ALA Booklist (Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2003)

Reviewed with Ellen Weiss' Twins Take a Bath .PreS-Gr. 1. Two identical toddlers, who could be either boys or girls, enjoy everyday activities described in a rhyming text that one of them narrates. In Park, the twins travel by stroller and bus to a park, where they enjoy the trees, breeze, doggie, froggie, swings, seesaw, and sandbox. Bath shows the cheerful pair in the tub, splashing, playing, and washing as they prepare for bedtime. The words are simple and pleasing, while Williams' charming pencil drawings, washed with gentle colors, are even more appealing. Still, who is the audience? Both books, part of the Ready-to-Read series, are written in very short words and phrases usually associated with kindergarten and first grade, but kids of that age won't find the action of much interest. These probably can be used with some three-year-olds for word recognition; reading them aloud to toddlers is the first choice for use.

Horn Book (Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 2001)

This simplified account of Pocahontas's life and of fifteenth-century European and Native American relations strives for cultural sensitivity in the text and in the brightly colored illustrations, but many details are presented without any interpretation. Small text boxes and a final page add facts to a book that's a good reader but simplistic history. Ind.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 1-These beginning readers, which star a pair of unnamed siblings, are characterized by short rhyming sentences, a basic vocabulary, repetition, and appealing artwork. In the first title, the twins spend the day at a city park, enjoying the playground and exploring nature, while in the second, they pour, splash, and soap their way through a pleasant bath and end up dressed for bed. Weiss uses simple language to create stories that flow smoothly. The cartoon illustrations, done in watercolors with charcoal outlines and highlights, have a sense of energy and movement. The use of white space and a minimum of background scenery keep the focus on the characters and their actions and interactions. The children depicted in the pictures seem a bit younger than the ready-to-read crowd (in Park, they are shown being pushed in a stroller), which might put off some youngsters. Adequate purchases for collections in which very basic readers are in demand.-Joy Fleishhacker, School Library Journal Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.