[26][27] Mandel's picture books for young children tend to be simple texts with only a few rhyming or rhythmic phrases per page.
[28][29] Zoo Ah-Choooo, illustrated by Elwood Smith (Holiday House, 2012), fits this template, adding exaggerated animal sounds into the mix.
[30] His picture book, Jackhammer Sam (Macmillan/Roaring Brook, 2011), picks up on the sound of a pneumatic drill, something Mandel recalls from growing up in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood.
[32][33] Mandel’s Bun, Onion, Burger (Simon & Schuster, 2010) was named a Summer 2010 Children's Indie Next Pick by the American Booksellers Association,[34] and the equally simple Red Cat White Cat, illustrated by Clare Mackie (Henry Holt, 1994), was an American Bookseller Pick of the Lists and received a starred review in Kirkus.
was followed by several picture books including Hank Aaron: Brave in Every Way by Peter Golenbock (Harcourt, 2001) and Roberto Clemente: Pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates by Jonah Winter (Atheneum, 2008).