(3) K-3 Illustrated by Pascal Lemaître. When a dismayed little girl asks her parents what she can do "to make the world a better place," they each demonstrate acts of kindness and acceptance: being polite on the subway, shopping at a multicultural market, letting her walk the dog with a new friend. Illustrated with emotive ink and watercolor vignettes, this sparely written story should spark meaningful conversation.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(4) PS Illustrated by Pascal Lemaitre. A young boy and girl reflect on their friendship in mostly fluid rhymes. Their easy camaraderie reminds them of many common food pairings (mac and cheese, flapjacks and syrup) and some less familiar (cherries and cream). Sunny pencil and digitally colored illustrations--anthropomorphized food pictures on beige backgrounds, the kids picnicking on lots of white space--highlight the gentle mood.

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(2) K-3 Beginner Books series. Illustrated by Pascal Lemaitre. In this beginning reader, Pete's pet snake Sneaker is not only good for playing games like "I Am a Necktie" and "I Am Handcuffs" but is also smart and heroic. Cartoon art in bright oranges, blues, and greens with plenty of white space has a retro feel with modern sensibilities. The pictures provide clues to comprehending the text while adding characterization and fun.

Reviewer: Julie Roach | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2013

(2) K-3 Beginner Books series. Illustrated by Pascal Lemaitre. In this goofy rhyming story, a town is overrun by hordes of ski-crazed squirrels. The hilarious illustrations are filled with action, just the sort of energy that very new readers love. The text is likely to trip up the same readers, as some of the words are quite challenging, but the art will make the challenge a lot more palatable.

Reviewer: Robin L. Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2013

(3) PS Illustrated by Pascal Lemaitre. Exuberant young bear Ted uses ketchup, mustard, blueberry jam, and his big imagination to paint everything, including the walls of his home and the back of a classmate's shirt. Reception to his masterpieces is mixed, but oblivious Ted is undeterred, eventually involving his classmates in creating a welcome mural for a sad new kid. Young artists will cheer Ted in his latest incarnation.

Reviewer: Paula M. Cairo

(4) PS Illustrated by Pascal Lemaitre. A boy tames ferocious dragons with hot chocolate, warm blankets, and snuggles in this cozy bedtime tale. The soft and whimsical illustrations pair nicely with the sleepy feel of the text, but the plot seems a bit disjointed, and it isn't quite clear if the dragons are symbolic. Still, preschoolers will find the soothing tone of the story appealing.

Reviewer: Aimee Chevrette Bear

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Pascal Lemaitre. Bulldog's job-search lands him stints as a firefighter, window washer, sign painter, and bookseller. Each ends in a mess, prompting Bulldog to provide cookies as a peace offering. The treats are a hit, and Bulldog is back in business. The volume's outsized format, with pages filled with friendly animals going about their busy days, is reminiscent of Richard Scarry.

Reviewer: Carrie Harasimowicz Sullivan

(2) PS Illustrated by Pascal Lemaitre. It's career-shift time for the civic-minded cub. As in Doctor Ted, the comedy stems from Ted's obliviousness; for example, he isn't fazed by Mom's annoyance after he sprays his burnt toast with a fire extinguisher/whipped cream canister ("now it's nutritious and safe"). Lemaitre's heavily outlined cartoons, rendered in day-glo colors, embrace the story's manic silliness.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2009

(3) PS Illustrated by Pascal Lemaitre. A ghostling goes to bed when the sun comes up; he's frightened by children and laughter; and he finds monsters, nightmares, and darkness calming. Addressing these reverse fears through Mom's gentle reassurances, the verse offers a nice mixture of comfort and humor. In the digitally colored bamboo and ink illustrations, dark purples give way to oranges and pinks as "bedtime" approaches.

Reviewer: Sethany Rancier Alongi

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Pascal Lemaitre. A pet dog expresses his devotion to the girl who owns him by enumerating the ways he would protect her--from deflecting a meteor with a baseball bat to calming the sea with a raised paw. The unembellished cartoon drawings enjoy plenty of white space, which emphasize the hero's pluck and helps tone down the text's sentimentality.

Reviewer: Amy Lois Cohn

(2) PS Illustrated by Pascal Lemaitre. Young Doctor Ted is a round-headed bear with a can-do attitude. He meets resistance from such naysaying grownups as his principal, who forbids him from dispensing medical advice to his drippy-nosed classmates. Lemaitre's cheery Easter egg–colored ink and digital art depicts a variety of cartoon animals. Beaty's lighthearted story shows that creative play can be stifled but not defeated.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2008

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Pascal Lemaitre. Nate tells his grandfather, Poppy, that he has a hard time concentrating in school. Poppy then relates, in an overlong cartoon-panel narrative, a tale about saving a snake's life, only to have the snake turn on him. Loosely based on Aesop, Poppy's tale about the virtue of paying attention seems only vaguely relevant to Nate's school dilemma, but the snappy prose and humorous color art are engaging.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Pascal Lemaitre & Pascal Lemaitre. Bearing only a casual relationship to Aesop's, this mouse pulls the thorn from the lion's paw--but then begins to fancy himself the king of the animals. Relayed through comic-strip panels illustrated with engagingly goofy animals, the story is riffed in catchy rhyme ("Friends forever? Forever and ever. You won't eat me? Never. No, NEVER"). Ending with a moral more attuned to our times than Aesop's, the story is overlong but ripe for discussion.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Pascal LeMaitre. Handwritten text and panelled cartoon paintings take a hip-hop look at Aesop's fable, jettisoning the old moral in favor of the open ending suggested by the question marks in the title. Kid A and Foxy G both like hanging in the park, but winter gets Kid A back to his chores while Foxy G keeps making his wings sing until they start to crumble in the cold. Should Kid A take his friend in? Readers pulled in by the comic-book format will stay to debate the question.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton

(3) PS Illustrated by Pascal Lemaitre. Powered by Super Milk and sometimes transported by the cow who jumps over the moon, this charmingly childlike superhero comes to the aid of fussy babies and their distraught parents everywhere. The board book's winning premise is illustrated by friendly cartoons, which depict Supercat performing such greatly appreciated feats as lifting a couch over his head to find a missing blankie.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann