This book is very much in the now. It’s about kids, discovering that books were pulled from their library because they were diverse. These books showed people of different races in different cultures. This is happening in our nation right now as more and more schools and private groups, try to limit what children can read. I do worry that this book’s answer is simplistic, but I love how the author explains why people ban books. Overall, I love this book, but it is long and wordy. 

 

This book is interesting. The idea is that there’s going to be a party and all the friends are invited to participate in a talent show, but they have to include their culture with their talent show. The book explains a little bit about of the difference between a racial culture and a home culture. And then uses a lot of words to describe actions that the main character plans on doing in her talent show. Very thankful for the glossary in the back. The illustrations are nice and overall, I think the story is too long. As a way to teach about different cultures I think it’s great. For story time, it’s a bit much. 

 

This is a fun beginning reading book about a pet groomers. A day in the life of making sure dogs and cats get baths. This is a true level to leader with more difficult word, but there is rhyming pattern and cadence that makes it fun and easy for kids to read. 

 

Step into reading preschool and kindergarten 1999. 

This was a very different step into reading book. It is an older volume but it’s all about how the same word can have two different meanings. All the pages are similar to “the yak yakking” meaning the animal talking. “The bear bearing” meaning the bear with no clothes. While some kids may not initially get it without a dictionary, it is a great way of showing how multiple words can mean multiple things. 

 

Ready to read level to 2 

This Ready to Read book may be a level two, but it would be a “Step Into Reading” level four or above. This is not quite a beginning, chapter book, but it is much longer and more wordy than other easy readers at the same level. The story is a mystery based on Sherlock Holmes. Overall, it works, but please know Ready to Read books are leveled up higher than those of Step Into Reading. 

 

This Ready to Read level two is easier than the Hamster Holmes books that are also a level two. However, Joanne Holub has written other easy readers, including Step Into Reading. If this was a Step Into Reading book, it would probably be a level three. It’s important when working with children that parents know that just because a book says it’s a level two does not mean that level two is it the same across everyone publisher. This is the standard story of Pandora from Greek myth. The story is nothing new and it’s decently well done for the age. 

 

Disney’s wonderful world of reading 2001. 

The story first. The story is Mickey and Minnie who are not wealthy they don’t have a lot of money. They have a stack of bills, but they want to do something nice for each other over Christmas, and when their plans fall through, they give up the possessions they love the most to make the other happy. What I really like about this book is showing Mickey and Minnie as being everyday people with worries about money and work, but still loving and worrying about the orphans and the people in their society. This is a Mickey and Minnie I grew up reading and loving. This is an older Disney World of Reading title. It was part of their backpack program where one would get a book a month to fill a backpack once someone would order the program. Modern World of Reading books are more traditional easy readers, and this would be a book to read to your child then for them to read it themselves.  It is written about a second-grade reading level. 

 

This was a very wild and graphic novel that should be in classrooms for all grades. It’s about a young boy named Lucas who is nonverbal. We see this story play out both from his parents, and from Lucas’s point of view. Lucas ‘s family takes him on the train to go see a parade. On the train, he makes friend, and ends up helping find her lost parents during the parade. He does this all while dealing with his own fears, anxiety, nonverbal communication. This book was short and well done but makes all his points and would be a great educational tool for kids that might need help understanding a nonverbal friend or classmate. 

 

I love the illustrations of these books, and the stories are nice, but I wish they rhymed better, or the cadence was better.  It just does not roll of the tongue in an expected way, and it makes the books less then what they could be. 

 

This story works quite well.  The cadence is still a little scratchy, but one of the best.  And the “how to catch” part is more prominent.  It does not rely on the illustrations (which are great) to move the story along.