Publishers are offering a profusion of new choices for beginning readers this year. Here's a closer look at some of the best new possibilities for children learning to read:

• Young readers can encounter classic characters in new situations with the newly minted "My Readers" series published by Square Fish, an imprint of Macmillan Children's Publishing Group.

Among the stars of this series, aimed at readers ages 3 to 7, are Black Beauty, the beloved horse character created by Anna Sewell; Harry Cat and Tucker Mouse, two characters from "The Cricket in Times Square" by George Selden; and Carl, the baby-sitting Rottweiler who stars in the popular picture books by author/illustrator Alexandra Day.

As is typical in beginning-readers series, the books — each priced at $15.99 — are offered at various reading levels, with the "Carl" books labeled as Level 1, the easiest level, the Harry Cat and Tucker Mouse books as Level 2 and the Black Beauty books as Level 3. Since each publisher has its own way of "leveling" books, however, the levels suggested by publishers aren't necessarily helpful, and it's always best for parents to determine for themselves — or ask their local public librarian — which books work best for their beginning reader.

Still, there's no doubt about the charm of the "My Reader" books, especially with their emphasis on a "great story." In "Carl and the Puppies," for example, readers are treated to a hilarious look at how Carl baby-sits some rowdy puppies, while in "Carl and the Baby Duck," they can see how good Carl is at rounding up a missing baby duck.

Young readers are introduced to characters from "The Cricket in Times Square" in "Harry to the Rescue!" and "Tucker's Beetle Band," both written by Thea Feldman and illustrated by Olga and Aleksey Ivanov. And the legend of "Black Beauty"comes alive for beginning readers in "Black Beauty and the Thunderstorm" and "Black Beauty Stolen!" by Susan Hill and illustrated by Bill Farnsworth.

• Several years ago, TOON Books publishers burst onto the scene with an entirely new concept for helping children learn to read. Instead of the typical beginning reader, in which the text is dominant and the illustrations may — or may not — offer clues to the text, TOON Books turned things around. In TOON Books, the illustrations, which are done comic-book style, are dominant, allowing readers to understand the entire story just by "reading"the illustrations. The text offers additional details.

TOON Books offerings have won considerable critical acclaim, including a Geisel Award — the top American Library Association award for beginning readers — for "Benny and Penny in the Big No-No!," written and illustrated by Geoffrey Hayes, and a Geisel Honor for "Stinky," written and illustrated by Eleanor Davies.

Now TOON Books offers two delightful new selections: "Benjamin Bear in Fuzzy Thinking," written and illustrated by Philippe Coudray; and "Nina in That Makes Me Mad!," based on a text by Steven Kroll and illustrated by Hilary Knight (the illustrator of the "Eloise" books by Kay Thompson). Both books are $12.95 and aimed at readers ages 4-7.

• Author Cynthia Rylant is the queen of series for beginning readers. Her popular series for new readers includes "Henry and Mudge," with its books "Annie and Snowball," "Poppleto," "Mr. Putter & Tabby," and "The High-Rise Private Eyes."

This season, Rylant offers two new series books. In "Mr. Putter & Tabby Ring the Bell" (Harcourt, $14.99, ages 4-7), illustrated by Arthur Howard, Mr. Putter and Mrs. Teaberry bring their pets — cat Tabby and dog Zeke — to the local school for a show-and-tell day with hilariously disastrous results.

In "Annie and Snowball and the Book Bugs Club," Rylant — joined by illustrator Sucie Stevenson — shows what happens when Henry and his cousin, Annie, decide to join the local library's summer "Book Bugs Club."

• A new series published by Holiday House offers beginning-reader books in a picture-book format. Because they are larger in size than the typical beginning-reader book, the colorfully illustrated books in the "I Like to Read" series offer an enticing alternative for many children just starting to read.

In addition, the books in the series, which cost $14.95 each and are aimed at kids ages 4-7, are written and illustrated by established picture-book authors whose work already may be familiar to many young readers. The first four books in the "I Like to Read" series are: "See Me Run," written and illustrated by Paul Meisel; "Boy, Bird and Dog," written and illustrated by David McPhail; "Dinosaurs Don't, Dinosaurs Do," written and illustrated by Steve Bjorkman; and "The Lion and the Mice," written and illustrated by Rebecca and Ed Emberley.

Karen MacPherson, the children's/teen librarian at the Takoma Park, Md., Library, can be reached at Kam.Macpherson@gmail.com.