(3) K-3 All Aboard Poetry Reader series. Illustrated by Adrian C. Sinnott. Ever wonder what to do for stressed-out pets? How movie star cats do their stunts? Or where gerbils go to stay in shape? This collection of five poems about animals has all the answers. The poems are silly, scan nicely, and use some language that will challenge beginning readers. The illustrations add humor and clues to the text.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(3) K-3 All Aboard Poetry Reader series. Illustrated by Melanie Siegel. A recipe for how to avoid homework, the teacher's directions for the class picture ("Uncross your eyes, Freddy"), and the principal's April Fool's joke all provide material for these pleasantly rhyming poems. Both the verses and the illustrations (the runaway rat of the title poem makes cameos throughout) use plenty of humor to appeal to beginning readers.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(4) K-3 All Aboard Poetry Reader series. Illustrated by Adrian Sinnott. Five poems describe the making of grasshopper pie, a boy who does everything upside down, a sneezing elephant, a monster, and an alien who lands in a bowl of chicken soup. Although the poems are not distinguished, they are funny and don't talk down to children, making the collection useful for getting beginning readers interested in poetry. Pop-eyed cartoon illustrations extend the poems' tone.

Reviewer: Aishah Abdul-Musawwir

(4) K-3 All Aboard Poetry Reader series. Illustrated by Adrian Sinnott. Five longish story poems concern a perpetually hungry skeleton, a werewolf baby born to human parents, and the plight of a feckless phantom in today's busy, noisy world. The poems are generally engaging (even when the meter occasionally falters) and have a comical quality shared by the amusing black-and-white illustrations.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta