Dewey, Ariane 1937–

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Dewey, Ariane 1937–

(Ariane Aruego)

Personal

Born August 17, 1937, in Chicago, IL; daughter of Charles S., Jr. and Marjorie S. Dewey; married José E. Aruego, Jr. (an author and illustrator), 1961 (divorced, 1973); married Claus Dannasch, 1976; children: Juan Aruego. Education: Sarah Lawrence College, B.A., 1959; studied art (woodcuts) with Antonio Frasconi. Hobbies and other interests: Kayaking, bird watching.

Addresses

Home—New York, NY.

Career

Author, illustrator, and editor. Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., New York, NY, researcher and art editor for children's textbooks, 1964-65; freelance author and illustrator of children's books, beginning 1969. Member of board, Experiments in Interactive Arts, New York, NY, 1973, and Franklin Furnace Archive, Inc., 1987-98. Dancer with Artists in Process Improvisational Dance Group, 1973-74; participating artist, Sequential Art for Kids, New York, NY, 1991-97. Exhibitions: Works exhibited in galleries, including National Book League Traveling Exhibition, 1973; New York Public Library, 1979; Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY, 1978, 1983; Rutgers University Art Gallery, Camden, NJ, 1981; University of Connecticut Library, Storrs, 1982; City Gallery, New York, NY, 1984; Master Eagle Gallery, New York, NY, 1985; Society of Illustrators annual shows, 1993, 1995, 2004, and others; New World School of Art, Miami, FL, 1995; and Bill Martin Museum, 2000.

Awards, Honors

Notable Book designation, American Library Association (ALA), 1971, for Whose Mouse Are You? by Robert Kraus, 1972, for Milton the Early Riser by Kraus, 1974, for Mushroom in the Rain by Mirra Ginsburg, and 1979, for We Hide, You Seek; Children's Book Show, American Institute of Graphic Art, 1972-73, and Children's Book Showcase, 1973, both for A Crocodile's Tale; Children's Book Showcase, 1973, for The Chick and the Duckling by Vladimir Suteyev; Children's Book Show, 1973-74, for Mushroom in the Rain by Ginsburg, and Marie Louise and Christophe by Natalie Savage Carlson; Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor Book designation, 1974, for Herman the Helper by Kraus; Citation of Merit, Society of Illustrators, 1974, and Brooklyn Arts Book for Children citation and inclusion in the Biennale of Illustration in Bratislava, both 1975, all for Milton the Early Riser by Kraus; ALA Notable Book designation, 1974, Citation of Merit, Society of Illustrators, and Children's Book Showcase, 1975, all for Owliver by Kraus; goldmedaille, Internationalen Buchkunst-Ausstellung, 1977, for Mushroom in the Rain; IBBY International Year of the Child Honor List inclusion, 1978;

Writings

SELF-ILLUSTRATED; WITH JOSÉ ARUEGO; UNDER NAME ARIANE ARUEGO

The King and His Friends, Scribner's (New York, NY), 1969.

Juan and the Asuangs, Scribner's (New York, NY), 1970.

Symbiosis: A Book of Unusual Friendships, Scribner's (New York, NY), 1970.

Pilyo the Piranha, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1971.

Look What I Can Do, Scribner's (New York, NY), 1971.

A Crocodile's Tale, Scribner's (New York, NY), 1972.

SELF-ILLUSTRATED; WITH JOSÉ ARUEGO

We Hide, You Seek, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1979, board-book edition, 2002.

Rockabye Crocodile, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1988.

Splash!, Harcourt (New York, NY), 2001.

Weird Friends: Unlikely Allies in the Animal Kingdom, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 2002.

The Last Laugh, Dial (New York, NY), 2006.

SELF-ILLUSTRATED

The Fish Peri, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1979.

The Thunder God's Son, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1981.

Dorin and the Dragon, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1982.

Pecos Bill, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1983.

Febold Feboldson, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1984.

Laffite, the Pirate, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1985.

Gib Morgan, Oilman, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1987.

The Tea Squall, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1988.

The Narrow Escapes of Davy Crockett: From a Bear, a Boa Constrictor, a Hoop Snake, an Elk, an Owl, Eagles, Rattlesnakes, Wildcats, Trees, Tornadoes, a Sinking Ship, and Niagara Falls, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1990.

The Sky, Green Tiger Press, 1992.

Naming Colors, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1995.

ILLUSTRATOR, WITH JOSÉ ARUEGO; UNDER NAME ARIANE ARUEGO

Kay Smith, Parakeets and Peach Pies, Parents' Magazine Press, 1970.

