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Blog: Children's Book Reviews and Then Some (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Graphic Novel, Beginning Readers, TOON BOOKS, Reading Level 2, auto/biography, aauthor: Gravel, Add a tag
Blog: Children's Book Reviews and Then Some (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Robots, Beginning Readers, Series, Reading Level 2, Literary Rabbits, aauthor: Bell, Add a tag
Blog: Children's Book Reviews and Then Some (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: TOON BOOKS, Reading Level 2, aauthor: Hayes, Sibling Stories, Beginning Readers, Add a tag
Blog: Children's Book Reviews and Then Some (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: aauthor: Sturm, Graphic Novel, Beginning Readers, Series, TOON BOOKS, Reading Level 2, Add a tag
If you have read even a few beginning readers, you know that unlikely friends and the complexities of friendship are the staple of this genre. With Ape and Armadillo, Sturm has created the only duo who could even remotely rival Frog and Toad. And an armadillo! How many armadillo characters are there in kid's books to begin with? Happily, the title page shows Ape juggling, a curled up Armadillo among the balls in the air. Sturm's illustrations are superb - crisp and colorful and filled with motion and emotion.
Blog: Children's Book Reviews and Then Some (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Robots, Beginning Readers, TOON BOOKS, Reading Level 1.5, aauthor: Richards, Add a tag
The robot climbs out of his his ship and begins to explore, always saying, "Blip," sometimes as statement, an exclamation or even a question. Richards's planet is a strange one, filled with curious details that you will want to spend time with. The robot goes over land and under water, meeting all kinds of creatures, even a human.
Blog: Children's Book Reviews and Then Some (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: aauthor: Cecil, Picture Books, Beginning Readers, Dog story, New in Hardcover, Reading Level 2, Add a tag
Blog: Children's Book Reviews and Then Some (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Beginning Readers, Series, Reading Level 1, aauthor: Virjan, Add a tag
Blog: Children's Book Reviews and Then Some (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Picture Books, Beginning Readers, Series, Reading Level 1, Add a tag
Blog: Children's Book Reviews and Then Some (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Beginning Readers, Reading Level 1.5, Birthday Theme, aauthor: Schneider, Add a tag
I reviewed the picture book Everybody Sleeps (But Not Fred) by Josh Schneider earlier this year and LOVED it. Schneider is a hilarious author and a hilarious illustrator, as his rhyming story about Fred, who has a "to-do list you wouldn't believe," proves. Fred needs to stay awake to do things like practice his karate chops and warm up for a yelling contest while animals from all over
Blog: Kid Lit Reviews (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Children's Books, Picture Book, Dr. Seuss, Favorites, beginning readers, rhyming picture book, repetition, phonetics, 5stars, Library Donated Books, HarperCollins Children’s Books, Emma J. Virján, Pig in a Wig, swimming in a moat, What This Story Needs Is a Pig in a Wig!, Add a tag
What This Story Needs Is a Pig in a Wig
Written & Illustrated by Emma J. Virján
HarperCollins Children’s Books
05/12/2015
978-0-06-232724-6
32 pages Age 1—3
“What this story needs is a pig in a wig on a boat with some friends having fun in the sun–So come on board! Join Pig on an exciting boat ride where she discovers that life is a lot more fun with more friends.”[back cover]
Review
NOTE: This review is a tad unusual. It mixes my traditional review format with interview questions asked of the pig in a wig.
What This Story Needs Is a Pig in a Wig will instantly remind you of dear ole Dr. Seuss. The author employs fast-paced writing combined with simple, but effective, rhymes young children will love to hear and repeat. The narrator sends Pig, wearing a stunning pink wig—what is with that wig—sailing the moat in a boat. Why would a pig wear a wig? Well, I asked Pig and she said (rather emphatically),
“Wigs are fun and I’m a pig that loves to have fun!”
If you venture to Pig’s website—and I do suggest you do—you will find Pig is not simply a pink wig gal.
