From The Horn Book, Inc.
Simon and his grandmotherly neighbor, Mrs. Potter, from The Missing Sunflowers, go camping to bird-watch. Simon, busily intent on collecting acorns, misses all the wildlife until the next morning when he comes face to face with a moose. Intensely colored acrylics blend accuracy with mood, adding further interest to the quiet story of two nature lovers.
Copyright © 1998 The Horn Book, Inc

From School Library Journal
On one summer afternoon, young Simon travels up a nearby mountain with his next-door neighbor to camp overnight and do some birdwatching. In his eagerness to collect acorns, the boy reacts too slowly to see the birds that Mrs. Potter spots with her binoculars, and he feels even more let down when a thunderstorm arrives at bedtime. However, when he sees a moose standing at the edge of the lake at daybreak, Simon finally knows his own special moment. Later on, at home, he plants a special acorn — a gift from Mrs. Potter — in his garden so he can watch its slow, magical growth into a tree. Simon and Mrs. Potter were originally introduced in The Missing Sunflowers (Greenwillow, 1997). In both stories, the older woman offers the boy small lessons in nature along with some simple but profound insights into life. Heavily applied acrylics in shades of green, orange, and blue create impressionist style paintings that range in size from smaller vignettes to full double-page spreads. This quiet, reassuring story of intergenerational friendship can be used to introduce young children to the beauty and mysteries of nature and as a lead-in to informational books on animal behavior such as those by Jim Arnosky.
– Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH

From School Library Journal
Simon's neighbor Mrs. Potter gives the boy three sunflower plants as a thank you for feeding the birds while she was away. He plants them and gives them attentive care, but is devastated when one large blossom disappears. The same thing happens to the other two, and since their whereabouts are unknown, Simon begins to suspect everyone, including the postman and a girl riding by on her bicycle. His parents and Mrs. Potter share his sadness and try to help him; finally, the child discovers that a squirrel, not a human, has taken the sunflowers. This realistic story is engaging, and the acrylic illustrations extend its meaning. The mystery of the disappearance can be speculated upon by first-time listeners. Also, a fine discussion possibility exists in Simon's honest, well-portrayed negative emotions, as he states, "I hate that squirrel! How dare it kill my sunflower?" Mrs. Potter gives Simon the wisdom of age, but not in a preachy way, suggesting that the squirrel may have thought it was his flower. In the end, they try again, planting sunflower seeds this time, with a dash of red pepper to keep the squirrel away.
– Carolyn Jenks, First Parish Unitarian Church, Portland, ME

From Kirkus Reviews
Stern's first book is part mystery, part natural history, part philosophy. Even though Simon's younger brother, Jack, is scornful, Simon wants a garden of sunflowers. He's delighted when his neighbor, Mrs. Potter, gives him three sunflower plants to thank him for feeding her birds for a few days. Once the sunflowers are planted, Jack, too, sees their leonine, yellow beauty, and he wants one. First one sunflower bloom disappears, then another; Simon keeps one eye on the remaining flower and the other on possible suspects. When, toward the end of the summer, Mrs. Potter lends Simon a bird book and binoculars, the last sunflower disappears. She is there when he solves the mystery and offers wise counsel: ``Sometimes the most precious things are the ones we can't keep.'' That includes the birds whose wild beauty Simon now recognizes and whose names he's beginning to know. There's much to think about here, and Ruff breathes summer's warmth into the mixture with her sunny palette.

From Publishers Weekly
Brief sentences, punchy dialogue, ample art and a plucky young hero make Stern's (The Missing Sunflowers) roundup of three tales a fine fit for youngsters just beginning to read on their own. "Sometimes it is good to wait," cautions George's teacher wisely, though patience does not come easily for the impetuous boy. But he learns. For example, while helping to bake bread as a class project, George discovers that he can't rush the all-important "secret agent" (aka yeast). And at the school fair, the boy regrets his impulsive decision to put all his tickets toward a raffle as he watches his brother and sister use theirs to play various games. Stern slips a valuable message into these tidy capers while maintaining a light touch and capping each story off with a comic twist. Sims's (illustrator of the Kids of the Polk Street School series) energetic, pen-and-ink with watercolor pictures play a strong supporting role in portraying George's high spirits. Most youngsters will recognize at least a sliver of themselves in this feisty character.
Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

From School Library Journal
Three short stories about exhuberant irrepressible George. Every school has children and situations similar to those described here, so readers will relate to each episode. In the first, a classroom rabbit escapes from his cage and runs wild until George comes to the rescue. The second chapter is about making bread on project day. The third describes the difficulty he has about deciding how to spend his limited funds at the school fair. When he tries to figure the angles for winning the raffle for two box seats at a baseball game and doesn't succeed, he looks on the bright side, hoping to do better next year. George's character traits are unusually well developed in spite of the spare vocabulary. His positive spirit and good sportsmanship shine through even when things don't go his way. Young readers will be encouraged to follow George's example in their own group activities. Simple, colorful cartoons add to the humor. The stories will satisfy the desire of early readers to reach the "chapter book" status. A good choice for independent reading or as a read-aloud.
– Betty Teague, Blythe Academy of Languages, Greensville, SC

Selected as one of the Best Children's Books of the Year for 2001
by The Children’s Book Committee at Bank Street College of Education

From Booklist
The sequel to George (1999), about a good-hearted kid with a talent for getting into humorous situations, focuses on George's relationship with his amiable goofy dog, Diggety. The book follows George and Diggety through three short, easy to read chapters, loaded with funny dialogue and situational twists. The first chapter, "Dog Test," puts Diggety through his paces as George and his brother and sister grapple with a magazine quiz on how to measure a dog's IQ. The second chapter, "Sledding," has the siblings attempting to make Diggety a sled dog. The last chapter, "Diggety's Birthday," involves a mix-up over dog biscuits and dinner (a recipe for biscuits is included). Blanche Sims' cartoonlike illustrations, often several to a page, capture the movement and the silliness of the goings on. Similar in setup and spirit to the Amelia Bedelia books, the George books are another fun-filled way to move children from picture books to chapter books.
– Connie Fletcher

From Horn Book Magazine
George, first seen in George, is the kind of energetic and enthusiastic youngster who manages to bring both aggravation and joy to those he encounters. In this sequel, George and his dog Diggety, a floppy-eared, good-natured canine version of his master, share three adventures in which George gives Diggety a doggy intelligence test, takes the pooch sledding, and bakes dog biscuits for Diggety's birthday. Or that's what he intends to do. Each chapter ends with comic irony. George wears himself out trying to get Diggety to realize his potential; Diggety wears George out bounding up the sledding hill. In the concluding story, the whole family devours the homemade dog biscuits (Stern includes an easy-to-follow recipe for these puppy/people snacks), leaving Diggety treatless — until he devours their hamburger dinner. Like the previous book, the tone is light, the language natural, and the adventures well within the familiar patterns of childhood. Blanche Sims's illustrations depict George as a happy-go-lucky boy reveling in whatever the day brings. In addition, when Stern uses repetitive sequences and sentences, a valuable redundancy important for developing fluency, Sims employs a series of single frames, encouraging youngsters to pick up their reading pace and not labor over each familiar phrase.
– Betty Carter, ©2000 The Horn Book, Inc.