Jack Prelutsky, Toucans and Two Other Poems, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1970.

Robert Kraus, Whose Mouse Are You?, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1970.

Robert Kraus, Leo the Late Bloomer, Windmill Books (New York, NY), 1971.

Christina Rosetti, What Is Pink?, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1971.

Elizabeth Coatsworth, Good Night, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1972.

Robert Kraus, Milton the Early Riser, Windmill Books (New York, NY), 1972.

Vladimir Suteyev, The Chick and the Duckling, translated and adapted by Mirra Ginsburg, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1972.

ILLUSTRATOR, WITH JOSÉ ARUEGO

Vladimir Suteyev, Mushroom in the Rain, translated and adapted by Mirra Ginsburg, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1974.

Robert Kraus, Herman the Helper, Windmill Books (New York, NY), 1974.

Robert Kraus, Owliver, Windmill Books (New York, NY), 1974.

Natalie Savage Carlson, Marie Louise and Christophe, Scribner's (New York, NY), 1974.

Natalie Savage Carlson, Marie Louise's Heyday, Scribner's (New York, NY), 1975.

Mirra Ginsburg, How the Sun Was Brought Back to the Sky, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1975.

Robert Kraus, Three Friends, Windmill Books (New York, NY), 1975.

Dorothy Van Woerkom, Sea Frog, City Frog, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1975.

Robert Kraus, Boris Bad Enough, Windmill Books (New York, NY), 1976.

Mirra Ginsburg, Two Greedy Bears, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1976.

Mirra Ginsburg, The Strongest One of All, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1977.

Robert Kraus, Noel the Coward, Windmill Books (New York, NY), 1977.

David Kherdian, collector, If Dragon Flies Made Honey: Poems, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1977.

Natalie Savage Carlson, Runaway Marie Louise, Scribner's (New York, NY), 1977.

Maggie Duff, Rum Pum Pum: A Folk Tale from India, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1978.

Marjorie Weinman Sharmat, Mitchell Is Moving, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1978.

Robert Kraus, Another Mouse to Feed, Windmill Books (New York, NY), 1980.

Robert Kraus, Musical Max, Windmill Books (New York, NY), 1980.

Robert Kraus, Mert the Blurt, Windmill Books (New York, NY), 1980.

Robert Kraus, Mouse Work, Windmill Books (New York, NY), 1980.

Robert Kraus, Animal Families, Windmill Books (New York, NY), 1980.

Mitchell Sharmat, Gregory, the Terrible Eater, Four Winds Press (New York, NY), 1980.

Natalie Savage Carlson, Marie Louise and Christophe at the Carnival, Scribner's (New York, NY), 1981.

Mirra Ginsburg, Where Does the Sun Go at Night?, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1981.

George Shannon, Lizard's Song, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1981.

George Shannon, Dance Away, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1982.

George Shannon, The Surprise, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1983.

Charlotte Pomerantz, One Duck, Another Duck, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1984.

Robert Kraus, Where Are You Going, Little Mouse?, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1986.

Robert Kraus, Come out and Play, Little Mouse, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1987.

Crescent Dragonwagon, Alligator Arrived with Apples: A Potluck Alphabet Feast, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1987.

Raffi, Five Little Ducks, Crown, 1989.

Jovial Bob Stine, Pork and Beans: Play Date, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1989.

Mirra Ginsburg, Merry-Go-Round: Four Stories, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1992.

Crescent Dragonwagon, Alligators and Others All Year Long!: A Book of Months, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1993.

Bobbye S. Goldstein, Birthday Rhymes, Special Times, Delacorte Press (New York, NY), 1993.

George Shannon, April Showers, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1995.

Craig Strete, They Thought They Saw Him, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1996.

Michael R. and Mary Beth Sampson, Star of the Circus, Holt (New York, NY), 1997.

Judy Sierra, Antarctic Antics: A Book of Penguin Poems, Harcourt Brace (New York, NY), 1998.

Robert Kraus, Little Louie the Baby Bloomer, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1998.

Stephen R. Swinburne, Safe, Warm, and Snug, Harcourt Brace (New York, NY), 1999.

George Shannon, Lizard's Home, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1999.

Robert Kraus, Mouse in Love, Orchard (New York, NY), 2000.

Joseph and James Bruchac, How Chipmunk Got His Stripes: A Tale of Bragging and Teasing, Dial (New York, NY), 2001.

Reginald Howard, The Big, Big Wall, Harcourt (New York, NY), 2001.

Larry Dane Brimner, Little One and Big Gray, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2002.

F. Isabel Campoy, Rosa Raposa, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 2002.

Larry Dane Brimner, The Littlest Wolf, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2002.

George Shannon, Lizard's Guest, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 2003.

Joseph and James Bruchac, Turtle's Race with Beaver: A Traditional Seneca Story, Dial (New York, NY), 2003.

Joseph and James Bruchac, Raccoon's Last Race: A Traditional Abenaki Story, Dial (New York, NY), 2004.

Karen Beaumont, Duck, Duck, Goose!: A Coyote's on the Loose!, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2004.

Illustrator, with Aruego, of "Puppet Pal" picture-book series for Windmill Books, including Milton the Early Riser Takes a Trip, Owliver the Actor Takes a Bow, Herman the Helper Lends a Hand, and Leo the Late Bloomer Bakes a Cake.

ILLUSTRATOR

Caron Lee Cohen, Sally Ann Thunder and Whirlwind Crockett, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1985.

OTHER

Contributor to anthologies, including Standing at the Feet of the Past: Retelling North American Folktale for Children.

Author's works have been translated for publication in France, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, South Africa, and Israel.

Sidelights

Ariane Dewey is an author and illustrator of children's books who is noted for her use of bright, primary colors and simple, almost primitive lines. Her simple texts for both picture books and chapter books often tweak history or myth with a nudge of humor by spinning tall tales about farmers, explorers, oilmen, and pirates. For example, Davy Crockett gets the Dewey treatment as do Laffite the pirate and Pecos Bill. In addition to tackling such well-known subjects, Dewey has also produced simple works for novice bookworms that include The Sky and Naming Colors.

While her solo works have been praised by critics, Dewey is best known for the long-term collaboration with author/illustrator ex-husband José Aruego. The couple's work has produced the award-winning picture books Look What I Can Do! and We Hide, You Seek, among dozens of others. In their working relationship, Dewey brings color to Aruego's minimalist line drawings, a division of labor that is determined, as Dewey once explained to SATA, by "what we each like doing best." "Color is what I'm about," she added. "When I see a brilliant sunrise or pale butterfly, I memorize them to paint later."

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Dewey developed an early love of painting. One of her early works of "art" was a fourth-grade class project in which she painted and repainted the same scene—bright pink children swimming in a blue-green lake—so many times that the paper began to tear and the paint fleck off. Over the next few years, with increasing success, she designed stage sets for school plays and illustrated and authored handbound books intended as class assignments.

While attending Sarah Lawrence College, Dewey studied painting with Ezio Martinelli and also took a course in woodcuts with Antonio Frasconi, working weekends at an art gallery in nearby New York. After graduating from college, Dewey worked for a time in an industrial design firm and then as an art editor for children's textbooks. Folklore and myth also captured her imagination, and she took graduate anthropology courses at Columbia University. In 1961 she married Aruego, a painter and cartoonist whom she had met while he was painting a mural installation at New York City's International House. A year later, the couple quite their respective jobs and traveled around the world for a year. As Dewey later reflected to SATA, this was "the most influential and memorable year of [my] life."

In 1969 Dewey began her collaboration with her husband, initially publishing under her married name, Ariane Aruego. One of their most popular early titles—as well as the winner of several awards—A Crocodile's Tale was adapted from a Philippine folk story José Aruego recalled from his childhood. Although the pair divorced in 1973, their collaboration has stood the test of time; their acclaimed artwork has appeared alongside texts by authors such as Robert Kraus, Mirra Ginsburg, Larry Dane Brimmer, George Shannon, Natalie Savage Carlson, and the father/son writing partnership of Joseph and James Bruchac. Their collaborations with Kraus have been particularly fruitful, resulting in doz-

ens of titles that include the award-winning Owliver and Milton the Early Riser. Focusing on a youthful tiger eager to mature, Kraus's Leo the Late Bloomer and Little Louie the Baby Bloomer are separated by over two decades. According to Lisa S. Murphy, reviewing the latter title in School Library Journal, the span of years show Dewey's colors to be "even more brilliant than before," and the illustrators' renderings of "lush jungle plants and animals are even more inviting to young eyes."

