S.P.I.R.E. Decodable Readers, Set 1A: The Pet Hen (SPIRE)

Stir the Soup and many more. Book 3 mainly uses concepts from AAR 2. From EPS Books http: They are available here online for free in the public domain, but you can also find them in print. By the time they finish AAR 3, most children are reading elementary level chapter books or higher. At the end of AAR 4, students have the phonics and word attack skills necessary to sound out high school level words, though they may not know the meaning of all higher level words yet.

Thank you so much for all the ideas, Robin. I will enjoy looking through all these choices. I actually have a set of McGuffy readers. This is a great resource! Thank you for taking the time to write it up. I was also really happy to see Marie write about decodable readers. This is an excellent blog post. It took me several years and a lot of money to truly understand what decodable readers are and why they are so important.

That makes your list of truly decodable readers all the more useful to AAR users and to me. Jennifer, You are welcome, and thank you for describing some of the issues people experience trying to find readers. I need to look in to this more. I had a struggling reader with my oldest. I really had a hard time figuring out how to help him. He reads well now, but my next one is starting to guess at words. This frustrates me to no end and I bet it does him too.

As someone with a background in the education field, it just makes sense to use books like these in the learning process for teaching reading. The last thing a teacher wants to do is make the reading process a burden on the child by using material that is going to cause them the child unnecessary frustration. Reading can be a challenging task so one does not need to make it feel impossible to be grasped by the child.

Megan, I agree with you that it just makes sense, but, sadly, decodable books are rather hard to find. We at All About Learning Press would love to see more publishers adding decodable books for young readers to the market. We absolutely adore All About Learning Products! This company is truly a wonderful gift to homeschoolers and teachers alike. I also agree that I am brushing up on my own grammar and English rules and have learned so much during our homeschooling journey thus far.

SPIRE Illustrated Decodable Reader Starter Set 1A (1 each of 10 titles) | School Specialty | EPS

I love All About Spelling products for teaching the finer points of our language. As I teach my child I am learning the rules as well as if I never knew them or probably forgot and it is so exciting for me. I look forward to continuing through the levels. Nicole, I know what you mean! They say you learn things best when you teach others, and I completely believe it. I am so much better educated now that I have graduated my first. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us! We love your program! It has helped our son exand his reading ability and comfort level exponentially!

We appreciate all the hard work and research that must have gone into this curriculum. Yes, decodable books are a must at younger ages. I have 4 children and would love to teach them to read with All about Spelling! I have heard wonderful things and enjoyed talking to the wonderful representative at the last Homeschooling conference! Thanks for the post. My daughter just finished AAR Level 1 and I was very impressed with the readers for the exact reason mentioned here.

Having the short little phonics readers with one short sentence per page is what keeps her motivated because she can finish one off quickly. He already shows more persistence in his work and real satisfaction at completing something difficult, so I think it will be a good fit for him. Tracy, Thank you for your work helping other homeschoolers. Support is so important, and it takes a wonderful heart to be willing to give or your time to be that support.

Brandie, Its not hassle at all. The two programs are designed to be used independently, so that the student can progress at his own pace in each. You do not need to complete an entire lesson in one day; some lessons may even take a week or more to cover. Rather, we recommend spending about 20 minutes per day on reading, but you can adjust this up or down for early readers or for older remedial students.

Some lessons may go quickly, and some may require more days. I am so excited to start using these books, everyone just raves about how there kids love the books. These readers have been a great encouragement to my new reader. He is excited to spot words in our read aloud time and he knows that his readers are readable. Wonder if this concept would be more encouraging to him. I teach first grade and I have all levels in my class.

I use decodable books with all my students. It is easier to teach this skill with short, simple books. Pauline, Thank you for sharing how you get even further use from these books. There are so many aspects of good reading. These books are new to me. I have a 6 yr old who is doing well with learning to read. But I looked at one of your sample stories at Level 1, and was disappointed to see in it a group of words that looked like a sentence, but was not a complete sentence.

Why did you decide to put things like that in the books? I wonder if what you are seeing is the emphasis on phrasing. Did you see this near the end of the article:. In the early levels, the text has intentional line breaks to encourage natural phrasing. The pages are formatted to allow beginning readers to read more smoothly and comprehend the text more easily. You have probably heard a child read a sentence choppily, like this:.

With the line breaks and natural phrasing we use in our books, the child is encouraged to read one phrase at a time, like this:. The complete sentence is there, but it is broken up into phrases to teach kids this important reading skill. I had wanted to buy the level 2 readers as extra practice for my child currently using AAS2, but when I saw the frequency with which there are new AAR editions, I decided to hold off.

My worry is that if I continue with AAR with my second child, the readers I bought for my first will be out of date and not compatible with the AAR2 materials that are for sale when my younger is ready for that level. Julie, I completely understand what you are expressing. I am a homeschool mother of 5, with 10 years between the oldest and youngest, and too I plan homeschool curriculum purchases based on what will last through all my children.

The original readers were written two years before we had the full AAR Level 2 program. The main purpose for the old readers was to reinforce spelling concepts in a fun way. However, reading instruction follows a slightly different sequence than spelling, and we decided that rather than produce readers for each skill set, we would focus on optimizing the readers for the reading program. For reading purposes these patterns need to be introduced sooner, but learning the spelling concept requires a bit more advanced reasoning.

Just recently we rewrote all of All About Reading Level 2, to add additional Lessons, Activities, and stories to make this level an even better bridge between Level 1 and Level 3. Because we added additional stories, we did need a new edition of the books that included those stories. But we did not leave our customers hanging. You can see more information on the new edition on this page , including the charts to coordinate the different pieces and a video. If you have a child age 7 who has learned to read very well on their own, seemingly overnight, and can read some very hard words even though he has no idea what they mean i.

Tracy, We would not recommend placing a 7 year old into Level 2 of All About Reading just because he is 7 years old. Rather, we would ask you too look at the placement tests for All About Reading to decide which level would be best. Also, we recommend having your child read the sample stories from the previous level online as a further confirmation. You want your child to be reading fluently with good comprehension before going to a higher level.

Level 1 sample story Level 2 sample story Level 3 sample story Level 4 sample story. His ability to comprehend the story. Could he fluently read the story with expression? Did he understand the words from a vocabulary standpoint? In addition to teaching the skills to read difficult words, All About Reading teaches vocabulary, works on comprehension and fluency, gets into things likes what is slang and dialect, beginning literary analysis, reading words that originate in other languages, and more. You can get an idea of what is covered by looking through our Samples and Scope and Sequences.

Let us know if you have any further questions on how this program may help your advanced reader, or on anything else. Thank you for your concern, but I already did the placement test with him before I asked my question, and found out he will need level 2. I do appreciate your assistance. Comprehension is what I am most concerned with since he can read higher words but not necessarily know what they mean.

He is not ready for doing a vocabulary workbook and has vision issues that I also have to keep in mind, which is another reason for looking at your program.

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3. SPIRE Illustrated Decodable Reader Starter Set 1A (1 each of 10 titles)?

He needs more auditory and hands on learning and less time spent doing workbooks like Explode the Code or Wordly Wise. Although he likes ETC, he has to go slowly through it and I feel it is holding him back. I am hoping using AAR will help him move forward with his skills without holding him back. The samples show a mix of Lessons from the beginning, middle, and end of the book to give you an idea of how it progresses. As I mentioned before, we do have a one-year money back guarantee.

Please let me know if you have further questions. We have used about all the I can read books at the library, which certainly have some hard words, and would love to try some decodable books. We are working through All about Spelling and would love the next level. All about reading looks great and i am hoping to learn more. All about spelling helped my daughter so much. She had been reading at the first grade level for years from PreK to 3rd grade and not making any progress. Now I have to watch her or she will stay up till midnight reading her books.

Reading does make a night owl out of some kids! Your work has paid off! I am so glad that I came across this article! I have always wondered what the method behind decodable books was. Thank you for sharing some insight and helping me to understand what I need to keep an eye out for and how best to use your system! My son loves decodable books! All about reading took my 8 y. She looks forward to the engaging stories and detailed illustrations.

Hi Diane—have you seen this article? What level of All About Reading would you recommend for a year-old boy who has had years of phonics training, and even understands the basics, but who still struggles with reading smoothly? He is interested in reading signs and information on cereal boxes, etc.

It really depends on where the struggle is for him—is it in not readily knowing certain phonograms? Is it trouble with breaking down multi-syllable words? Level 2 covers 3-letter blends like spring, splat, scrub ; two-syllable words with open and closed syllables — hotel, pretend, student; vowel-consonant-E pattern words; VCE syllable combined with closed syllables — reptile; contractions; r-controlled words — her, car, and corn; soft c and g — face, page; past tense — hugged; vowel teams oi, oy, au, aw, ou, ow, oe, and ee; y in shy; wh in wheel; i and o can be long before two consonants as in wild, hold, most, silent e after u or v — have; the third sound of a — all.

Level 4 is the final level of the reading program. At the end of Level 4, students have the phonics and word attack skills necessary to sound out high school level words, though they may not know the meaning of all higher level words. Examples of some of the harder words covered in Level 4 include: Levels 3 and 4 also cover things like literary analysis for comprehension for example, making predictions and inferences, comparing and contrasting main characters and stories, discussing the main conflict and character transformation , as well as literary terms hyperbole, simile, point of view, and more , reading reference materials, reading with expression, English words with Greek, French, Spanish, and Italian influences, morphology, and much more.

Occasionally, a student is burnt out on reading programs, and sometimes you can use spelling as a back door kind of approach. With this method, anything a child can spell, he or she has the skills to sound out. One of the differences that comes into play is when and how that child moves from sounding out to reading fluently and with confidence. However, some parents have successfully built in fluency practice alongside the spelling program, using demonstrations to work on tricky words before having their student read aloud.

My child is reading at the 2nd grade level, what level of All About Reading would that be? Thank you for your help in advance! The levels are not the same as grade levels. You can use the placement tests for AAR to decide which level would be best. Level 1 sample story http: I do love the way these books are organized. Everything about it has been thought through to make reading more fun and accessible!

I am a grandfather who tries to support a home school program, three hours away from me. My daughter-in-law has expressed a concern about her 7 year old boy not liking to read. She does not have Internet access at home, so online examples of your books do not help. Is there a way you can provide sample content via a pdf or a sample book? However, if you or she would like to call our office, we can narrow down what samples would be most helpful and put together some to mail to you.

The illustrations are quite good. I really appreciate these blog posts exploring some of the finer nuances of learning. My daughter blossomed with Level One this year. She worked through her books and felt such accomplishment with these real books that were attainable, but stretched her as well.

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The illustrations are wonderful. Thank you for sharing! These are amazing books. I love how they have benefited both of my children who are so different in their learning abilities. Thank you for the informative blog posts. We enjoy your curriculums and products and look forward to trying more! Decodable books are really important for beginning readers. Thank you for sharing samples of the All About Reading decodable books. Thank you for these programs! The above describes my eldest entirely. She even sat down and read a whole Magic Treehouse book today, and while I can tell she needs more practice, the interest is there because of AAR.

Andrea, What an achievement to read a whole Magic Treehouse book! Congratulations to your daughter. Keep up the great work! My 8yo figured out how to read in spite of my trying to teach her phonics. Her spelling is really improving! My 6yo, on the other hand, latched on to the phonics approach immediately.

AAR is working wonders for her! Carly, Great to hear that AAR is working so well with your younger daughter. Thank you for posting. We loved the books that came with All About Reading level 1. It is hard to find beginner readers for kids that are learning to read phonetically. This program really works! We have two dyslexic children,two autistic children and one with cerebral palsy, we will never use another program, the difference is like night and day!

Thank you so much for all of your programs. By the time his younger sister was ready to read and spell she struggled even more than he did. I was able to use All About Spelling with her.

Sheila Clark-Edmands, Beth G. Davis, Ellen Javernick, Katherine Scraper & Tammie Lyon

She is now in advanced English in high school. Most of them are dyslexic. Jennifer, Thank you so much for the work you do to help students with reading challenges, and thank you for sharing your wisdom and experience with us here. I had been looking for a program for my dyslexic son when I found the Barton Reading system. After this, I heard about All About Spelling. I have been following everything on this blog, as well as the web site.

I have learned a lot and been very impressed with what I see. I wondered if anyone could do a comparison of the two programs?

SPIRE Illustrated Decodable Reader Class Set 1A (6 starter sets)

Thanks for any input you may have. All About Reading was not available when they were young. I can say that many of my children need work on phonemic awareness. I use AAR for those children. Barton uses nonsense words to develop phonemic awareness. This can be a struggle for some, but with persistence they can get through it. Sometimes in a tutoring session I only spend minutes using the Barton tiles before we go on to playing a game.

Maybe someone with more experience with both programs can give you more information. Barton, All About Reading and All About Spelling are all Orton-Gillingham based, which is a proven method for helping students with dyslexia and other reading struggles. Marie is a member of the International Dyslexia Association, and was an instructor for the graduate level courses in Orton-Gillingham Literacy Training offered through Nicolet College in Rhinelander, Wisconsin for 3 years. An important difference is that reading and spelling are independent of each other so students can move as quickly or as slowly as they need to with each skill.

The rules are worded so they are as easy for children to remember as possible, and we include fully illustrated kid-friendly readers. This way, parents and teachers can easily track what students have mastered and what needs ongoing review. And here are samples and scope and sequence links for All About Spelling: Your site is a God-send! My eleven year old son is dyslexic, and we have both benefited so much from the All About Spelling series. I never understood why English works the way it does, and now I have the skills to reinforce the patterns that it takes my son so very much effort to learn.

I am very interested in both the reading and spelling products that you offer. I have 2 teenagers that have always struggled and am wondering if this could be the answer for them. Let us know if you have any questions, Sheryl. Both programs have been used for teens and even adults who have struggled with reading, spelling, or both subjects. Feel free to email any time: Decodable books are great. I like ones that incorporate humor…that really gets my child interested.

I have always been frustrated with books that were not decodable. When searching the library for early reader books I could never find books that were made up of only words my children could read. I would become just as frustrated as they would. Inevitably a couple of pages into the book they would toss it aside frustrated. When my kids were beginning readers, I was really surprised by the dearth of decodable readers at our library. The few they had were not engaging—seems like a shame to not have a good section of decodable readers! Guidelines for these pages are included in the Teacher s Guide.

All text is decodable, including the directions, after students have learned to read key direction and question words such as circle, match, who, what, where, and when. Student Workbook, Level 1 Student Workbook, Level 2 Workbooks provide extended comprehension opportunities for every reading selection in the Reader.

Student Workbook, Level 4. Readers in illustrated format SET B 60 original titles for further practice. Chad sat on the bench at lunch. Set A titles are taken from the Reader and offer teachers a great resource to promote rereading and increase fluency. Set B titles provide students with an additional reading experience for all concepts introduced in Levels 1 6 a great tool to increase reading skills and student confidence. It has a very short tail and thick, wooly, silver-gray fur.

During the day, the slow loris sleeps in the fork of a tree. Nearly helpless on the ground, it rarely comes down from the treetops Titles include both fiction and nonfiction selections and are engagingly illustrated by top contemporary artists. Readers are a great enhancement to classroom libraries and provide teachers with a great take-home resource so students can share learning.

Adjustments can be made, but levels will take longer to complete. Typically, Pre-Level 1 Sounds Sensible can be implemented within a 6 8 month period, and Levels 1 8 can be completed in 2 4 years.

S.P.I.R.E. Decodable Readers, Set 5B: Alices Strange Friend (SPIRE)

Average progress is 2 3 levels per year Differentiation S. Students do not move on to more complex concepts until they have achieved mastery. Teacher s Guide, Level 4 A powerful tool to differentiate instruction! Appendices include extensive word, phrase and sentence lists to help teachers individualize lessons. Multiple reading passages for every concept supplies struggling readers with the exposure and practice needed to become fluent readers.

Teacher s Guide, Level 4 Lists are provided in single- and multiconcept formats to help teachers quickly access exactly what is needed. Teacher s Manual, Blackline Masters, picture-letter cards, game boards and pieces. Levels 1 8 Materials for Each Level: Sheila Clark-Edmands Teacher's Guides The complete resource to reach and teach, each Teacher Guide offers stepby-step guidelines in an accessible format. Appendices provide extensive word, phrase, and sentence lists to individualize instruction.

All text, including directions, is decodable. Traffic light colors cue students: There's an unusual sound! Initial Placement Assessment This criterion-referenced assessment provides an easy-to-administer format with teacher guidelines. This diagnostic tool will provide teachers with the information necessary to place students within the S. Includes 62 color-coded magnetic foam tiles. Folds in half for easy storage. Reproducible charts included in Blackline Masters.

Includes circle and rectangle magnetic pieces. Set A includes 60 illustrated versions of Reader selections for rereads and fluency. Set B presents 60 original titles for further practice. Level Sets contain materials for Levels 1 8 for working with small groups of up to 6 students. Recipe for Reading is a research-based,. We are not promoting 'Letters and Sounds' as the preferred. Overview of Spellings on www. CVC words Set 2: Words containing 'ch', 'sh', 'th' and 'wh' Set 5: Words ending in 'll',.

California Treasures Phonics Scope and Sequence K-6 Phonics skills get progressively more complex throughout the grade and year to year e. Phonics is the study of sounds within words and. Right into Reading is a phonics-based reading and comprehension. What is the purpose of this handout? To inform parents of how reading is taught at Copthill To supply parents with clear information on the RWI.

Phonics What is phonics? There has been a huge shift in the last few years in how we teach reading in UK schools. This is having a big impact and helping many children learn to read and spell. Phonics is recommended as the first strategy that children should be taught in helping them learn to read.

Children are taught to read by breaking. Pupils are systematically taught. The suggested progression of skills is listed below. We also subscribe to. Phonics Share how phonics is taught at Crampton Teach the basics of phonics and some useful phonics terms Outline the different stages in phonic development Show examples of activities and resources we.

Early Literacy Kindergarten or first grade 1 Phonological Awareness 1. To revise key aspects of phonics phonemes and key terminology To find out more about why we assess phonics. Supporting your child with phonics Phonic terminology: Grapheme A grapheme is the letter s representing a phoneme t ai igh Children. No portion of this publication may be reproduced by any means, including duplicating, photocopying, electronic, mechanical, recording, the World Wide Web, email or otherwise, without. It is split into 6 phases with the different phases being covered in different years in Foundation Stage and.

This unit of word work will focus on the student s ability to identify and pronounce the initial, medial vowel, and final sounds. A Guide for Parents Phonics Introduction At Deeping St James we know how important it is for parents and teachers to work together to give your child the best start. Reading together at home is one of.

Key Ideas and Details Element 1: With prompting and support, ask and answer. It aims to build children's speaking and listening skills in their own. St Bede s Catholic Academy. A Parent s guide to early reading and phonics. Read Write Inc, is a whole-school literacy programme for year-olds designed to create fluent readers, confident speakers. A Correlation of Words Their Way: A Parents Guide to Understanding Reading Dear Parents, After teaching first grade for many years, I was always faced with the same questions at the beginning of the year: What is Pathways to Reading? Quickly identify and generate words that begin with the same sound.

To develop parents confidence in helping their children with phonics and reading To teach the basics. It looks at the resources that. You have 1 minute: Phoneme -sound Grapheme a way of writing the sound. I pug h fintle bim litchen.

Wigh ar wea dueing thiss? Aims To ensure all delegates have an overview of. All the children were then grouped, according. Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System 1 and 2: Lunch Week 1 Use letter-sound correspondence to decode words and build a sight word vocabulary. The aim of the presentation. Phonics is a way of teaching children to read quickly and skilfully. They are taught how to: Are you What is Phonics? Phonics is a method used for teaching children to read and write the English Language. It develops phonemic awareness the ability to hear, identify and manipulate phonemes.

This unit of word work will focus on the student s ability to distinguish long and short vowel sounds in single syllable Students. Pages and learning goals covered are noted below: A multi-sensory approach to selfdirected learning Teaches the same decoding skills as provided by professional tutors. Students can complete all 87 lessons. Systematic Synthetic phonics learning to read. Knowledge of letters and the sounds they make.

Skills of blending these sounds together to read words. Skills of segmenting the sounds in a. These rules are equally relevant to other synthetic phonics programmes In English there are 26 letters which represent. Phonics approaches first steps to spelling Spelling strategies Phoneme-grapheme correspondence. Stretch the word to hear all the sounds. Robot talk the word segmenting. Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, 2.

Progress in Reading Assessment A major series of Reading tests to help you assess progress in the new National Curriculum, term by term across the Primary years PiRA users tell us how invaluable they find. Andrew s Primary School At St. This programme is used throughout the school from Reception onwards. Phonics Workshop February What is phonics? How are the phonemes pronounced? One of the fundamental principles of Read, Write, Inc. Phonics is that sounds are taught in their purest form. Phonics Workshop Over recent years there has been research and conclusions made about the teaching of phonics to aid the development of reading and writing.

In Letters and Sounds resource was published. Shepard, the illustrator of the original Pooh books, this sequel should not be missed. Read more about Winnie and the Hundred Acre Woods at http: You can also read the award-winning book Finding Winnie: December 19 , Ghost Ship by Erin Soderberg. Wally, a golden retriever puppy, and his human friend, Henry, are now official puppy pirates and part of the crew of the ship, the Salty Bone. Together with Captain Red Beard, a Chihuahua named Steak Eyes and 2 pugs they set sail on the seven seas in search of fun and adventures!

When the 2 pugs continue teasing Wally about being a brave pirate, he decides to show everyone on the ship how fearless he is by spending a night on an abandoned ship in a nearby cove. As the night progresses, Wally begins to think the ship is haunted! Will he be brave enough to stay the night? Although this is the first Super Special title, there are other books in the puppy pirate series sure to please young readers.

This entertaining, early chapter book is a must read for second and third graders who love animals, especially dogs. December 12 , This new book by Martin continues in the same style and manner as the original, fun Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books by Betty MacDonald. Since Missy spent lots of time with her great aunt as a child, she has learned many magic potions and spells. Piggle-Wiggle goes away to find her missing pirate husband, she asks Missy to take care of her Upside-Down House, her farm, and her animals. Will Missy be able to help? This fun family read will win new fans and also appeal to the fans of the original series.

December 5 , Ciraolo has created a sweet picture book about grandparents, family, and sharing memories. This beautifully illustrated story follows a curious young child who asks her Nana about the many lines on her face. Her grandmother explains the lines are where she keeps her memories and the child proceeds to test Nana by asking about various wrinkles and lines. Nana replies with a specific memory for each line which is then depicted in a two-page illustration spread. This title is ideal for a story time on the lap of a special grandparent or adult.

December 1 , Maybe a Fox by Kathi Appelt. Maybe a Fox is an emotionally charged realistic fiction novel, sprinkled with some of the supernatural, which explores themes of sisterhood, our connections to the natural world, and grief. We also meet a young fox with a special connection to the spirit world whose own purpose in life is somehow tied to Jules. A wonderful story infused with magical realism, perceptive readers will find this tale poignant and affecting. You may be left pondering about this story long after you finish reading.

November 7 , Hungry Bird by Jeremy Tankard. How do YOU see a cat? For example, the child sees him as a friendly pet, but the fleas see him as forest of fur. The simple, repetitive text makes this a great read aloud and the illustrations are amazing. Each page is completely different from the last! This remarkable book will be enjoyed by readers of all ages. It is already getting lots of buzz as a possible contender for the Caldecott Award!

Part of the Franklin School friends series, this title is a great book for readers in grades who love stories of friendship, school, and animals! Cody really struggles with his reading, math, and spelling at school but he loves animals. How will he get all of his animals in the show? And will he win?

Fans of the Clementine series and Ivy and Bean series will enjoy reading this book. November 1 , Part 3 by Konami Kanata. At first glance, Pax may appear to be merely a story about a boy and his fox. Peter must go to live with his grandfather so that his father can help with the war effort. Pax is the tale of these two friends and their quest to find each other again despite many obstacles.

Caldecott medal winner Klassen adds his talented touch to the story by providing the many lovely illustrations. Highly recommended for year old readers. Sensitive readers should be prepared for some graphic depictions of injuries and intense scenes. Star Wars Jedi Academy: A New Class by Jarrett J. Ida, Always by Caron Levis.

Illustrated by Charles Santoso. Levis has written a beautiful picture book that explores loss, grief, and how those we love are with us, always. Ida, Always follows zoo polar bears, Gus and Ida, who are the very best of friends. They spend all day together at the zoo, listening to the sounds around them and watching the people who visit. Gus tries to spend as much time with Ida as he can as he prepares to say goodbye to his friend.

Ida and Gus teach readers that although we may suffer great loss, true love and friendship remain with us long after our loved ones are gone. Inspired by real polar bears Gus and Ida at the Central Park Zoo, in New York City, this story will be a moving read and an important book to share with young children who may be coping with loss themselves. The Thank You Book: Gerald and Piggie are best friends. This is the last book in the Elephant and Piggie series and they want to thank their readers and their friends in this book!

But Gerald is afraid that Piggie will forget to thank someone important. Written and Illustrated by Yasmeen Ismail. Near the end of the story we meet a male lion who is wearing a grass skirt and also breaking stereotypes of how little boys should be. Full of bright colors, action, and an awesome message of embracing individuality, readers of all ages will enjoy this fun book. Recommended especially for preschoolers who may think outside the box themselves! Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate. This compelling novel from the Newbery-winning author of The One and Only Ivan explores some heavy topics, such as hunger, family homelessness, and unemployment, through a lens of magical realism.

Applegate's story carries readers into the life of year old Jackson whose musician parents are barely scraping by financially and facing a possible eviction. It was during this difficult time that Crenshaw, a very large talking cat with fingers, appeared to young Jackson as his imaginary friend. He now reappears as they are once again facing homelessness and Jackson struggles to deal with this reappearance and what it means for him. Applegate addresses the very realistic struggles that many families endure in our country with a gentle but effective tone. Recommended for middle-grade readers, this title is sure to invite important conversation.

George by Alex Gino George may look like a ten year old boy but deep inside, he knows he should be a girl. The author tackles this timely and important topic with dignity and grace, creating a story the reader will remember long after the last page is read. With the help of his best friend, Kelly, George comes up with a plan so that he can be Charlotte while also letting his family know who his true self is… a girl. This is a fast, poignant read but more importantly a hopeful book. George gives the reader a glimpse into the life of a young transgender person who is looking for acceptance from his friends and family.

This realistic book is more suitable for older readers due to the subject manner but it would also be an ideal book to be read and shared together as a family as an introduction to this controversial topic. This graphic novel introduces us to Hilo, a robot that crashes to earth and is rescued by D. The longer he stays on Earth, the more Hilo remembers. Soon he realizes he may need the help of D. Fans of the Jedi Academy series will enjoy this fun, graphic novel suitable for grades This story has it all- humor, adventure, super heroes, science fiction and a great friendship.

DJ and Hilo are friends who would stop at nothing to protect each other. Look for the sequel, Hilo Book 2: Saving the Whole Wide World! This real event happened in Winnie became a mascot for his regiment during the war. After the war, Winnie ended up in the London Zoo where a father and his son named Christopher Robin saw him. Sound like a famous bear you might have read about before? Milne used this bear as his inspiration for the now classic friendship story of Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin.

This endearing story, full of wonderful illustrations, will be enjoyed by readers young and old. The end of the book contains a photo album of the real life Winnie, Harry, and Christopher Robin. He is best known for his drawings of the Calaveras, amusing skeletons performing everyday activities. It also includes fascinating descriptions of the different techniques that artists use in their works for lithography, engraving and etching.

This biography book is perfect for readers in grades and gives readers insight to an important Mexican festival, the Day of the Dead. The illustrations are wonderful. Princess Pinecone lives in a kingdom of Viking-like warriors who are rough and tough. She wants to be rough and tough too, so she asks for a pony on her birthday to help her become a warrior.

It is short and round and definitely not very warrior-ish. Readers will laugh out loud as this pony charms her way into the lives of the warriors and especially Princess Pinecone. The Princess and her pony together are unbeatable! This picture book will make a great read aloud and is perfect for grades kindergarten through second. Are you afraid of spiders?

After reading this easy reading nonfiction book about spiders, you will definitely look at arachnids spiders in a new way. Do you know that you have a better chance of being struck by lightning than being fatally bit by a spider? There are lots of other fascinating tidbits like this throughout the book to help you alleviate your fears. The endpapers contain interesting information about a variety of spider species. Yes, keep telling yourself that spiders are good.

You may never want to step on spider again, right? Written in a picture book format, this book has lots of information that will be helpful for those reports given to second and third graders. There is not an index or real photographs, but the non-scary drawings make this book a pleasure to read. Miss Petitfour is an eccentric baker, adventurer, cat lover, reader, stamp collector and best of all, a storyteller. Her adventures with her sixteen cats will enchant readers young and old. Would you believe she flies with her cats and a magical tablecloth? The bright and colorful illustrations are delightful and also add to the charm of the story.

This is a perfect book for second to fourth graders who love Mary Poppins or Mrs.

Decodable Books: Why They’re Important

Since she has a stutter, she has worked hard to be the class clown. She has a joke for everything. After all, it is always better to have everybody laugh "with" you rather than "at" you. It is also easier to crack a joke than worrying all of the time about her mother who is serving in the Gulf War and her father who is working hard but never home, leaving Jacky and her sisters alone most of the time. While serving a detention after school one day, her teacher suggests Jacky should try out for the school play.

Can she do this with a stutter? Readers will find this an easy book to read with its laugh out loud short chapters. Strictly No Elephants by Lisa Mantchev; Illustrated by Taeen Yoo Young readers will enjoy this sweet picture book about friendship, differences and inclusion. When a young boy and his tiny pet elephant are not welcome to the neighborhood pet club meeting, he ventures off and finds other children with odd pets who have been left out.

They form their own pet club that welcomes everyone in the end! The various atypical pets the other children bring along are adorable and include a skunk and an armadillo. One child is even carting around a tiny narwhal in his wagon! Recommended for ages 5 and up. Illustrated by Zachariah OHara. Goblins by Dana Simpson. The third volume in the Phoebe and Her Unicorn graphic novel series delivers plenty of laughs for kids and parents alike.

Readers will follow Phoebe and her narcissistic unicorn best friend, Marigold Heavenly Nostrils, on various adventures. A great, goofy read for children ages 8 and up. This is a beautiful, interesting and touching piece of historical fiction for middle grade readers. The story takes place in England at the beginning of WWII and follows young, spirited and impoverished Ada, who was born with a clubfoot and endures horrible mistreatment from her mother. Due to the threat of German bombing, Ada and her younger brother, Jamie, are sent away from London to live in the country.

They are placed in the care of a lonely and apprehensive woman named Susan. She is not particularly happy about being forced to care for these two, but soon these three outcasts form a special family together. The book is not overly sentimental, but will inevitably tug a few heartstrings. You won't be able to stop yourself from smiling as you finish the last few pages.

My New Mom and Me by Renata Galindo This very sweet, touching, and sparsely worded picture book tells the story of a newly adopted puppy and his new cat mom. Mom and puppy are learning how to be a family together, and the story realistically exhibits both happy times and rough patches.

The book will appeal to a variety of readers, but especially new parents with adopted children who may be dealing with adjusting to their home life. The lack of gender or ethnicity attributed to the child and mother will make this accessible for children of all backgrounds. The Only Child by Guojing. This graphic novel is a quiet and magical read for all ages.

She subsequently finds herself lost and this is when the magic begins. Eventually, she is returned safely to her parents thanks to a new, special friend. Bear lives in a little cave in the woods. One day, he finds a crunchy orange treat waiting outside his cave. He enjoys it so much that he sings a happy song. This begins an endearing exchange of gifts. Will bear ever meet his secret friend? Impressionistic illustrations and changes in background color set the tone for this sweet story.

The Great Monkey Rescue: The famous cool cat is back, this time with snippets of wisdom. For ages 3 and up. But when a storm chases them inside, how will they salvage their camping trip? The Underground Abductor by Nathan Hale. This is a tale of the dark side of American history, but it also is the inspiring story of someone who did her best to relieve suffering. It is the story of Harriet Tubman.

The graphic novel shows and well as tells the horrors of slavery, the difficulty of escape, and the daring required to return as an abductor, leading others to freedom. Not for the faint of heart, grades Lucky for him, his class is taking a field trip to the Empire State Building. Unfortunately he ends up on the wrong subway train. Will he be able to meet up with his class? This graphic novel is as much about the art as the plot. Drawings capture the spirit of the bustling subway and incorporate well known landmarks. If you long for a trip to the big city, this graphic novel is for you.

The Nonsense Show by Eric Carle. Check out the newest offering from the author of The Very Hungry Caterpillar!