Spring Sail — Larry Dane Brimner

PreS-Gr 1-These books are a confusing mix of fact and fantasy and the series title is misleading. In Spring, two African-American children sail newspaper boats in the street (a possible safety concern). On the next page, these toys magically transform into real boats and the children sail along with various anthropomorphic animal friends. Later, the youngsters are shown climbing up a rainbow. Similarly, Summery Day shows some sort of sea monster at the beach, and in Winter, penguins on ice skates join in the fun. A book that intends to teach should stick to the facts. Although the illustrations are fun and capture a child's imagination, they don't make up for the books' limitations.-Melinda Piehler, Sawgrass Elementary School, Sunrise, FL Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.