Other long-term Dewey-Aruego collaborations include work with George Shannon on April Showers, a picture book Horn Book critic Mary M. Burns dubbed "bright, splashy, and fun." Lauren Peterson, writing in Booklist, noted that the couple's "bright, cheerful watercolors" "splash across the page," while Lauralyn Persson commented in School Library Journal that Aruego and Dewey employ their "characteristic playful style to good effect, with clear, attractive colors and simple, graceful lines." Booklist reviewer Ellen Mandel captured the essence of the Dewey-Aruego collaborative effort in her review of their illustrations for They Thought They Saw Him by Craig Strete. Mandel called the couple's depictions of the chameleon at the center of the entertaining story as "perky," adding that their "cartoon art" remains "ever-popular."

Aruego and Dewey have illustrated a number of picture books based on folk stories from many lands. Ginsberg's Two Greedy Bears, an adaptation of a Hungarian tale, focuses on a case of sibling rivalry in which "Aruego and … Dewey bring the story to life with their artwork," according to School Library Journal contributor Stephanie G. Miller. Appraising their work for Ginsburg's story collection Merry-Go-Round: Four Stories, Virginia Opocensky wrote in School Library Journal that their "depiction of expressive, animated creatures" is "typical of the artists' work." A Native-American porquoi tale is recounted by the Bruchacs in How Chipmunk Got His Stripes: A Tale of Bragging and Teasing, and here Aruego and Dewey "create lush landscapes," according to a reviewer for Publishers Weekly. "While the story begs to be told, Aruego and Dewey's vibrantly hued trademark watercolors add significantly to the humor," Grace Oliff noted in her School Library Journal review of same book. Another book by the Bruchacs, Turtle's Race with Beaver: A Traditional Seneca Story, presents a Native American variation on Aesop's fable about the tortoise and the hare, while Raccoon's Last Race: A Traditional Abenaki Story retells a trickster tale that finds Azban the raccoon transformed from long-legged and fast to short, stout, and slow after he reneges on a promise. Rosalyn Pierini wrote in her School Library Journal review of Turtle'sRace with Beaver that the illustrators' "cheerful" ink, pastel, and opaque watercolor images provide "a wonderful match for this well-told tale." Kitty Flynn came to a similar conclusion in a Horn Book review of the Bruchacs' companion volume, writing of Raccoon's Last Race that "Aruego and Dewey's distinctive illustrations humorously convey" the coauthors' "well-paced retelling."

Dewey's solo efforts as author/illustrator got underway in 1979 with The Fish Peri, and by her fourth title, Pecos Bill, she had found her niche: writing and illustrating easy chapter books about tall-tale characters. In Febold Feboldson she employs short sentences and abbreviated chapters, as well as entertaining illustrations, to recount the trials and tribulations of the legendary first farmer to settle in what is now Nebraska. When the winter snows refuse to melt, Febold hauls in desert sand. When the sun is too hot in the summer Febold shifts his corn crop to popcorn. "Illustrations spill over the entire page in earthy tones of clay, grass green, and sun gold," noted Susan Roman in a Booklist review of the book, adding that Dewey's humorous text is likely to cause "giggles among listeners." Liza Bliss commented in School Library Journal that some of the "silly exaggerations" worked into the seven episodes of this tall tale "will have great appeal," and also praised Dewey's art as "literal and pleasant," as well as "prominent enough to be seen when [Febold Feboldson] … is used as a read-aloud."

More legends and tall tales are served up in Laffite, the Pirate, which recounts, in a "brief, readable chapter story," the adventures of a "dashing and romantic pirate," according to Hayden E. Atwood in School Library Journal. Dewey's five short chapters detail Laffite's exploits, from capturing ships to burying stolen treasure to locking horns with the governor of Louisiana. In his review of the work, Atwood went on to praise Dewey's "characteristically simple, almost primitive" illustrations for "enhanc[ing] … the text," and dubbed Laffite, the Pirate an "enjoyable and worthwhile book that will read well aloud." Linda Callaghan, writing in Booklist, commented that the legendary Laffite "is captured with humor and bravado in Dewey's words and pictures," while also predicting that Dewey's "appealing" tall tale is "sure to be popular with the read-alone crowd."