Back to the story: One by one, the narrator adds a menagerie of interesting, kid-friendly animals to the boat in the moat. A frog, a dog, and a goat on a log join Pig in her wig. But there are more. A rat, wearing a cool hat, sits on a trunk—belonging to an elephant—with a skunk, who is with a mouse in a house. I was beginning to wonder what other animal could possibly be added to the small boat in the moat, when Pig yelled at the narrator. I asked Pig why she stopped all of the narrator’s fun. I thought it was very exciting having rhyming animals set sail. Pig had a different point of view:
“It was getting crowded, too crowded — a frog, a dog, a goat on a log,
a rat in a hat on a trunk, with a skunk, in a house, with a mouse AND
a panda in a blouse? It was more than my little, pink boat could handle.”
Pig is right, the small boat is crowded. So, beginning with the Panda—she performs a cannonball—the narrator reverses course, sending the animals out of the boat and into the moat. Once they leave, the narrator changes the story:
“What this story needs
is a pig in a wig,
on a boat,
in a moat,
having fun,
in the sun,
on her own . . .”
Now, all alone in her boat, Pig is sailing the moat. I think Pig is lonely and realizes she enjoyed her new animal friends. So the pig in a pink wig called for her new friends to return. Taking charge of the narration, Pig decides what the story needs . . .
Pig in a Wig, is a fun story young children will love to hear. The rhyming is simple, yet smart and witty. Kids will be reciting Pig in a Wig and, hopefully, figuring out their own rhyming group of friends. The illustrations are clean and engaging. Many pages hold surprises, such as a pig snout rug, Frog doing a hand-stand, and Dog and Goat holding hands. Dr. Seuss would love Pig in a Wig, which happens to be the same size as an iconic Dr. Seuss book. The simple story will charm young children during story time at school or a library. What This Story Needs Is a Pig in a Wig is so much fun to read I hope to see Pig in new stories.
I asked one last question, wondering, with all those charismatic animals on board, who is Pig’s favorite passenger. She said,
“Well . . . none were my favorite at the beginning, as they were all getting
in my way of having fun in the sun! At the end though, ALL of them were
my favorite, with Goat on his log being my extra, extra favorite.”
WHAT THIS STORY NEEDS IS A PIG IN A WIG. Text and illustrations copyright (C) 2015 by . Reproduced by permission of the publisher, HarperCollins Children’s Books, New York, NY.
Purchase What This Story Needs is a Pig in a Wig at Amazon—Book Depository—Apple iBooks—HarperCollins Children’s Books.
Learn more about What This Story Needs is a Pig in a Wig HERE.
There are Coloring Sheet HERE,
An Activity Guide HERE,
And a Teacher’s Guide HERE.
Pig in a Wig’s website: http://emmavirjan.com/pig-in-a-wig/
Meet the author/illustrator, Emma J. Virján, at her website: http://www.emmavirjan.com
Find more engaging picture books a the HarperCollins Children’s Books website: http://www.harpercollins.com/
x
Copyright © 2015 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews. All Rights Reserved
Review section word count = 453
Full Disclosure: What This Story Needs is a Pig in a Wig, by Emma J. Virján, and received from HarperCollins Children’s Books, is in exchange NOT for a positive review, but for an HONEST review. The opinions expressed are my own and no one else’s. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Filed under: 5stars, Children's Books, Favorites, Library Donated Books, Picture Book Tagged: beginning readers, Dr. Seuss, Emma J. Virján, HarperCollins Children’s Books, phonetics, Pig in a Wig, repetition, rhyming picture book, swimming in a moat, What This Story Needs Is a Pig in a Wig! Add a Comment
Blog: Children's Book Reviews and Then Some (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Beginning Readers, Series, New in Hardcover, Reading Level 1.5, aauthor: Shea, Add a tag
Bob Shea is a very funny guy. He is also a very funny guy who gets kids. Best of all, he can blend his humor with his grasp of a child's psyche and translate it onto the page in pictures and words, which is not easy. Way back in 2010 I loved and reviewed Dinosaur vs. the Potty when it came out and read it over and over at story time. While I've been keeping up with reading Shea's books,
Blog: Children's Book Reviews and Then Some (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Mystery, Beginning Readers, New in Hardcover, Reading Level 2, aauthor: Newman, Add a tag
The Case of the Missing Carrot Cake by Robin Newman and illustrated by Deborah Zemke is a fantastic new book from Creston Books, a homegrown publisher of books printed in America that launched in Fall of 2013. Of course I love a good story, but I also love a beautifully made book and all of Creston's books fit this bill, as you can glimpse in the photo below, and by taking a look inside The
Blog: Children's Book Reviews and Then Some (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Picture Books, Beginning Readers, Add a tag
