A girl discovers that her passions can help her make sense of a difficult skill. Read full book review >

Fourth in a series of easy-to-read Little Chapter Books about Chicago the rabbit and her friend the cat, who share a home and humorous, garden-variety misadventures. Here a busload of Chicago's relatives, led by Aunt Philly and Uncle Denver, arrive bearing mounds of inedible (as far as the cat's concerned) food, like dandelion casserole and zucchini popsicles. They commandeer the cat's bedroom and play baseball by whatever rules benefit their side at the moment. At story's end, the cat declares that she can't wait until the next reunion—of the cat family! Koontz follows the typical early-reader format, with large type, short sentences laid out in short, widely-spaced lines, and pictures on every page. Not for the very earliest readers, but fine for those who have developed their vocabulary and can handle words like invitations, arrival, and bleachers. (Fiction. 5-8) Read full book review >

Five more mini-chapters about the marshmallow-soft, flop- earred bunny and the black cat who insinuated herself into her home in Chicago and the Cat (1993). When the two go camping, the insouciant cat continues to subvert Chicago's every plan, whether it's dining on a stew of wild gatherings (once she tastes her own concoction, Chicago's glad to share the store food the cat has brought) or climbing a mountain (when a tired Chicago suggests ``the shortest way,'' puss takes her right back to the campsite for a nap). Partly because the humor here depends mostly on taking the easy way out at every turn, this isn't quite as clever or as funny as the first book; still, the characters are well defined and appealing, while their perky dialogue makes for better-than-average early reading. (Easy reader. 5-8) Read full book review >

Four brief chapters about a pleasingly plump bunny and the assertive cat who, uninvited, moves in with her one snowy night. ``All I have is lettuce, carrots...no cat food,'' Chicago points out. But ``You must have something I like,'' the cat persists- -then locks Chicago out of her own house to show her how cold it is. ``And you wanted to send me out there, in the freezing snow?'' ``I guess not,'' Chicago agrees, and goes to bed determined to oust puss in the morning; but she relents after the cat cooks carrot pancakes for her breakfast. Throughout, the cat is charmingly true to cat nature—a garden is a place to dig, and what happens to the seeds Chicago has planted is not the cat's concern; cats don't eat vegetables. With funny, natural-sounding dialogue and simple but nicely animated illustrations: an unusually appealing early chapter book. (Easy reader. 4-8) Read full book review >

``Riddle-me/riddle-me-ree,/I see something/you don't see'' begins each of the 13 easily solved riddles in a collection whose cheerful illustrations broadly hint at the answers: ``Round like a plate,/flat as a chip,/holes like eyes,/but can't see a bit'' concludes the riddle facing a picture that focuses on a child buttoning her little brother's shirt; a needle and thread on the text page provides still another clue. In case anyone is still stumped, the answers, verbal and pictorial, are given on the last page. For young children, an attractive introduction to the concept of riddles—one that's sure to give them the taste of success. In her sunny pen and watercolor illustrations, Koontz provides continuity by setting the action in and around the home of the two children, with their fubsy dog and cat as amusing additional characters. (Picture book. 3-7) Read full book review >