(2) K-3 Illustrated by Amy Bates. In a gentle story that follows a character from childhood to old age, readers are prompted to ponder what the ocean teaches us. "Once there was a boy who lived by the sea," the book opens, as the child and his grandfather sit at the shore. The protagonist loves and identifies with the ocean; as he grows, he is, by turns, "dark and dangerous" and "tranquil and tender," just like the churning waves. The contemplative boy faces adolescent highs and lows, always returning to the water. The ways in which the ocean speaks to the boy (as well as some of his teenage troubles) are somewhat vague; but ocean lovers everywhere will relate to the pull of the water. The narrative comes full circle in the end, with the protagonist now an elderly man. "Once there was a boy who lived by the sea" is his grandson. Bates's striking illustrations are rendered in shades of teal and cerulean with warm touches of coral, and her panoramic views of the sky above the shoreline capture light magnificently.

Reviewer: Julie Danielson

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Julie Morstad. During a girl's immigration to America, she loses her favorite flowered dress, handsewn by her mother. Years later, she spots the same dress in a shop and buys it for her own daughter. A warmhearted, quietly told story, with expressive, delicate-lined illustrations showing the girl's Mediterranean-looking island home, the child's shipboard experiences, and the imagined travels of the dress.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Brianne Farley. Bunny Charlotte figures things out using the scientific method. She loves doing experiments and making discoveries but lives with lots of siblings who get in her way and spoil results. After going to outer space, she realizes that she misses her family and returns to claim "her own space." Whimsical illustrations show a stepped approach to problem-solving. More on the scientific method is appended.

Reviewer: Paula M. Cairo