Being an elementary school librarian has changed how I think (and feel) about books in really positive ways. During the decades that I was a children's bookseller, I had the luxury of being selective and critical with my tastes. Now, of course I am still critical and selective, but I am also more open minded in how I think about a book. What This Book Needs is a Pig in a Wig by Emma Virján is
Blog: A Fuse #8 Production (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Uncategorized, beginning readers, easy books, Add a tag
A patron walks up to your children’s reference desk. Asks for books for beginning readers. The patron has a small child who is just at the very very beginning of learning to read and needs books with simple words. No big long sentences. Nothing too intense. Just the basics. You walk over to your easy section and look at the titles. And that’s when it hits you . . . easy easy? Basic books? Is there anything harder in the world to find sometimes?
I mention this because there’s been a lot of discussion amongst my fellows concerning the most basic readers. I’m talking books that come before you get to The Cat in the Hat. I remember with crystal clear clarity how I would have to turn time and again to the Berenstain book Old Hat, New Hat or other equally useful, equally old books. Where were the really really basic easy books out there that are currently being published? The advent of the Geisel Award for books for beginning readers is a marvelous place to go to try to find such books but even they trend a bit older.
The real problem here is that there’s no consistency between publisher reading level ratings. What might be a “3″ to one publisher is a straightforward “2″ to another. But having your books Lexiled (is that a verb) or otherwise leveled costs publishers money. Money they might not have if they’re a small operation. As a result, leveling often profits the big guys able to produce the cash upfront.
Now there are two series that meet the needs of the very very early reader. They don’t get a lot of attention or press but I figure they’re worth mentioning.
First off, there’s the Holiday House series “I Like to Read“. When looking for very very basic beginning reader books, this series has a lot to offer. First off, they get glorious artists like the Lewins or Emily Arnold McCully or David McPhail to provide the art. Then you’ve incredibly simple wordplay. On the back of each book is the leveling information too, just in case you’ve a patron insisting on such a thing. Their sole drawback? The size. To show off the art properly the books are the size of your average picture book (8″ X 10″). But if your library is anything like mine, the easy reader section contains only books, and consequently shelving, around 9″ X 6″ or so. And as much as you’d like to shelve this series with the other easy books, logistically it just doesn’t work. So you end up putting them in the picture book area, where they get lost amongst the more lengthy texts. If a librarian knows to recognize their singular blue spines then it isn’t a problem. However, until some are released in the standard easy reader format (something I hope for) they’ll never quite become as well known as they deserve to be.
The other series I like is the Blue Apple Press books Flip-a-Word series. These books take very simple words and combine them in multiple ways, drilling them home. They’re akin to phonics without actually being phonics. Initially when I purchased them I put them in the picture book section but my librarians objected vociferously and we realized that they could do a lot more good in the easy reader section (they’re the right size anyway). Though they didn’t get any reviews initially, after perusing the titles I can attest that they’re well done. Smart writing, smart ideas.
So what are the other really really basic series you know of?
Blog: Children's Book Reviews and Then Some (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: aauthor: Ward, Beginning Readers, Series, Add a tag
2014 has been a very exciting year for emerging readers. Publishers finally got the message and started paying more attention to readers who are ready to move beyond leveled readers, but not quite ready to make the jump to chapter books like Magic Tree House and Junie B. Jones. With less pages, more illustrations, larger font, I have labeled these series Bridge Chapter Books. For years,
Blog: The Children's and Teens' Book Connection (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: children's book, bedtime stories, counting books, Books for preschoolers, Children's picture books, Wee Creek Press, Anita Banks, picture book, Education, Beginning Readers, Add a tag
Anita Banks has lived in Alabama since she was six years old, she raised three children and has four grandchildren. They are the inspiration for her writing. She likes the adventures and escapes that stories allow you to explore and the myriad of emotions you feel. Anita loves to travel, read and has recently started running.
