(4) K-3 I Can Read Book series. Each volume asks developing readers if they would want to become the titular animal. An unusually substantive easy-reader text, accompanied by relevant full-bleed photos, details the animal's habits, daily life, and parenting behaviors. Hokey "Ranger Rick" dialogue bubbles encourage readers to make meaningless personal connections (in Orca: "Would you have fun living in a pod?"). Additional facts and an activity are appended. Glos. Review covers these I Can Read Book titles: Ranger Rick: I Wish I Was a Gorilla, Ranger Rick: I Wish I Was a Lion, and Ranger Rick: I Wish I Was an Orca.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) YA Illustrated by Zoë Ingram. In Blank, entries from a Tumblr featuring anonymously submitted, unsent letters are organized in categories ("Dear Me," "Love," "Loss," "Thank You," among others); unfortunately, many letters, while relatable, are clichéd. Message is a less-organized compilation of submissions to another Tumblr focusing on people's experiences with "last words." In both browsable novelty books, doodlelike illustrations sometimes compete with the entries' emotional resonance. Review covers these titles: Dear My Blank and The Last Message Received.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) K-3 Blends series. Each dull but serviceable easy-reader text repeats a particular blend at least once per spread (e.g., in CR, "I use crayons to make crafts"), providing opportunities for new readers to practice reading the featured letter combination. Bright, relevant photos enliven the spreads. A list of words featuring each blend is appended. Effective if not very enthralling companions to classroom reading lessons. Review covers these Blends titles: Crazy Crayons: The Sound of CR, What Do I Bring?: The Sound of BR, Shoes: the Sound of SH, I Am Glad: The Sound of GL, My Flower Garden: The Sound of FL, and What and Where: The Sound of WH.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) K-3 Blends series. Each dull but serviceable easy-reader text repeats a particular blend at least once per spread (e.g., in CR, "I use crayons to make crafts"), providing opportunities for new readers to practice reading the featured letter combination. Bright, relevant photos enliven the spreads. A list of words featuring each blend is appended. Effective if not very enthralling companions to classroom reading lessons. Review covers these Blends titles: Crazy Crayons: The Sound of CR, What Do I Bring?: The Sound of BR, Shoes: the Sound of SH, I Am Glad: The Sound of GL, My Flower Garden: The Sound of FL, and What and Where: The Sound of WH.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) 1-3 Daisy Dreamer series. Illustrated by Genevieve Santos. In Totally True (the series opener), Daisy Dreamer doodles an imaginary friend, Posey, who comes to life. In World, Posey takes Daisy into the World of Make-Believe to help retrieve unicorn Andever's lost melody. Both easily accessible chapter books have the feel of thirty-minute animated cartoon episodes, with thin, problem-driven plots and round-faced characters constantly at the height of various emotions. Review covers these Daisy Dreamer titles: Daisy Dreamer and the Totally True Imaginary Friend and Daisy Dreamer and the World of Make-Believe.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) 1-3 Daisy Dreamer series. Illustrated by Genevieve Santos. In Totally True (the series opener), Daisy Dreamer doodles an imaginary friend, Posey, who comes to life. In World, Posey takes Daisy into the World of Make-Believe to help retrieve unicorn Andever's lost melody. Both easily accessible chapter books have the feel of thirty-minute animated cartoon episodes, with thin, problem-driven plots and round-faced characters constantly at the height of various emotions. Review covers these Daisy Dreamer titles: Daisy Dreamer and the Totally True Imaginary Friend and Daisy Dreamer and the World of Make-Believe.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(3) 1-3 Daisy Dreamer series. Illustrated by Genevieve Santos. Daisy and her imaginary friend, Posey, take Daisy's two best friends on their first trip to the World of Make-Believe, where the girls must put a stop to a feud between the Sparkle Fairies and the Imaginaries. A quick, light read for fairy aficionados, with grayscale illustrations that effectively capture the whimsy and the heartbreak in this story of a lonely imaginary friend.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(3) K-3 When Fly Guy misses his family, his human friend Buzz puts up signs for a surprise party in all the stinkiest, fly-friendly places. Soon, thousands of flies arrive. True to the series, every illustration is integral to the narrative, and many of the flies have distinct, communicative facial expressions. Brief chapters with easy-to-sound-out words make this easy reader as accessible as it is humorous.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) K-3 Blends series. Each dull but serviceable easy-reader text repeats a particular blend at least once per spread (e.g., in CR, "I use crayons to make crafts"), providing opportunities for new readers to practice reading the featured letter combination. Bright, relevant photos enliven the spreads. A list of words featuring each blend is appended. Effective if not very enthralling companions to classroom reading lessons. Review covers these Blends titles: Crazy Crayons: The Sound of CR, What Do I Bring?: The Sound of BR, Shoes: the Sound of SH, I Am Glad: The Sound of GL, My Flower Garden: The Sound of FL, and What and Where: The Sound of WH.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) 1-3 Read & Bloom series. Illustrated by Eric Wight. In these two new early chapter books, a prehistoric boy deals with everyday emotions and social challenges. In Adventures, a frustrated Caveboy breaks his club playing "baseskull" but makes a new friend. In Bored, Caveboy hunts mammoths with his younger sister. The stakes are never high, but well-placed digital illustrations capture emotions and add some humor to the easy texts. Review covers these titles: The Adventures of Caveboy and Caveboy Is Bored!.