Kevin Henkes, Peggy Rathman and David Shannon are three award-winning writer-illustrators whose picture books are consistently on target. Much of their excellence comes from knowing the minds of elementary-aged students. This fall all three have published books for the toddler-preschool set and all three new titles miss the mark.

You'll find David Shannon's originality of thought and fanciful art in books like How Georgie Radbourn Saved Baseball or The Amazing Christmas Extravaganza. His newest, No David, is a book he wrote when he was five years old. The story's hero is an out of control preschooler who's into everything and hears "No David" at every turn. While the theme is far from fresh, it might work for a beginning reader as there are few words per page, much repetition, and the illustrations are hysterical. My concern is that parents will be seduced by the playful artwork and recognition of this familiar trait and get it for their younger children. Though the ending is positive, too much of this book focuses on the nos that are already ever present in the world of a very young child.

One of Peggy Rathman's specialties is extending her text with illustration. Her Caldecott-winning Officer Buckle and Gloria is brilliant and the subtext lights up the storyline. Her newest, 10 Minutes Until Bedtime, is, on the surface the story of a child preparing for bed with periodic countdown reminders shouted by his parents from downstairs. The visual subtext tells the story of what's happening upstairs as bus loads of vacationing hamsters perform wild antics to a child who's trying to get ready for bed. Of course the parents see and understand nothing. Unfortunately, I'm afraid the preschooler won't either and a child old enough to appreciate the hamster goings-on will no longer care about bedtime rituals.

Kevin Henkes is the only one of these three who does not illustrate his own new picture book. Henkes is best knowing for his mice characters like Lilly of purple plastic purse fame who is also the sister of Julius Baby of the World. Henkes knows, like no one else, how to express emotions in the language of the young child. Past works have themes of shame, pride, confusion, and sibling rivalry. His newest book, Circle Dogs, is a younger concept book that tries to merge shapes with story. The retro illustrations by Dan Yaccarino are as flat and monotonous as the text.

I admire artists who break new ground and I hope Henkes, Shannon and Rathmann will go on to do more exploring. Too many successful artists stop experimenting when they've achieved near perfect picture books. Perfect picture books for very young children are exacting. They must match a child's emotional, experiential, and interest development. I'm hoping all three of these artist can pull it off!