Thank you for joining us today, Anita. Can you please start off by telling us a bit about yourself?
Thank you for having me here. I am a new author with my first picture book titled, Tanner Builds a Block Tower. I am excited as puppy with a new toy. I am a wife, mother, grandmother. My favorite new activity is running, I started because I needed to get some activity from sitting in a chair for more than nine hours for my day job. I started two years ago, and have found the running community where I live to be a great group of people that are passionate about the sport and are supportive of new runners. I started with a training program to run a 5k and have progressed to three half marathons so far.
When did you first get bit by the writing bug?
I have loved reading since my introduction to Dick and Jane and Dr. Seuss. I am constantly reading something all the time. When I was in junior high school, I had a creative writing class. That was when the writing bug stung me. But when family and life took over, I put the dream aside and just occasionally thought of it.
Why did you decide to write stories for children?
Probably for the simple joy children’s books give to a reader. I enjoy reading to children and seeing their smiles and their happiness in asking you to read to them. I wanted to contribute to that happiness. And it’s fun.
Do you believe it is harder to write books for a younger audience?
I personally have nothing to compare it to, yet. Maybe I will give another genre a try someday. The other writing I do is journaling for myself.
What is your favorite part of writing for young people?
I like the writing, I like putting the words to paper, or rather the screen. They have to be edited quite a bit before I’m done. But seeing the story unfold on the screen is probably my favorite part.
Can you tell us what your latest book is all about?
Tanner Builds a Block Tower is about a little boy who is determined to build a tower with his blocks. But on the way to his destination he get distracted by different animals and insects. He also loses some of his blocks. So he has to find them to finish what he started. Determination and perseverance is the theme.
What inspired you to write it?
The inspiration for this book, was my grandson, Tanner. On a visit when he was about three years old, he loved to play with his building blocks and build towers, over and over. He was fascinated with this repetitive play. We also went on numerous walks, he loved to explore the outdoors, and still does. So it seemed a natural fit to combine the two activities.
What is up next for you?
I am shopping out two more picture books, and writing a chapter book right now.
Do you have anything else to add?
Thank you so much for having me. I hope you enjoy my book.
Thank you for spending time with us today, Anita. We wish you much success.
Blog: Here in the Bonny Glen (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: posts guaranteed to make his godmother melt, Books, Family, Garth Williams, beginning readers, Picture Book Spotlight, Margaret Wise Brown, Huck, The Little Fur Family, Add a tag
Here’s a little moment in time. Right after I read The Little Fur Family to Huck (for the first time!) the other day, he wanted to read it himself. This is one of my favorite picture books to read with very young kids, and I can’t imagine how it slipped past Huck until now—I found this copy of the book at the bottom of a box of toys earlier in the week. Of course the very best edition is the tiny one with the faux-fur cover. It’s around here somewhere, but I don’t recall seeing it in ages. It’s probably under a bed.
Anyway, when I grabbed my boy for the read-aloud, he was reluctant to listen, as he very often is right at the beginning. And then, as nearly always happens, before I finish the first page, he’s hooked. It went double this time around. He fell hard for the little fur child in the wild, wild wood, like so many before him.
I caught a good chunk of his reading on video. There’s background noise from his big sisters and brother, but you can hear him pretty well. I love watching the leaps kids make at this age—the substitutions where they think they see where the word is going and plug in one they know, like his “fun children” for “fur child” and “mom” for “mother.”
I don’t know if I caught this stage on video with any of the other kids. I have a pretty young Rilla reading an Ariel speech from The Tempest—you can’t hear much in the recording but it melts me to see the confidence with which she attacks some quite challenging text—but nothing, as far as I can recall, of the others at Huck’s stage. I’m glad I captured this much. Those sneezes!
