(3) PS Illustrated by Barbara Bash. This book gives a clever take on perspective and point of view. Using a vertical format, the first half of the book exemplifies the concept of "up" with a series that begins with a mole and ends with the moon. At midpoint, the book is rotated to show the concept of "down." Bright full-page illustrations and the unique format will appeal to preschool children.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(2) PS Illustrated by Barbara Bash. "Skitter, skitter, scratch. / She hears soft sounds. / Is this the rain at last?" In this simple, elegant introduction, the spadefoot toad hears sounds made by other creatures while she listens for rain, which she needs to lay her eggs. Bash focuses on the animals--until the rain comes, and the toad emerges into a more subtly shaded landscape. Notes about the toad and other desert animals conclude this life-cycle and habitat sketch.

Reviewer: Margaret A. Bush | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2001

(3) K-3 Poetic prose chronicles a year in the life of Phantom, a rare black-footed ferret who makes her home on the North American prairie. Born in a cozy underground burrow, Phantom learns to hunt prairie dogs, elude coyotes, and survive a lean winter before mating in the spring and giving birth to her own kits. Watercolors in earthy hues depict the endangered, lithe-bodied mammal and her habitat from a number of dramatic perspectives.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.