The Wild Toboggan Ride

Title: The Wild Toboggan Ride

Author: Suzan Reid

In The Wild Toboggan Ride, Nicki asks Grandpa Dan to give her one last push down the hill before they have to leave for the day. Grandpa Dan reluctantly goes to give her a push but trips and sends them flying down the hill. They sled through the town and accidentally collect a few passengers for an adventure on the toboggan. 

This is a cute story that has a lot of repetition in it which is helpful for children reading this book. The illustrations are fun and colorful. It is funny to compare little Nicki’s face with the adult’s faces as they sled through town. What is also interesting about this book is that the words, bump, oomph, and crash, are not always horizontal to emphasize the damage being caused when those “sounds” occur in the story. 

Publisher: Scholastic Inc.

Copyright: 1992 

ISBN: 0-590-22271-6

Monica’s Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

The Runaway Teddy Bear

The Runaway Teddy Bear

Author: Ginnie Hofmann

The Runaway Teddy Bear is a story about a teddy bear named Arthur who feels left out and decides to runaway and live with real bears in the woods. After wandering through the scary woods, Arthur finally meets up with the bears and they say he can stay with them for a day to see how it is. Arthur participates in different tasks with the bears, but finds out that it is not as fun as he thought it would be and misses his owner, Andy. 

This story can relate to young children who feel like their friends should only play with them and not their other friends. I thought the story line was really good. It was also interesting how the author kept the teddy bear distinct from the real bears. The real bears would indicate that the teddy bear was oddly shaped or smelled strange. The illustrations were colorful and detailed too. 

Publisher: Random House

Copyright: 1986

ISBN: 0-394-86286-4

Monica’s Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Curious George Rides a Bike

Title: Curious George Rides a Bike

Author: H. A. Rey

In Curious George Rides a Bike, George receives a bike to celebrate being with the man in the yellow hat for 3 years. He does some tricks and delivers newspapers, but gets distracted easily. He meets up with a circus and gets into trouble, but helps the circus with a situation and is forgiven. 

The author has George do various tasks throughout the story that would interest children such as riding a bike, doing tricks on a bike, delivering the paper, building a boat, and being in a circus. The text was large so children could follow along, but sentences where often cut off and continued on the next page. The illustrations were simple and used four basic colors: red, yellow, green, and blue. The story was cute and I enjoyed the illustrations of the animals and what they did. 

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company

Copyright: 1952

ISBN: 978-0-395-16964-3

Monica’s Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Jojo's Yo-yo

Title: Jojo’s Yo-yo

Author: Susan Hartley

Jojo’s Yo-yo is a book about a girl who is looking for her own talent but she is shy to try new things with other children. This book practices vowel sounds at the end of words, particularly “o” and “y”. 

The author provided a variety of words with open ended vowels in this book. This is a great book for children to practice the different sounds the letter “y” makes too because it is at the beginning of some words and at the end of others. The illustrations were simple yet colorful. 

Publisher: Learning A-Z

URL: https://www.readinga-z.com/projectable/book.php?id=1119&lang=1&type=book

Monica’s Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Jig, Jag, and Jog

Title: Jig, Jag, and Jog

Author: Robert Charles

In Jig, Jag, and Jog, Jim and his animal friends have fun all day. This decodable text practices the “J” sound at the beginning of words.  

This book did not have a story line. Though the focus of this book was the letter “J,” one could argue that the book also practices the “g” at the end of the words. At the beginning of the book, the author rhymes the last words of the two sentences on each page, but then he stops for the last two pages which is a little confusing for the reader, especially if the reader is starting to predict a pattern with the writing.

Publisher: Learning A-Z

URL: https://www.readinga-z.com/book/decodable.php?id=26

Monica’s Rating: 3 out of 5

Grand Slam Tennis

Title: Grand Slam Tennis

Author: Cheryl Ryan

In this book, Grant and Frank are at a tennis match to decide who will win the grand fund. The purpose of this book is to practice the blended “n” at the end of words. Some examples of this are grand, fans, front, and pink. 

The pictures in this story were very colorful. This story is also great for children who are starting to read and are interested in tennis. There is a bit of a story line, but the ending is very political in saying that everyone wins. This is not necessarily true. The author does a good job of providing a variety of words that use the blended “n”. 

Publisher: Learning A-Z

URL: https://www.readinga-z.com/book/decodable.php?id=39

Monica’s Rating: 3 out of 5 stars 

Title: Rainstorm

Author: Barbara Lehman

Rainstorm is a book about a little boy who is bored one day during a rainstorm until he finds a key. The key unlocks a secret passage that leads to a lighthouse where he makes new friends and spends a lovely day playing with them. He returns home for dinner and looks forward to seeing his new friends again tomorrow. 

The author relates to children in this story about how boring it is to be trapped inside on a rainy day. She follows the child’s imagination of having an adventure indoors. She also shows the fun of being with others no matter where one is. The illustrations are simplistic with marker outlines filled in with color. The ending was a little confusing because it appeared as though the boy's new friends were afraid to come and visit him. 

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company

Copyright: 2007

ISBN:978-0-618-75639-1

Monica’s Rating: 3 out of 5

Title: Trainstop

Author: Barbara Lehman

In the book, Trainstop, a little girl takes a trip on the train from the city to the countryside and is in awe of its beauty. She sees little people in need of assistance and stops the train and gets out to help them. At the end of the day she returns home with a piece of the countryside with her. 

The author makes good use of color in this book. The colors of the city are dull: grey and brown. Once the train reaches the country side bright, colors jump out at the reader. The fields are lime green with a bright blue sky. The country people wear bright red and orange too. The part where the girl helps the little people seems to be in her imagination. It may relate to children seeing objects outside the window on road trips and wish to go explore more though they cannot. There is a message to appreciate nature no matter where it is as the girl appreciates the tree in front of her house after coming home.  

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company

Copyright: 2008

ISBN:978-0-618-75640-7

Monica’s Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Title: Pancakes for Breakfast

Author: Tomie dePaola

In Pancakes for Breakfast, a lady wakes up one morning and decides to have pancakes. She realizes that she does not have all of the ingredients so she goes out and collects them. After coming home with the last ingredient, the lady finds out her pets have ruined all of her hard work. Will she be able to eat any pancakes?

This was a very cute story. The setting is on a farm so children can get an understanding of what it is like to gather eggs and churn your own butter. They will see the hard work that goes into cooking.  Many children can relate to wanting pancakes for breakfast and perhaps helping their parents make it. The story also has a funny ending that many will enjoy. It has a great lesson too. If you put your mind to something and work hard, your goals can be accomplished even if things do not turn out the way you expect.

Publisher: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers

Copyright: 1978

ISBN: 0-15-259455-8

Monica’s Rating: 5 out of 5 stars