Add a CommentBlog: Jen Robinson (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Early Elementary School, early reader, chicks, Reviews, counting, beginning readers, rooster, Newsletter, numbers, Add a tag
Book: Ten Eggs in a Nest (Bright and Early Books for Beginning Readers)
Author: Marily Sadler
Illustrator: Michael Fleming
Pages: 48
Age Range: 3-7
Ten Eggs in a Nest is an early reader from the Bright and Early Books collection. In my house, we've found it to be quite educational (and fun) for a pre-reader, too. The premise of the story is that Gwen the chicken and Red Rooster are going to be parents. Out of supersition ("It's bad luck to count your eggs before they hatch.") Gwen won't tell Red how many eggs there are. As the eggs hatch, in increasing size batches (starting with one), Red rushes off to the worm store. Each time, before he gets back, there are more chicks, with a total of ten.
This book works as an early reader. The words and sentence structure are simple (though not boring), and there is plenty of repetition. It also works as a counting and simple addition book. Like this:
"ONE plus TWO makes THREE baby chicks!" said Gwen.
ONE! TWO! THREE!"
And, laterL
"ONE plus TWO plus THREE plus FOUR makes TEN baby chicks!" clucked Gwen.
As a read-aloud, it's enjoyable, though I did find myself skimming by the fourth or fifth read. I think for new readers the repetition will provide scaffolding, and work well. The capitalizing of the text of the numbers helps to highlight those, too.
I think what made my daughter ask to read it again (and again) was a combination of the fun of doing the counting, and the charm of Red Rooster. He's so proud when his babies are born - it's really adorable. Like this:
"Red strutted into Worm World.
He held his head high.
He puffed his chest out.
Pinky Pig was behind the counter."
There's also repeated humor when Red is surprised and says that you could have knocked him over with a feather. That, together with the "don't count your chicks before they are hatched" gives parents a chance to introduce the idea of sayings.
Michael Fleming's illustrations are boldly colored and inviting, with thick outlines and a spare use of texture. The birds are not representational, but they are all cute, especially the strutting red. My daughter noticed that the sign in Worm World is written with worm shapes, and she was quite charmed by this detail.
all in all, Ten Eggs in a Nest is an early reader done well. It's definitely worth a look, and worth adding to school and public libraries.I look forward to trying it again when my daughter is actually ready to read.
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (@RandomHouseKids)
Publication Date: January 28, 2014
Source of Book: Review copy from the publisher
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© 2014 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook.
Blog: Children's Book Reviews and Then Some (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Beginning Readers, Series, Reading Level 1.5, aauthor: Kochalka, Science Fiction, Graphic Novel, Add a tag
<!-- START INTERCHANGE - THE GLORKIAN WARRIOR DELIVERS A PIZZA -->if(!window.igic__){window.igic__={};var d=document;var s=d.createElement("script");s.src="http://iangilman.com/interchange/js/widget.js";d.body.appendChild(s);} <!-- END INTERCHANGE --> The Glorkian Warrior Delivers a Pizza is the newest graphic novel for kids from the multi-talented James Kochalka. I reviewed
Blog: (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: beginning readers, Central Africa, drought, African folk tale, Little Boy Good-for-Nothing and the Shongololo, Add a tag
Little Boy Good-for-Nothing and the Shongololo Brave Little Boy Good-for-Nothing must go to the rain-keeper’s hut to bring back the rain-cloud and save his village from drought. Fierce crocodiles guard the rain-cloud, but with the help of his friend the Shongololo, the monkey, the lion and the moon-moths, he rescues the animals that go bump in the night, sets free the moon, and becomes
Blog: Children's Book Reviews and Then Some (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Beginning Readers, books for boys, Reading Level 1, Animals as Characters, aauthor: Pilkey, Add a tag
I first posted this review in September of 2008, when my blog was barely a month old and I was racing to write reviews of all my favorite (and my children's) books. A new comment on these books reminded me how wonderful and rare they are and I decided to repost this review and hopefully introduce a whole new generation of emerging readers to these superb books! If you already know the DRAGON
Blog: The Cath in the Hat (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: beginning readers, Kate DiCamillo, Alison McGhee, Tony Fucile, Bink and Gollie: Best Friends Forever, Add a tag
In their third outing, Bink and Gollie are again true to form. Gollie is superior as ever and Bink as stubborn. Luckily these character traits make for some great stories. In the first of the three tales that make up this beginning reader, Gollie sees a photo of her great aunt wearing a crown. Always suspecting she came from royal blood, Gollie now has all the proof she needs. (I confess I have a slight preference for Gollie. Perhaps it has something to do with the nickname my family bestowed on me as a child: Her Majesty.) Gollie's haughty manner does not hold water with Bink, and how Gollie is brought back to her senses is subtly and touchingly portrayed.
