(2) YA Appelt personifies Texas' Buffalo Bayou as it witnesses complex backstories from the past and present. Readers meet contemporary sixteen-year-old Cade; his father, who promised he'd leave newborn Cade for adoption but couldn't let him go; and freed slave Achsah, attempting to lead her daughters to freedom through the Underground Railroad in 1845. Readers are entrusted with putting the pieces together to make their own connections before the final denouement.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2019

(2) PS Illustrated by Angela Brooksbank. From Atinuke and Brooksbank (Baby Goes to Market), another tenderly funny story set in an unspecified African village and starring a winsome baby girl. B is not only for baby but also for an intriguing basket with a lid; when the little girl peeks inside, a sequence of pictures shows her overbalancing into the basket and then settling in happily. Brooksbank's mixed-media illustrations use warm colors on spacious off-white pages.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2019

(2) PS Illustrated by Simona Mulazzani. This picture book invites children to observe nature as a variety of creatures busily create homes to live in with their babies. Bajaj's text is simple, specific, and active, reflecting the hard work of each type of creature to stay alive. Mulazzani's mixed-media illustrations use soft colors and have a generally cozy feel, yet they're clear and precise enough that viewers can spot even the smallest insects.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2019

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Giselle Potter. Pekoe is a large yellow puppy with energy and enthusiasm to spare, and Olive is a small older dog with a much more subdued outlook on life. Readers follow the good friends on four short walks outside that showcase their differences and commonalities. Davis's deadpan text is the perfect foil for Potter's expressive art, which captures the ups-and-downs of canine life and friendship with understanding and humor.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2019

(2) K-3 Squirrel Otto discovers a spiky ball; the small creature within declares Otto "MOMMY." "Pio" grows larger and larger (and thus more inconvenient as a roommate), but he also cooks, tidies up, and is good company. Full of funny details, the watercolor and colored-pencil illustrations move the plot along. This tender story about the value of taking care of each other also quietly considers the meanings of home and family.

Reviewer: Julie Roach | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2019

(3) 4-6 True Tales of Rescue series. Photographs by Shelly Ross. The rescue stories of four orphaned raccoon kits and an injured anteater pup are used to spotlight the work of two animal sanctuaries in these series entries. Accessible text, engaging photographs, and frequent informational sidebars allow readers to shadow the volunteer caregivers as they work toward the ultimate goal: releasing the animals back into the wild. One of the young creatures "narrates" part of each book. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these True Tales of Rescue titles: Anteater Adventure and Racoon Rescue.

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Katy Wu. When Luna outgrows her stroller, she passes it along to the family that lives downstairs. The boy, upon outgrowing it, gives it to another family, and so on across the miles and years; sunny digital art captures each family's particular composition, heritage, and interests. While the storytelling in this celebration of sharing is a bit treacly, the book's premise is grand.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(2) K-3 This book's Little Doctor, like Steig's Doctor De Soto before her, provides medical care to potentially dangerous animals. The little girl administers medicine, provides tail splints, etc., and the gentle crocodile patients pay her with stories. So far, so sweet--but there is underlying tension, involving teeth and jaws and plastic debris. Watercolor illustrations, rich in detail and in texture, give the dreamy narrative (with an environmentalist reminder) its energy.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2019

(2) PS Illustrated by Freya Blackwood. This Australian import begins by setting the scene: "There's going to be a party" for a baby's first birthday. A spare, lilting text introduces the guests with humor and warmth. As the party progresses, cheerful (and realistic) baby-sized mayhem ensues. The day ends with a bath, bedtime, and "sweet dreams" for the birthday baby. Inviting, scribbly pencil and watercolor-wash illustrations on generous white space allow for lots of audience engagement.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2019

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Jonathan Bentley. This Australian import opens with baby penguin Gilbert's magnificent view of a seabird-filled sky. As he grows, Gilbert makes repeated efforts to soar, without success. The illustrations of soaring seabirds, snowy vistas, and underwater landscapes are splendid. Cleverly, the text plays with the story's premise: "up up up" at the opening is followed by "down down down" as Gilbert discovers the breathtaking "second sky" under the waves.

