(2) K-3 A curly-headed child, clad in a striped shirt, shorts, and rubber boots, spends the day with a great blue heron named Blue. The two "shriek, splash...and share" in the water. They play together and, as the sun sets, stretch their "wings, feeling our feathers ruffle in the cool air." Then the heron flies away, leaving the child bereft yet still hopeful. Happily, Blue returns to take the protagonist on a ride through the night sky. Eventually, cold and tired, the child realizes it's time to go home, later falling asleep in a warm bed while hugging a stuffed heron to "dream of meeting again." Kaufman uses few words for this lyrical story of a young person's imaginative journey. Her soft, flowing paintings are done in watercolor in shades of blue, black, and yellow with charcoal, pastel, and pencil. The watery setting is well served by the artistic medium: waves splash across the page, and sunlight spreads across the sky. A lovely celebration of the natural world and a child's dreamlike place in it.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2025

(3) K-3 Rosy-cheeked Ghost lives in the attic of a house belonging to a busy, boisterous family. Other than the dog, no one notices Ghost, who is "always alone in a crowd." Kaufman's friendly illustrations star a reserved bespectacled spirit who longs for companionship, which Ghost finally finds in a stray red balloon. "Could it be...a friend?" Ghost and "the friend" are inseparable until the balloon floats away during a game of hide-and-seek. Ghost is devastated. Will our sensitive specter be friendless forever? Fear not: the story ends happily for Ghost, the balloon, and a new pal.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(4) PS Whenever dino-siblings Brooks and Mikey fight over toys, Mama intervenes: "Confiscated!" Once all their toys have disappeared, they look to each other for entertainment. While hatching a plan to retrieve the toys, they find out that sharing is a lot more fun than fighting. Colorful, cartoonish mixed-media illustrations with varying perspectives and ample white space emphasize the sibs' collaboration and underscore the (slightly preachy) message.

Reviewer: Rebecca Kirshenbaum