Story two showcases Bink's pressing desire to be tall. She falls prey to an advertisement for a Stretch-o-Matic device, something akin to a medieval torture rack, only this one suspends you from the ceiling with weights. Needless to say, results don't turn out as planned, but Bink finds a way to be satisfied with her purchase. The last story has Bink and Gollie on the search for something to collect. Inspired by Flicker's Arcana of the Extraordinary, the girls attempt to get their names and photos in the hefty tome. In the end they succeed, but not in a way most readers would have predicted.
As always, Tony Fucile's illustrations are a delight and in this book they are especially strong. The image of Gollie standing all alone in the rain adds to the story's pathos and the depiction of what happens to the Stetch-o-Matic is dramatic indeed. I especially like the fun details Fucile includes, such as the portrait hanging on Bink's wall of Marcellus Gilmore Edson, inventor of peanut butter. According to Google, Edson did, in fact, hold a patent for peanut butter, issued in 1884. Who knew?
Bink & Gollie: Best Friends Forever
by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee
illustrations by Tony Fucile
Candlewich Press 96 pages
Published: April 2013
Blog: Children's Book Reviews and Then Some (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Reading Level 1.5, Poetry, Graphic Novel, Beginning Readers, Add a tag
Aside from Françoise Mouly (TOON BOOKS) and Art Speigelman's brillinat Little Lit collections of folklore, fairy tales and funny (and scary) stories, illustrated in comic book format by a truly remarkable collection of artists (Jules Feiffer, Maurice Sendak, Barbara McClintock, David Macaulay, Daniel Clowes and William Joyce, to name a few) and authors (see previous list and add: Lemony
Blog: Children's Book Reviews and Then Some (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Beginning Readers, TOON BOOKS, auuthor: French, Add a tag
<!-- START INTERCHANGE - BARRY'S BEST BUDDY -->if(!window.igic__){window.igic__={};var d=document;var s=d.createElement("script");s.src="http://iangilman.com/interchange/js/widget.js";d.body.appendChild(s);} <!-- END INTERCHANGE --> Something I especially love about TOON Books is the exposure I get to the works of acclaimed cartoonists from all over the world and the slightly left of
Blog: a wrung sponge (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: interviews, giveaways, authors, children's, chapter books, beginning readers, Preschool Kindergarten, Primary grades, blog tours, Add a tag
I am very excited today to be part of the Hilary McKay Blog Tour! Today she is stopping by for an interview focused mainly on her books Lulu and the Duck in the Park and Lulu and the Dog by the Sea. These two endearing early chapter books are a delight to read. I will be giving away copies to two lucky commentors on today's post, so make sure you stick around and put in your two cents at the
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I always look for Rookie Reader books. They typically have only one short sentence (maybe two) on each page.
Thank you for this post! I am a Title 1 teacher and I took time this summer to create a list of what’s at our local library organized by the leveling system we use at school (the DRA). The librarians and I were surprised to see how few titles were available for the earliest of readers. The Flip A Word books are very popular, but we don’t have the Holiday House books.
One trick we tell parents to use is to read the whole sentence except for the last word or a key word and have their child fill it in, pointing to the word together as he or she says it. Eric Carle books are great for this (Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? I see a ________ looking at me, etc.).
