These books employ the "shared reading" concept: each left-hand page is the "parent's text," which faces the "child's text." In the hackneyed Taylor, Otis's best friend is teased because of his shabby clothes. In Trip, which features too-predictable rhymes, a boy takes a road trip to visit Grandpa. Trip's art looks as hastily executed as Taylor's looks thoughtfully composed.

K-Gr 2-This "shared reading" series features one page of text for skilled readers and a facing page of simpler text for beginners. Taylor! targets grades 1-2. Otis describes his first day of school and his efforts to get classmates to stop teasing his best friend. Their teacher intervenes and initiates class discussion. She tells a story about The Tree People, an imaginary native tribe that practices the tradition of the Magic Circle, where participants state positive comments for each member. The class is asked to prepare for their own Magic Circle. Distinguished, realistic paintings provide contextual clues. Car Trip is lighter fare for kindergarteners, featuring a boy and his family. The page of longer text is written in rhyme and leads the child to complete it with a rhyming word or two. The bold, watercolor illustrations clearly depict the story. While some of the rhymes are a bit forced, the approach is a tremendous confidence builder as new readers share this excursion filled with fun, love, and interesting plot twists. Both are useful additions to school and public libraries.-Laura Scott, Farmington Community Library, MI Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.