastrous consequences of Duck's efforts.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Holly Stone-Barker. When Gavin decides to grow the biggest pumpkin ever, his friends give him useful tips for planting, pollinating, and caring for it throughout the summer. Finally in September he needs his uncle's forklift to carry the pumpkin to the fair. The straightforward text and collage illustrations provide good information about the growing process, but the pages feel cluttered. Glos.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Stéphane Jorisch. Betty Bunny is back in her fourth gentle lesson-based book. This time, when she takes up soccer, she expects to score ten goals just like that. Playing in a real game, however, is quite different. Her siblings, portrayed realistically and comically, urge her to keep practicing. Lively illustrations add to the humor of Betty's reasoning and her can-do determination.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(4) K-3 Illustrated by David Opie. With Rosana Panza. When hundreds of runners pass his home, Dozer, a goldendoodle, decides to find out what they're all chasing. On and on he runs until at last he, like the other half-marathon runners, reaches the finish line. The entertaining but somewhat long story, told from Dozer's point of view, is accompanied by static, muted illustrations. An author's note about the real Dozer is included.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Maria Cristina Pritelli. This rich collection gives readers a sampling of Lewis's poetic versatility. Included are humorous nature poems, moving ones about people such as Rosa Parks and about places such as the Okeefenokee Swamp, riddle poems, and thought-provoking verses. Pritelli's understated illustrations add relevance without overpowering or detracting from the poems--although they are sometimes hard to read against dark backgrounds.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley