(1) K-3 Illustrated by David Roberts. A family of five has a lot to do before Grandma's visit; luckily, the father narrating McGinty's (The Water Lady, rev. 3/21) energetically rhyming story is good at delegating: "Bobby, mop the floor. / Dad will scrub the dishes. / I'll vacuum the rug. / Sarah, feed the fishes." In case anyone needs a reminder, a job list is on the refrigerator, spelled out with colorful magnetic letters. The list is helpful...and it's also how things go off the rails. An orange cat sneakily rearranges the words on the fridge, hoping to escape the dreaded "I'll bathe the cat." When the family gets to work, they're confused but compliant: "I'll vacuum the lawn. / Bobby, bathe the mat. / Sarah, mop the baby, / and Dad will mow the cat." Whoa! Definitely not what the cat intended. Cleanly rendered illustrations show the family dutifully following orders while things go hilariously wrong. ­Roberts's (Ada Twist, Scientist) precise pencil and watercolor illustrations go beyond the entertaining premise to matter-of-factly portray a family at the intersection of a number of identities. The two fathers have brown skin, as do two of their kids. Sarah, who wears a T-rex ­costume, is white with red hair and ­freckles. Dad, who also has freckles, wears pink pants, as does Bobby. This diversity isn't the point of the story but offers much to contemplate after the silliness is done--and the cat still isn't bathed.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2022

(3) K-3 Illustrated by David Roberts. The humorously detailed watercolor and pen-and-ink illustrations almost upstage this engaging reimagining of Andersen's tale, inspired by the author's reading of the story as a book-starved child during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. A young emperor concocts a plan involving ridiculous rice-sack clothing to fool his vain, greedy ministers and reclaim some of their ill-gotten gains for his people. Appended with an author's note and craft instructions.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 Illustrated by David Roberts. In this Prince and the Pauper reimagining, a pig's accidental discovery that he can masquerade as the human prince provides the perfect opportunity to indulge his sweet tooth via the royal kitchen. The discovery of Pignatius's trick infuriates the palace staff, but the prince is delighted to have a double. Bently's rollicking rhymes match Roberts's lively illustrations filled with culinary delights and witty details.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by David Roberts. In this sequel to The Bolds, the family of hyenas successfully impersonating humans in London finds itself overrun with animal guests who want to learn the hyenas' secrets. High jinks ensue as the Bolds groom the animals for their new lives. Packed with jokes throughout (also collected at the end for easy access), the antics are matched with illustrations that augment the story's humor.

Reviewer: David Elzey

(2) K-3 Illustrated by David Roberts. "One horrible, NOT NICE day...a new ruler was born." The newly minted big sister describes, in a classic-fairy-tale narrative style, the havoc wreaked by her demanding baby brother. Even better, she draws the story as she sees it, in entertaining childlike illustrations that mirror--and sometimes humorously deviate from--Roberts's stylish watercolor and pen art showing the book's true events.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2017

(3) K-3 Illustrated by David Roberts. African American girl Ada Marie Twist's boundless scientific curiosity is a source of pride--and occasional consternation--to her parents and teachers. As she exuberantly questions, hypothesizes, and mixes concoctions at home and at school, she exemplifies a positive and inclusive image of science. Roberts's quirky illustrations further the humor and character of the energetic rhyming story.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by David Roberts. After a newlywed couple is eaten by crocodiles while on safari, a pair of enterprising African hyenas finds their passports. Soon, the hyenas and their twin pups are living as the human Bold family outside London, trying to keep their secret from suspicious neighbor Mr. McNumpty (who may have his own secret). Jokes and riddles, as well as Roberts's cleverly incorporated illustrations, keep the narrative lively.

Reviewer: David Elzey

(3) K-3 Illustrated by David Roberts. A semi-authoritative narrator cautions a child walking in the woods about brown and black bears (e.g., "Pepper spray works on BOTH kinds of bears. It makes them dizzy. Or was it hungry?"). This witty book's exacting art amps up the dark humor: the concluding image of the kid's ransacked backpack is captioned with "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) 4-6 Wings & Co. series. Illustrated by David Roberts. The Wings & Co. fairy detectives have a new set of mysteries to solve in book three, including the disappearance of a six-year-old giant girl's father, an inexplicable trip to the seashore, the murder of a ballroom musician, and a stolen diamond. The quirky characters, droll dialogue, zany plot, and whimsical line drawings should be readily appealing to series fans.

Reviewer: Grace Enriquez

(3) K-3 Illustrated by David Roberts. Lonely hatmaker Madame Chapeau gussies up and takes herself out to a birthday dinner, but a crow steals her birthday bonnet. Townspeople offer their own headpieces, but a little girl's gift, an unusual knitted cap, is ultimately the perfect fit. This charming, French-seasoned rhyming jaunt stars former milliner Roberts's refined illustrations, which include nods to famous hats from fashion history.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(4) K-3 Illustrated by David Roberts. "Munching away," eight grazing sheep stumble upon an air show, stuff themselves into a plane, and jet off on an adventure--can-canning in France, fleeing a Tibetan yeti, and waking Egyptian mummies. "Travel is fun!," sure, but (predictably) the sheep are happy to make it home. Roberts's fine-lined illustrations match the old-fashioned feel of Bently's rip-roaring, British-flavored rhymes.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(2) 4-6 Wings & Co. series. Illustrated by David Roberts. As an infant, Emily Vole was impulsively adopted by the (deliciously nasty) Dashwoods. After the birth of their own triplets, the Dashwoods demote Emily to Cinderella status. Fortunately, when Emily is nearly nine, an elderly neighbor and her talking cat change everything. While reaching a satisfying conclusion, this first brisk, entertaining series entry leaves enough dangling threads to make readers eager for the next.

Reviewer: Monica Edinger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2014

(3) 4-6 Wings & Co. series. Illustrated by David Roberts. Five months after inheriting a fairy detective agency, nine-year-old Emily Vole and her eccentric fellow detectives still haven't had any cases to solve. But something fishy is definitely happening when three cases involving magical wishes gone wrong appear all at once. Imbued with many dry Briticisms and peppered with whimsical line drawings, this second quirky mystery will have readers begging for more.

Reviewer: LIly Kessinger

(4) 1-3 Illustrated by David Roberts. The amiable ghosties return for another lightly macabre caper. The crew goes on a "holler-day" to Frighten-on-Sea, where they become embroiled in a mystery involving their missing friend, Headless Leslie; a haunted Victorian pier; and a menacing-looking ghost magician who's been wreaking havoc in the seaside town. The self-consciously quaint story's somewhat tortuous plot is buoyed by Roberts's pleasingly spindly, Gorey-esque line drawings.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(3) K-3 Illustrated by David Roberts. After a confidence-shattering incident when she was younger, little budding engineer Rosie Revere is too timid to show anyone her machines. Then great-great-aunt Rose, an engineer herself, teaches Rosie the true meaning of a successful invention. Beaty's rhymes are cleverly constructed, and Roberts's meticulous illustrations, some on drafting paper, capture the quirkiness of the girl and her gizmos.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by David Roberts. The classic animal fantasy is reissued in a handsome edition featuring illustrations on almost every page. Roberts's richly colored art, with its elongated figures and decorative patterns, gives a very contemporary feel to the adventures of Ratty, Mole, and Toad. The chapter "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" is missing from this edition.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(4) 1-3 Illustrated by David Roberts. A group of "ghosties" try being friendly to the humans in their house but end up scaring them anyway. Each ghosty has a different power or ability, and together they work to peacefully co-exist with the rattled "still-alives." The book's quaint tone is forced and the plot is meandering, but the frequent black-and-white drawings are entertaining.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(2) 1-3 Illustrated by David Roberts. You'd think that summer means tyrannical Miss Breakbone's class (The Dunderheads) would be free of her. But when the kids sign up to be extras in Ashley Throbb-Hart's latest movie, their erstwhile teacher and her police-chief brother are there too, bristling with accusations. Roberts re-creates the self-reliant, multi-talented crew with the same wit and panache, the perfect complement to Fleischman's snappy, kid-friendly narration.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2012

(4) K-3 Illustrated by David Roberts. Cat columnist Tabby attempts to help a lovesick skunk, a loquacious parrot, and other animals who write letters soliciting her advice. This is one of those punning, winking, mildly amusing kids' books that adults are meant to read on a different level ("Trying to kick the catnip habit?"). Spreads foreground the text's multiple fonts and Roberts's flourish-y illustrations.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(2) 1-3 Illustrated by David Roberts. Miss Breakbone is a piratical confiscator of treasures brought to class. Led by self-possessed narrator "Einstein," her students set out to retrieve Miss Breakbone's latest plunder--a one-eared cat statue. Roberts caricatures the formidable teacher and the amiably wide-eyed kids with a witty, agile pen and judicious splashes of color, an excellent foil for Fleischman's terse and comical, action-packed private-eye send-up.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2009