The exploits of a legendary oilman are recounted in Gib Morgan, Oilman, another beginning chapter-book with plenty of illustrations "in colors as vivid as the tales being told," according to Cathy Woodward writing in School Library Journal. Dewey blended facts about this actual historical figure into fiction to create "an irresistible tale," according to Woodward. In one episode, the ever-resourceful Morgan turns to a giant boa constrictor for help in extracting a stuck oil-drill bit; in another he uses, à la Paul Bunyan, slabs of bacon strapped to men's feet to grease a giant griddle. Dewey's use of brief, simple sentences in telling her tale allows primary-grade readers "to enjoy at their own pace," Woodward added, while Ethel R. Twichell commented in Horn Book that "exaggeration and deadpan humor" focusing on the early days of the oil industry characterize the collection. Twichell went on to observe that the stories have "a good-natured boastfulness and gift for the ridiculous" that even small children will enjoy. Roger Sutton concluded in his Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books review of Gib Morgan, Oilman that "tales don't come much taller than these, and Dewey's colorful, naïve paintings take all the nonsense literally."

A tall-tale tea party with tall-tale heroines is the focus of The Tea Squall, as Florinda Fury, Katy Goodrit, and Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett chat about the weather. Each guest vies with the others to outdo the severity of the described winter storms: words freeze as the Crocketts speak to one another, for example. Meanwhile, the tea menu includes five kinds of tea, forty kinds of corn bread, blackberry grunt and blueberry slump, snickerdoodles, kinkawoodles, and more. "This is a gem," concluded a Publishers Weekly reviewer in an appraisal of The Tea Squall. Noting the story's "folkloric exaggeration, eccentric tall tales and delightful peculiarities," School Library Journal contributor Susan Scheps called the book "engaging entertainment," while Booklist critic Ilene Cooper predicted that readers "will enjoy the feminist high jinks."

Famed American frontiersman Davy Crockett makes an appearance in Dewey's oeuvre via the pages of The Narrow Escapes of Davy Crockett: From a Bear, a Boa Constrictor, a Hoop Snake, an Elk, an Owl, Eagles, Rattlesnakes, Wildcats, Trees, Tornadoes, a Sinking Ship, and Niagara Falls. "Dewey has had great success interpreting tall tales," noted Booklist reviewer Cooper, "and this may be her best effort yet." In the book, Davy confronts snakes, bears, eagles, an owl, and even an elk in stories loosely based on The Crockett Almanacs. Davy is also shown courting future wife Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind and running for the U.S. Congress in a book Cooper characterized as containing the "essence" of all tall tales: a story that is both "witty and wild."

Other original self-illustrated books by Dewey include The Sky and Naming Colors. In the former title, she details, sometimes with trepidation, all the wonders to be seen above Earth's surface. Captured in Dewey's illustrations are a vast assortment of wonderful and sometimes dread objects, from droplets of moisture, birds and butterflies, rockets and UFO's, and superheroes and Santa Claus to smog, tornadoes, vampires, and more. Her image of a sky full of snowflakes, which was included in the book, was also used on a UNICEF Christmas card. The etymology of colors is the focus of Naming Colors, a look at the history of English words for colors. Starting with the words used to describe black and white, Dewey moves on to more varied hues, including sepia, puce, and even electric pink. A rich palette accompanies the descriptions. Linda Greengrass, writing in School Library Journal, described The Sky as a "wonderful collaboration of words and pictures," while in the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Roger Sutton praised Naming Colors as "fun to look at."

A knowledge of nature and a sense of whimsy characterize each of Dewey's books, both her original works as well as her collaborations with Aruego. In fact, observing nature is one of her favorite sources of inspiration. Her nature books with Aruego include We Hide, You Seek, which shows how animals use camouflag for protection, and Weird Friends: Unlikely Allies in the Animal Kingdom. Safe, Warm, and Snug shows some unusual ways animals protec their young and the popular Antarctic Antics predated the current penguin craze. As the prolific Dewey once told SATA: "Doing research on the fascinatingly odd habits of animals is always fun. There are not too many jobs that require phone calls to the zoo to find out the color of a python's tongue."

Biographical and Critical Sources

BOOKS

Children's Literature Review, Volume 5, Thomson Gale (Detroit, MI), 1983, pp. 27-32.