Reviewer: Julie Danielson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2019

(3) PS Bespectacled babies travel to space to learn about the moon, sun, and planets. There's a fact or two about each as the babies float around in their spacesuits, making cartoon speech-balloon comments. Even though the "nerd" label and glasses for anyone interested in science is a bit stereotypical, this is a lively introduction to outer space for the youngest readers, who are encouraged to "stay curious!"

Reviewer: Janet Dawson

(3) PS Bespectacled babies explore the seashore and ocean, with an emphasis on marine animals at different ocean depths and their adaptations. The babies float around in scuba gear, making cartoon speech-balloon comments. Even though the "nerd" label and glasses for anyone interested in science is a bit stereotypical, this is a lively introduction to science for the youngest readers, who are encouraged to "stay curious!"

Reviewer: Janet Dawson

(2) PS Lighthearted direct-address rhymes describe the things a new baby can do. Colorful digital-collage illustrations show cute blob-shaped babies with a variety of skin tones, their actions and emotions easy to read as they grow and learn. Their accomplishments may seem small, but they're monumental for young ones (and their grownups) and reassuringly portrayed for all: "You might not know just what to do... / That's okay when you are new."

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2019

(3) PS In her third outing, Noni the Pony and pals are out walking when they happen upon a lost wallaby joey. Noni decides to help him find his kin, but the animals they question offer no clues. Will the joey ever find his family? This ultra-basic tale, with galloping rhymes and cotton-soft art, is just right for toddlers finally ready for stories.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Jason Chin. Nine pithy, five-line stanzas trace a fetus's development in utero; the story also follows a Latinx family happily awaiting a baby's arrival. As the watercolor and gouache illustrations' left-hand pages track the fetus's transformation, right-hand pages show slice-of-life scenes of the mom, dad, and soon-to-be big sister. A clever, joyful celebration of the nine months leading up to a baby's birth, appended with further details about gestational development. Bib.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2019

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Elise R. Peterson. An omniscient narrator describes the routine of an eleven-year-old African American boy whose father is in jail and who is tasked with minding his baby brother when their mother goes out at night. Some readers will expect more of a plot; most will find the picture book funny, heartbreaking, and unlike anything they've read before. The art, featuring photos and other collage elements, is equally special.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Alessandro Sanna. The narrator addresses a developing human baby, describing the nine months before birth during which "you move in your space, without a sound" and soon "you can sense the light." Sanna's handsome watercolor paintings use the curved silhouette of an expectant mother to connect birth to the wider natural world; the belly becomes a seagull's wings, a shoreline, a hillside, and so on.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) PS Schwartz leaves no rattle unshaken in her book-length review of typical baby activities: "Clapping chubby hands / Banging pots and pans / In onesies in their cribs / Busy babies / Wearing bibs." A couple of the rhymes almost lose the beat, but supplying snap are the dainty gouache and pen-and-ink action shots capturing each individual baby's sweet moves.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) 1-3 Pug Pals series. Pug Sunny is very unhappy with the arrival of a new puppy--her daily routines are upturned, and puppy Rosy seems incapable of being still or quiet. When Rosy escapes with Sunny’s treasured stuffie, the pugs begin a neighborhood adventure during which animosity turns to friendship. Simple line illustrations give the roly-poly pugs lots of personality and appear on every spread of this enjoyable canine caper.

Reviewer: Pam Yosca

(3) PS In this companion to Hug, Tall, and others, young chimpanzee Bobo would rather play in the jungle than go to bed--at least until "Dark" turns out to be scary. Like the previous books, Play features comics-style panels with limited speech-bubble text and expressive pen-and-ink illustrations. Bobo has pleasantly grown as a character, with an expanding vocabulary and a desire for independent exploration before snuggling up with Mommy: "Bedtime."

Reviewer: Rachel Marsh