Take the challenge! Stella Diaz takes the challenge on multiple levels. As a new fourth grader she must take on the challenge of more homework and social relationships – boy-girl dynamics and teamwork assignments. She also challenges herself in her two favorite areas – oceanography and art. But, oh my! Can she take the challenge of a new family dynamic? Can she fulfill her dreams?

The unbreakable bond between Moose and his owner Zara is brilliantly conveyed through metaphor; "Hello smelled like homemade cookies" but "Goodbye was hide without seek. Entertaining antics flood each colorful page that lead to a problem-solved, "hello" resolution.

Fogliano draws the reader into the memory of each season's sensory delights and opportunities for reflection: hot sand on the edge of the sea in summer, November showers that are "practice for snow". Poems are concise and rhythmic for sharing aloud and each is dated to further draw young readers into a journal-like experience of the year in all its glorious variety. A beautiful addition to the par ...