(4) K-3 Illustrated by Rhode Montijo. Benny the bull shark is a bully without any friends. When Benny demands friendship from Janice Jellyfish, the wise invertebrate takes him to Friend School. Watercolor, pen-and-ink, and digital cartoons show well-meaning Benny's humorous misunderstanding of rules such as "#2: a friend always tells the truth" ("My, Janice, you are an ugly jellyfish"). The slight friendship primer ends on a sweet note at graduation.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(3) PS Illustrated by Brett Helquist. A bear is hungry for something--"I know it starts with the letter B..."--and searches the woods. When it spots a boy, readers will fear the worst. The book's gotcha moment (it's the boy's berries that the bear wants) is expertly played in both Reed's alliterative text and in Helquist's paintings, which contain just the right blend of humor and menace.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Kevin Cornell. After seeing people hugging and kissing on the beach, shark Charlie wants a hug himself, and his good friend, octopus Olivia, wants a kiss. They try various goofy schemes to get their hug and kiss from beach-goers, but nothing works. As the title suggests, they finally realize they can hug and kiss each other. Cartoon-style illustrations emphasize the silliness of this lightweight tale.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) K-3 I Like to Read series. Fred and crew put out a fire at a woman's house and then rescue her cat from a tree; for his trouble, Fred ends up with a pet dog. All this is relayed through the sparest of sentences ("'Get the hose,' says the chief. / 'Done!' Fred calls") and peppy illustrations in the style of children's wide-brush paintings.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 In coastal Louisiana visiting his cousin, a boy finds his much-anticipated summertime activities replaced by efforts to rescue pelicans affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil-spill disaster. The text manages to encompass both the drama of the event and the process of animal rescue without being dispiriting or didactic. Reed's trademark acrylics, too, while rather subdued, still incorporate much cheer and humor.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(3) K-3 A rule-bound principal prohibits color at school following a student-led bulletin-board graffiti incident. Personified crayons rebel, organizing themselves into a color wheel, and readers learn about primary, secondary, and tertiary colors as the crayons rearrange and re-inhabit the school. Rollicking mixed-media illustrations support the merrily chaotic story. More color vocabulary is appended.

Reviewer: Paula M. Cairo

(3) K-3 When janitor Basil falls asleep on the job, a resourceful bird makes her nest on his head. Basil cherishes his new tenant and the three bird babies that follow. But when the birds fly away, will Basil be left with an empty nest? Rowe's childlike mixed-media illustrations are a fitting accompaniment to this oddball tale of finding family.

Reviewer: Rebecca Hachmyer

(3) K-3 Carter, hurt when his best friend, Oliver, takes another boy to the planetarium, determines to build a spaceship without Oliver's help. Carter promises the first ride to each person who does help, but a design flaw (only two seats!) forces him to re-prioritize. Childlike acrylics with Photoshopped images of various items and tools give the book a hip techie quality.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(4) K-3 When a skunk named P.U. Zorilla gets upset, he sprays. This makes it difficult for him to keep a job, and he gets fired as a bus driver, pet store assistant, and ballpark popcorn vendor. However, his spray serves him well when the jewelry store he's cleaning gets robbed. The colorful collage illustrations are more successful than the scattered story.

Reviewer: Mark Adam

(4) K-3 Anteater Julius wants an ant, but he keeps getting deterred: by school, by a zoo trip, by the cops. The rhymes stammer, and on every page there's a lot going on--text in varying fonts, central images plus visual grace notes--but readers might appreciate the silliness and Reed's daffy paintings with surprise collage elements.

Reviewer: Nell Beram