Kingman, Lee, compiler, Illustrators of Children's Books, 1967-1976, Horn Book (Boston, MA), 1978.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, June 1, 1984, Susan Roman, review of Febold Feboldson, p. 1397; September 15, 1985, Linda Callaghan, review of Laffite, the Pirate, pp. 130-131; April 1, 1988, Ilene Cooper, review of The Tea Squall, p. 1342; March 1, 1990, Ilene Cooper, review of The Narrow Escapes of Davy Crockett: From a Bear, a Boa Constrictor, a Hoop Snake, an Elk, an Owl, Eagles, Rattlesnakes, Wildcats, Trees, Tornadoes, a Sinking Ship, and Niagara Falls, p. 1339; April 1, 1995, Lauren Peterson, review of April Showers, p. 1428; April 15, 1996, Ellen Mandel, review of They Thought They Saw Him, p. 1447; July, 2001, Hazel Rochman, review of Splash!, p. 2023; May 15, 2002, Kay Weisman, review of Weird Friends: Unlikely Allies in the Animal Kingdom, p. 1598; September 15, 2003, John Peters, review of Turtle's Race with Beaver, p. 244; March 1, 2004, Jennifer Mattson, review of Duck, Duck, Goose! (A Coyote's on the Loose!), p. 1192; February 1, 2006, Karin Snelson, review of The Last Laugh, p. 53.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, May, 1987, Roger Sutton, review of Gib Morgan, Oilman, pp. 165-166; February, 1995, Roger Sutton, review of Naming Colors, p. 196; June, 2002, review of Weird Friends, p. 356; April, 2004, Karen Coats, review of Duck, Duck, Goose!, p. 316; May, 2006, Maggie Hommel, review of The Last Laugh, p. 390.

Horn Book, May-June, 1987, Ethel R. Twichell, review of Gib Morgan, Oilman, pp. 349-350; March-April, 1994, p. 189; May-June, 1995, Mary M. Burns, review of April Showers, pp. 329-330; July-August, 1996, Hanna B. Zeiger, review of They Thought They Saw Him, p. 458; March-April, 1998, Barbara Bader, "American Picture Books"; January-February, 2003, Mary M. Burns, review of Rosa Raposa, p. 53; January-February, 2005, Kitty Flynn, review of Raccoon's Last Race: A Traditional Abenaki Story, p. 102.

Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 2002, review of Weird Friends, p. 329; March 15, 2003, review of Lizard's Guest, p. 478; December 15, 2003, review of Duck, Duck, Goose!, p. 1446; January 15, 2006, review of The Last Laugh, p. 81.

Publishers Weekly, May 13, 1988, review of The Tea Squall, p. 273; January 19, 1990, p. 109; August 23, 1993, review of Alligators and Others All Year Long, p. 72; March 30, 1998, review of Little Louie the Baby Bloomer, pp. 81-82; May 3, 1999, p. 75; September 13, 1999, review of Lizard's Home, p. 83; July 24, 2000, review of Mouse in Love, p. 93; January 15, 2001, review of How Chipmunk Got His Stripes, p. 76; March 11, 2002, review of The Littlest Wolf, p. 71; March 17, 2003, review of Antarctic Antics, p. 78.

School Library Journal, August, 1984, Liza Bliss, review of Febold Feboldson, p. 58; November, 1985, Hayden E. Atwood, review of Laffite, the Pirate, p. 68; June-July, 1987, Cathy Woodward, review of Gib Morgan, Oilman, p. 81; September, 1992, Virginia Opocensky, review of Merry-Go-Round, p. 216; June, 1993, Dot Minzer, review of Birthday Rhymes, Special Times, p. 97; January, 1994, Judy Constantinides, review of Alligators and Others All Year Long, p. 106; November, 1994, Rose Zertuche, review of Lizard's Song, p. 131; April, 1995, Martha Rosen, review of Naming Colors, p. 141; May, 1995, Lauralyn Persson, review of April Showers, p. 95; March, 1996, p. 192; May, 1996, Jerry D. Flack, review of They Thought They Saw Him, p. 100; May, 1998, Sally R. Dow, review of Antarctic Antics, p. 137; July, 1998, Lisa S. Murphy, review of Little Louie the Baby Bloomer, pp. 77-78; June, 1999, Marian Drabkin, review of Safe, Warm, and Snug, p. 122; July, 1999, Stephanie G. Miller, review of Two Greedy Bears, p. 54; September, 1999, Patricia Manning, review of Lizard's Home, p. 206; August, 2000, Holly Belli, review of Mouse in Love, p. 158; February, 2001, Grace Oliff, review of How Chipmunk Got His Stripes, p. 109; May, 2001, Anne Knickerbocker, review of Splash!, p. 113; November, 2001, review of The Big, Big Wall, p. 124; April, 2002, Anne Chapman, review of Weird Friends, p. 128; May, 2002, Bina Williams, review of The Littlest Wolf, p. 105; October, 2003, Rosalyn Pierini, review of Turtle's Race with Beaver, p. 144; March, 2006, Rachel G. Payne, review of The Last Laugh, p. 174.