How Are You Peeling?
By Saxton Freyman, Arthur A. Levine 1999; ISBN: 0439104319
Who hasn't looked at a fruit or vegetable and seen a funny face? In How Are You Peeling?--by the creator of the whimsical Play with Your Food--the "natural personalities" of produce are enhanced with black-eyed pea eyes and the occasional carved mouth--then photographed in vivid colors. One page reveals a wistful-looking poblano pepper being comforted by a cheerful red tomato, while another shows the amused, confused, frustrated, and surprised expressions of a green pepper, red pepper, orange, and apple. Adults and children alike will marvel at the range of expressions these fruits and vegetables possess--did you know just how many faces a kiwi could have? With simple rhymed text describing the emotions ("How are you when friends drop by?/ With someone new... a little shy?"), this appealing picture book is bound to spark discussion with young children. Parents can use it to talk about different emotions or to help children to identify and articulate their mood of the moment. Adults will just plain be amused. (Amazon.com)

A House is a House for Me
by Mary Ann Hoberman, Viking 1982; ISBN: 0140503943
A brisk, even headlong rhyme plunges us into a swirling cluster of images . . . an overwhelming profusion of examples of houses. It is an astonishing book, one of the best of the year. (New York Times)

Growing Colors
by Bruce McMillan, Lothrop Lee & Shepard 1988; ISBN: 0688078443
Bruce McMillan takes his camera into the garden and orchard, inviting young children to discover color as it grows in nature. "McMillan produces a stunning visual impact as he effectively uses his camera to probe color in nature ... Veggies never looked so good!" (Ingram/Booklist)

We Were Tired of Living in a House
by Liesel Moak Skorpen, Putnam 1999; ISBN: 0399230165
A 30-year-old text, previously illustrated by Doris Burn, loses nothing to age and is enlivened by the brisk contemporary palette Cepeda chooses. Skorpen's small questers find grace notes and pitfalls on their circuit from home to adventure and home again. Their first alternative to conventional housing is a tree, where they enjoy the breeze and the colors and the birdsong, but then they tumble off the branches. A pond comes next, and its delights are dampened when the three sink along with their raft. The cave has bears as well as cool green moss and possibilities for exploration. Lastly, the seashore, with its castles and warm sand and surfsong--and turning tides. Home again, they find that it looks pretty good, and doubtless full of treasure and frustrations. The brilliant illustrations add a further beckoning note; if the wild looks this good, it's worth a try. (Kirkus)

Harvest
by Kris Waldherr, Walker & Co 2001; ISBN: 0802787924
This beautiful, earthy book is a child's hymn to harvest time. A young girl celebrates it all in one day, and thinks back on the efforts of both the gardeners and the plants. She picks, digs, and gathers fruit, vegetables, herbs, and flowers with great care and appreciation; then she and her mother bake, store, and can, getting ready for winter. The watercolor-and-gouache paintings, mostly double-page spreads, are rich in autumn colors. Each picture is framed by a border that echoes some of the plants within; these appear as if behind a scrim, reminding readers that the colors will fade and the plants will die down as the circle of seasons continues. The last painting shows the narrator asleep in her cozy bed as snowflakes fall outside; her cat, who has appeared in nearly every picture as a quiet helper, is also asleep. A bouquet of dried flowers and a pail of small pumpkins decorate the room. Under the scene is the last bit of text: "We have harvested our garden. All year we have worked so hard. All year our garden has worked so hard. Now it is time to rest." (School Library Journal)

Scarlette Beane
by Karen Wallace, Dial 2000; ISBN: 0803724756
Born with green fingers and a face as red as a beet, Scarlette Bean is precociously adept at gardening. In fact, by the age of five, she's growing giant vegetables that go into soup for the entire village. Her next crop is even more spectacular. By planting all the seeds in one hole, she grows a vegetable palace, into which she and her family move, leaving their crowded garden hut behind. Berkeley's illustrations, in acrylics on textured paper, have a rough yet fuzzy quality that seems a good choice for rendering the giant vegetables. The vegetables themselves are good for a laugh, and they, along with the cartoonlike townspeople and bright landscapes, give the book much of its appeal. (Booklist)