Rylant continues her winning, 15-year-old Ready-to-Read series about a boy and his adored mutt, Mudge, with a Valentine's Day story. Henry's parents are off to a Sweetheart's Dance, and Henry is off to Mrs. Hopper, the baby-sitter. Henry is reluctant at first; he likes Mrs. Hopper, but her house, with its dark stone and droopy trees, is scary. Luckily, Henry has enormous, happy-go-lucky Mudge, and once inside the Hopper home, Henry finds a real treat. Mrs. Hopper's father was an actor, and her house is filled with music and costumes-all the makings for an evening of fun. As usual, Rylant tells her warm story in clear, even language, introducing interesting words, such as gargoyle, that new readers will relish. As in Henry and Mudge and the Tall Tree House BKL Ja 1 & 15 03, the cheery, colorful illustrations are by Bracken, who nicely continues the style set by the series' longtime artist, Suie Stevenson.

When someone steals the lucky dice from bus driver Melvin's rear-view mirror, he's emotionally incapable of driving. In their sixth book, Bunny and Jack, a pair of animal detectives, successfully track down the thief and resolve both the thief's and Melvin's problems. The acrylic, gouache, and pencil illustrations of the animal characters are a good match for the silly, easy-to-read text.