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) 1-3 Read & Bloom series. Illustrated by Eric Wight. In these two new early chapter books, a prehistoric boy deals with everyday emotions and social challenges. In Adventures, a frustrated Caveboy breaks his club playing "baseskull" but makes a new friend. In Bored, Caveboy hunts mammoths with his younger sister. The stakes are never high, but well-placed digital illustrations capture emotions and add some humor to the easy texts. Review covers these titles: The Adventures of Caveboy and Caveboy Is Bored!.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) K-3 Spot Creepy Crawlies series. Each slim easy reader opens with a photo glossary highlighting four insect-related vocab words, accompanied by instructions: "Look for these words and pictures as you read." The following spreads are organized around these keywords, with bright stock photos and a smattering of facts. The volumes lack substance but effectively reinforce the meaning of a small number of relevant terms. Review covers these Spot Creepy Crawlies titles Ants and Bees.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) K-3 Spot Creepy Crawlies series. Each slim easy reader opens with a photo glossary highlighting four insect-related vocab words, accompanied by instructions: "Look for these words and pictures as you read." The following spreads are organized around these keywords, with bright stock photos and a smattering of facts. The volumes lack substance but effectively reinforce the meaning of a small number of relevant terms. Review covers these Spot Creepy Crawlies titles Ants and Bees.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Ben Hodson. On his second metafictive outing (Fun with Ed and Fred), Fred once again clashes with the offstage narrator. While Ed obediently bikes and jumps on command, Fred refuses to cooperate. So the narrator summons "hungry tigers" and "angry gorillas" to make Fred comply. Kid-friendly slapstick abounds in this comic book/easy reader hybrid that introduces key visual literacy techniques along with fifty-nine sight words.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(3) K-3 After Annemarie defines compound word for her teacher, the girl imagines interpreting compounds part by part: an eggplant, for instance, would be a plant that grows eggs. Spacious graphic-novel panels invite readers to spend time with each of Brunetti's humorous illustrations. The two words that make each compound are highlighted in different colors, reinforcing the lesson and making it accessible to new readers.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(3) K-3 National Geographic Readers series. This easy reader offers newly independent readers a broad overview of some wild cats' attributes and adaptations. Bright, relevant captioned photos; brief "Fur Word" definitions; "Cool Facts About Wild Cats"; and jokes ("What side of a cat has the most fur? The outside") enhance the presentation. Glos.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(3) K-3 Bumba Books: Feelings Matter series. In each unusually practical guide, easy-reader text introduces an emotion, explores situations that may cause the emotion to arise, highlights physical or behavioral responses the emotion may elicit, and suggests ways to handle the feeling. Relevant full-page stock photos featuring a diverse cast of children brighten every spread. Questions sprinkled throughout encourage readers to make personal connections. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Bumba Books: Feelings Matter titles: Feeling Angry, Feeling Happy, Feeling Sad, and Feeling Scared.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(3) K-3 Bumba Books: Feelings Matter series. In each unusually practical guide, easy-reader text introduces an emotion, explores situations that may cause the emotion to arise, highlights physical or behavioral responses the emotion may elicit, and suggests ways to handle the feeling. Relevant full-page stock photos featuring a diverse cast of children brighten every spread. Questions sprinkled throughout encourage readers to make personal connections. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Bumba Books: Feelings Matter titles: Feeling Angry, Feeling Happy, Feeling Sad, and Feeling Scared.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(3) K-3 Bumba Books: Feelings Matter series. In each unusually practical guide, easy-reader text introduces an emotion, explores situations that may cause the emotion to arise, highlights physical or behavioral responses the emotion may elicit, and suggests ways to handle the feeling. Relevant full-page stock photos featuring a diverse cast of children brighten every spread. Questions sprinkled throughout encourage readers to make personal connections. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Bumba Books: Feelings Matter titles: Feeling Angry, Feeling Happy, Feeling Sad, and Feeling Scared.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(3) K-3 Bumba Books: Feelings Matter series. In each unusually practical guide, easy-reader text introduces an emotion, explores situations that may cause the emotion to arise, highlights physical or behavioral responses the emotion may elicit, and suggests ways to handle the feeling. Relevant full-page stock photos featuring a diverse cast of children brighten every spread. Questions sprinkled throughout encourage readers to make personal connections. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Bumba Books: Feelings Matter titles: Feeling Angry, Feeling Happy, Feeling Sad, and Feeling Scared.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox