| The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books |
| The Bulletin Dozen is a monthly theme-based list of titles available only on-line. Since we're awfully fond of bakers here at the Bulletin, we thought we'd adopt their philosophy of generosity and throw in an extra one or two when we have them to offer--so don't expect an even dozen. Please feel free to copy, download, or link to these lists. We ask only that you cite the source. See the archive for lists from previous months. | |
Summertime, and the Reading is Easy |
When I first started working as a children's librarian in 1981, the available selection of easy readers was sparse and disappointing. Many of them were so vocabulary controlled as to be anemic, and the illustrations were often less than stellar. I found it surprising that there were so few worthy titles to choose from, since this was an extremely popular genre with parents of young children just learning or beginning to read. My collection development policy for the easy readers section was, well easy: duplicate copies of titles that both children and their parents could appreciate. Arnold Lobel, Joanna Cole, and Crosby Bonsall got a lot of shelf space; later these authors were joined by Cynthia Rylant's continuing saga of Henry and Mudge. Fortunately, publishers responded to the expressed need of librarians, parents, and teachers; they engaged authors of note to create vivid readers illustrated by artists of merit. This month we're featuring selected titles from four easy readers series, both fiction and non-fiction: Green Light Readers from Harcourt Brace; Hello Readers! Science from Scholastic; Bank Street Ready-to-Read, recently re-released by Gareth Stevens; and Real Kids Readers from Millbrook. Now the problem isn't filling the easy reader shelves; the problem is having enough room for multiple copies of all the good ones. May all your collection development problems be similar to this one. All titles illustrated by the author except where noted; age and grade levels are those suggested by the publishers.
--Janice M. Del Negro, editor
- Berger, Melvin. Chomp! A Book about Sharks. Scholastic, 1999.
(Hello Readers! Science, Level 3. Suggested for Grades 1-2)
Divided into five short chapters with simple declarative sentences, this science title is illustrated with color photographs of that perennially appealing eating machine, the shark. - Berger, Melvin. Growl! A Book about Bears. Scholastic, 1999.
(Hello Readers! Science, Level 3. Suggested for Grades 1-2)
A lively text and color photographs give would-be naturalists a close-up look at how bears, eat, hunt, hibernate, and care for their young. - Brenner, Barbara. Good News. illus. by Kate Duke. Gareth Stevens, 1999.
(Bank Street Ready to Read, Level 1. "Getting Ready to Read: Read-alouds for children taking their first steps toward reading." Suggested for Preschool-Grade 1)
Canada Goose tells Wood Duck about her four eggs, and the story becomes exaggerated as it gets passed from animal to animal. Kate Duke even manages to sneak in a concerned hamster among her friendly fauna. - Brenner, Barbara. The Plant that Kept on Growing. illus. by Melissa Sweet. Gareth Stevens, 1999.
(Bank Street Ready to Read, Level 1. "Getting Ready to Read: Read-alouds for children taking their first steps toward reading." Suggested for Preschool-Grade 1)
Will and his sister plant seeds in hope of growing winning vegetables for the 4-H fair, but they get more than they bargained for with a tomato the size of a satellite. Both text and illustrations take the subject just seriously enough to give this the flavor of a tall tale. - Crews, Donald. Cloudy Day Sunny Day. Harcourt, 1999.
(Green Light Readers, Level 1, Suggested for Gr. K-1)
A young African-American boy contemplates fun activities for a "gray and cloudy gloomy day." - Hooks, William. Lo-Jack and the Pirates. Illus. by Tricia Tusa. Gareth Stevens, 1999.
(Bank Street Ready to Read, Level 3. "I Can Read It Myself: for children who can read independently." Suggested for Gr. 2-3)
Jack is kidnapped by greedy pirates, but misunderstands the captain's order a la Amelia Bedelia and wins the day. Tusa's colorful cartoons reflect the humorous text. - Keller, Holly. What I See. Harcourt, 1999.
(Green Light Readers, Level 1, Suggested for Gr. K-1)
A young boy out exploring identifies what he sees ("I see a rose. I see a nose.") in short rhyming sentences, the subjects of which are illustrated with simple cartoons in pastel colors. - Leonard, Marcia. The Pet Vet. illus. with photographs by Dorothy Handelman. Millbrook, 1999.
(Real Kids Readers, Level 1. Suggested for Pre-K to Gr. 1)
African-American Bret cures the (stuffed) animals of his friends. Crisp color photographs emphasize the multiracial "Real Kids" of the series title. - MacDonald, Maryann. Rabbit's Birthday Kite. illus. by Lynn Munsinger.
Gareth Stevens, 1999. (Bank Street Ready to Read, Level 2. "Reading Together: for children who are just beginning to read by themselves but may need a little help." Suggested for Gr. 1-3)
After much coaching from Hedgehog, Rabbit finally learns how to fly a kite. Munsinger's winsome line and watercolor illustrations add charm and variety to the text. - McPhail, David. Big Brown Bear. Harcourt, 1999.
(Green Light Readers, Level 1, Suggested for Gr. K-1)
Big Brown Bear is trying to paint the house, but Little Bear has other ideas. McPhail's bears are comfortingly bumbling in this simple tale. - Moran, Alex. Popcorn. Illus. by Betsy Everitt. Harcourt, 1999.
(Green Light Readers, Level 1, Suggested for Gr. K-1)
Moran's rhythmic rhyme ("Popcorn. Popcorn./ Put it in a pot./ Popcorn. Popcorn./ Get the pot hot.") bounces off the pages thanks to Everitt's eye-popping gouache illustrations. - Morris, Kimberly. Molly in the Middle. illus. with photographs by Dorothy Handelman. Millbrook, 1999.
(Real Kids Readers, Level 3. Suggested for Gr. 1-Gr. 3)
Molly is having and identity crisis because she is the middle sister- not the oldest, not the youngest, just "the middle-est", and there's no such word! She tries being loudest, meanest, and funniest, but it's not until her father points out a few disadvantages to being the oldest and the youngest that Molly decides being in the middle is the luckiest. - Most, Bernard. Catch Me if You Can! Harcourt, 1999.
(Green Light Readers, Level 2, Suggested for Gr. 1-2)
Most's expressive dinosaurs flee "the biggest dinosaur" because they are "afraid of his great big tail," "great big claws," great big feet," and "great big teeth." When the littlest dinosaur shouts "Catch me if you can!" the big dinosaur captures her with ease, only to give her a hug and kiss, because that's what grandpa dinosaurs do. - Tidd, Louise Vitellaro. Did You Hear About Jake? illus. with photographs by Dorothy Handelman. Millbrook, 1999.
(Real Kids Readers, Level 2. Suggested for Gr. K-2)
A game of telephone has Jake baking a cake, being scared by a snake, falling into a lake, etc., until finally coming full circle back to Jake's kitchen. Handelman's photographs are not only technically excellent, they are clever and funny, and the children are a well-scrubbed delight.
This page was last updated on August 9, 1999.