Hazel Buys (Children's Literature)
Jenna goes on an errand to the market and, on the way, meets animals who ask her about different parts of her face. The elephant wants to know why her nose is so odd. Jenna tells the elephant that it’s a good nose because of the wonderful things she can smell with it. The bird wants to know what use she can make of her poor excuse of a beak. Jenna tells her it is her mouth and she can talk and eat with it. The fly is astonished she can see anything at all with only two eyes. Jenna tells the fly how well her two eyes work for her. The goldfish finds her ears pretty useless until Jenna explains what she hears with them. Each animal pronounces Jenna beautiful because she possesses such a wonderful nose/eyes/ears/mouth. Together, the animals accompany Jenna to the market where she buys treats for each, including one for herself. This is a fresh approach to helping a child explore the parts of her face and relating them to the same ears, eyes, nose and mouth the child sees on animals and insects in the natural world. The simple drawings are a good accompaniment to this story and provide a sense of fun, as well as adding visual detail to the text. 2006, Roaring Brook Press, $16.95. Ages 3 to 6.

Joan Kindig, Ph.D. (Children's Literature)
As Jenna strolls happily along to the market, she meets a variety of animals. All of them mistake her for one of their own species and comment on how strange she is. The elephant thinks she has a strange nose and doubts she can do all of the things he can do with his nose. Jenna sets the record straight with an earnestness and certainty only a little girl can muster and shows him where her nose is and what she uses it for. Each animal agrees that she makes a beautiful little girl and joins the procession to the market. Told with a spot-on eye and ear for young children, the story ends in a satisfying way (in more than one way!). The clear, unbusy illustrations mirror the straightforwardness of Jenna’s perspective. This is a lap book that little ones will echo with their parents in many a cozy chair before bedtime. 2006, Roaring Brook Press, $16.95. Ages 3 to 7.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, July 15, 2006 (Vol. 74, No. 14))
Successively meeting Baby Elephant, Robin, Fly and Goldfish en route to market, self-possessed "big girl" Jenna chats them up with aplomb. Acting much like preschoolers themselves, each animal assumes that Jenna should resemble it. Robin remarks on the girl's "silly beak," while Fly asks, "Where are your 100 eyes?" The encounters allow Schwartz to deliver, through her sturdy heroine, an incidental anatomy lesson perfectly pitched to her audience. Spare watercolor-and-ink illustrations contrast animal abilities with Jenna's, as they exchange questions ("Do you pick up peanuts with your nose? Do you spray water on your back on a hot day?") and answers (" 'Actually . . . with my nose I smell daisies and roses . . . I smell Mama when we hug' "). Schwartz reduces an elephant's tail to a single-inked line tipped with a tuft of hair, and a beak to a yellow triangle. While the text makes Jenna's fantasy plausible, the whimsical pictures extend it, offering bright, exotic flora, an outsized fly and an elephant ride for Jenna. Sweetly affirming. 2006, Roaring Brook, 32p, $16.95. Category: Picture book. Ages 3 to 5. © 2006 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.