Grammy-winning pop star and American Idol winner Clarkson makes her children's book debut with a by-the-numbers story about a girl's magical trip to the zoo. The night before her first-ever zoo visit, River Rose (named after and inspired by Clarkson's daughter) has trouble settling down for bedtime until her mother sings her a lullaby. In the middle of the night, River Rose discovers a cluster of magical balloons outside her bedroom window; they whisk her to a zoo where she meets and romps around with a variety of animals ("She turned on all the lights and sang, 'There's so much I want to see./ Lions, tiger, bears, oh my!... Let's have a zoo party!'") before returning home. Uneven rhythms and somewhat forced rhymes don't do much to distinguish Clarkson's verse, but Hughes's mixed-media artwork, featuring wispy pencil lines and exuberant scenes of animals at play, contributes to the festive mood of River Rose's journey. A downloadable version of Clarkson's lullaby will be made available online. Ages 4-8. Author's agency: CAA. Illustrator's agency: Bright Agency. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Red Rose, a little girl giddy about a pending zoo trip, takes a magical trip there in the middle of the night. After reveling with the animals, she sings the polar bears to sleep with her mother's lullaby. The festive mood and premise are hindered by uneven rhymes and an unclear resolution; energetic ink, paint, and collage illustrations add appeal. A downloadable song by Clarkson is available. (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.