Maybe next summer I should work on writing books to fill in the gap!
There was a fantastic four book series by Kit Allen – each book was about the seasons and had one word on a page. Our son loved these books to death. Longjohns (winter) Swimsuit (Summer) etc.
http://www.amazon.com/Swimsuit-Kit-Allen/dp/0618263713/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417704789&sr=8-1&keywords=kit+allen
You should! I’ve thought of doing that myself. There surely is a need, if only I had a clever mind and could produce one.
If you do it librarians everywhere will sing your praises.
Having written a Random House Step Into Reading Step 1, I can say that they remain quite simple — no more than 32 characters in a line, no more than 2 lines on a page. No words more than 2 syllables, no contractions etc. Perhaps check these out? They tend to be simpler than most other step ones.
“Three Yellow Dogs” by Cohen. It’s an oldie but tried and true–witty and sweet and no child can fail with it. Unfortunately it’s a stand-alone.
My heart went out to the author of the article when I read that the Beginning Reader books at her library have to fit in a specific size shelving unit (for books 9”X6” – the typical size of a beginning reader book). I love the I Like to Read series! We have purchased all of them for our public library and I use that often with my son at home. When we first purchased them for our library, they were in the picture book section because of the size of the book (average 8” X 10”). But they are great books for kids just starting to read and we felt they were getting lost in the picture books. So we moved them to the beginning readers. Luckily our shelves are sized that they fit in with the traditional sized reader books. They are circulation very well and I have had parents ask if we have any more like them.
When it comes to other great series of books for kids who are just starting to read, I also like the Step into Reading, Step 1 books and the Green Light Readers, Level 1. Yes, these are the typical reader sized books.
I think it is important not to just look at the size and shape of a book to see where it would go in the collection. By putting the different sized books for beginning readers together, it encourages families and readers to think outside of the box. They don’t just have to read books that look a certain way or size. It has also helped us think about great picture books that are often overlooked when a child begins reading on his or her own. Titles like I Went Walking by Sue Williams and Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas are great as a read aloud and also great for kids just starting to read. Families can use picture books that have simple sentences as books for kids as they are starting to read as well. Having different shapes and sizes in the Beginning Reader section helps families to realize that.
We also started a Beginning Reader Non-Fiction section right next to the fiction beginning readers. We love the Pebbles Plus books which again, are not the usual beginning reader size.
Our beginning reader section may not look perfect with all the different sized books but I think we are providing a better collection to our community through this exploration into what is a good match for our beginning readers.
Thanks for this post. Great topic to get into. And I am so happy to see the I Like to Read series get some attention and praise!
The TINY series (Tiny Goes to the Library, Tiny Goes Camping …) by Cari Meister is superb. (Penguin) Each book in the series tells an actual story — often with humor — with generally one short sentence per page. My own kids learned to read with TINY’s BATH, and more recently taught their younger cousins to read on the TINY books. And, added bonus, they’re the right size!
ED AND TED AND TED’S DOG FRED by Andy Grifiths (he’s done a few other easy easy readers like it) blew my doors down. Easy, yes. Smart, funny, and genuinely enjoyable… Yup.
From a classroom teacher perspective I appreciate the trim size of Holiday House’s “I Like to Read” series (I also love the consistent use of the AvantGarde typeface).
For years my lowest readers spent their sustained silent reading time enjoying traditional 9×5 early readers (Biscuit, Seuss, Elephant and Piggie, etc), wordless picturebooks and the occasional easy reading picture book (your brown bears, chicka chickas, or something like I Want My Hat Back, but in a classroom library with 2000 picture books less than 50 nonwordless books met these students’ needs for independent reading. *Not that these students could not also choose to read any of the traditional (as you say lengthy) picture books but over time students do tend to gravitate towards comprehensible texts.
The “I Like to Read” Series is doing a great job providing true independent PICTURE BOOK reading experiences to readers who are just beginning to see the true joys of reading for their own solitary pleasure.