(4) K-3 Bank Street Ready-to-Read series. Illustrated by Robin Oz. Told in a rhythmic "House That Jack Built" style, this early reader traces the origins of a schoolyard fight that began with a bump and ended up with a huge pile of kids being pulled off a hapless teacher. Neither the text nor the action-filled illustrations clarify just why the first punch was thrown, but the children later admit they should have used their heads instead of their fists.

Reviewer: Susan Halperin

(4) K-3 Bank Street Ready-to-Read series. Illustrated by Jack Ziegler. Annie wants to buy a pet with her birthday money but spends it all on pet supplies before she ever has the chance. Luckily, adopting a dog from the animal shelter is the perfect solution. Despite the book's institutional look, the breezy, cartoonlike watercolors combine with a text that has just the right pattern of repetition for a reader who has mastered the basics.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) K-3 Bank Street Ready-to-Read series. Illustrated by Kate Duke. This book deals with the common problem of adjusting to a new sibling. Eli was sure he was going to get a new baby brother, so the sister who is born takes some getting used to. The resolution is believable, the reading level is suited to the audience, and Duke's cartoon illustrations of round-faced children are serviceable, though the book has an institutional look.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(4) K-3 Bank Street Ready-to-Read series. Illustrated by Melissa Sweet. In this book for young readers about a Vietnamese boy's flight from his homeland to America, Tuan Ngo endures a midnight escape by boat, days adrift on the open sea, an encounter with pirates, and long months of waiting in refugee camps. Accompanied by watercolor illustrations, the sparely told story is somewhat flat. An author's note provides additional information about the Vietnamese civil war and the fate of Tuan Ngo's family.

Reviewer:

(4) K-3 Bank Street Ready-to-Read series. Illustrated by Rebecca McKillip Thornburgh. Anna's first day of camp goes better than she anticipates, thanks, she thinks, to her lucky penny. She makes a new friend, enjoys camp activities, and looks forward to the next day. When she finds her penny at home, she realizes she "had lots of good luck without it." Large print and cartoony illustrations make this appealing to beginning readers, despite the institutional-looking cover.

Reviewer: Amanda Sullivan

(3) K-3 Bank Street Ready-to-Read series. Childlike illustrations and a simple rhyming text answer the question, "Who goes out on Halloween?" New readers will appreciate the rhyme and the word repetition. Karas's illustrations of children in costume make the witches, ghosts, and monsters more funny than frightening.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(3) K-3 Bank Street Ready-to-Read series. Illustrated by John Emil Cymerman. Her lone cat is no match for a houseful of mice, so Nita rounds up some hungry felines, which soon overrun her home. The circular tale continues with dogs chasing away the cats, alligators scaring off dogs, and so on, until a mouse's services are needed. The predictable plot and repetition of key words make the text particularly appropriate for beginning readers. Lively full-color illustrations offer visual clues.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(3) K-3 Bank Street Ready-to-Read series. Illustrated by R. W. Alley. A young girl wants to play catch with Lulu, but where is she? Each family member sends her searching in a different place, and when the girl gives up and starts playing by herself, Lulu--whom the cheery watercolors reveal to be a dog--returns to join the fun. Large print and simple vocabulary will help make this book reach its intended audience.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(3) K-3 Bank Street Ready-to-Read series. Kara finally gets a loose tooth, but is crestfallen later that day when she realizes she has literally lost her newly shed tooth. The tooth fairy doesn't mind and answers Kara's note about where lost teeth end up by telling her to check out her baby brother--who has a newly emerging tooth. Warm watercolors enhance this explanation of the inner workings of the tooth fairy's world.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(3) K-3 Bank Street Ready-to-Read series. The narrator, a Little League ballplayer, tells how his tagalong five-year-old brother, Eli, finds a way to join the team despite his young age. In four short chapters the text good-naturedly explores a common sibling problem. Humorous illustrations show Eli thoroughly enjoying his team positions--first as enthusiastic waterboy, then as equally excited mascot.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(4) K-3 Bank Street Ready-to-Read series. Illustrated by S. D. Schindler. As the sounds of spring fill the air, a hibernating bear continues to slumber. Finally, a buzzing bee awakens the bear, and he lumbers off in search of honey. The repetitive, onomatopoeic text makes this book well suited for independent reading and reading aloud. Dull illustrations depict the animals named in the story.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(3) K-3 Bank Street Ready-to-Read series. For young readers, 'Cats' is a simple rhyming list of cats and cat characteristics. Newsom's illustrations aren't consistent but will appeal to young cat lovers. 'Frog', which is targeted at a slightly older early-reader audience, tells the story of Allie and the show-and-tell frog she thinks she's lost as it hops and hides throughout the playful illustrations.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(3) K-3 Bank Street Ready-to-Read series. For young readers, 'Cats' is a simple rhyming list of cats and cat characteristics. Newsom's illustrations aren't consistent but will appeal to young cat lovers. 'Frog', which is targeted at a slightly older early-reader audience, tells the story of Allie and the show-and-tell frog she thinks she's lost as it hops and hides throughout the playful illustrations.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(4) K-3 Bank Street Ready-to-Read series. In Orgel's modern take-off on the "Stone Soup" folktale, a little girl helps a homeless woman cook up a pot of soup in the park for the neighborhood. The modern setting makes some of the story elements seem far-fetched--would kids and adults in the park really start running home to bring out ingredients for the soup?--but the story and illustrations are cheerful.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(4) K-3 Bank Street Ready-to-Read series. Illustrated by Bari Weissman. Pete cuddles up with his mom as she tells him a three-part bedtime story in which he stars. Lengthy sentences make the reader more difficult than its Level 1 rating suggests, and the textual shifts between each new story-within-a-story are rather abrupt, though the illustrations--showing Pete tucked under his covers again--help ease the transitions.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(4) K-3 Bank Street Ready-to-Read series. Illustrated by John Emil Cymerman. After Annie inches her way down the pool ladder, her mom convinces her to pretend she is a floating fish and a paddling puppy. Annie soon finds she's having fun and suggests they try diving like dolphins and sneaking like sharks. Playful illustrations transform the mother and daughter into the different animals. Unfortunately, a very large typeface leaves too little space between lines of text.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(4) K-3 Bank Street Ready-to-Read series. Illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully. A young girl is intrigued by the lodge beavers have built on her family's dock. Her angry parents, however, call the game warden, but that night the dock floats downriver during a storm. The family builds a new dock: "only this time--no beavers allowed." Text and illustrations are clear and simple, but the story won't appeal to wildlife fans accustomed to more animal-friendly tales.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander