#road2reading Challenge - early reader stack - 2.06.2020

All journeys have a starting place.

This is a weekly place to find books and tools

that you may use with readers 

at the start of their independent reading journey.

Join in the conversation at #road2reading.

This week I've got some early reading books to share with you.  Perfect for readers who are beginning their reading journey.  These books have simple plots, rely on a lot of sight words and decodable text, and are fun to read!

I'll first start with a couple of new to me books from the 2020 Geisel Award!


Flubby Is Not a Good Pet!
by J.E. Morris
I've seen the Flubby books but apparently I have never picked one up to read, I thought I had.
This one is cute.  Readers will enjoy meeting Flubby the Cat because he is not necessarily an agreeable cat.  Flubby's owner really wants him to do "pet-like" things... like the other pets, but Flubby wants nothing to do with singing, playing catch, or jumping.
Sweet ending to the story.
Decodable text, a minimal amount of words, but fun storyline, make this a good start for readers beginning to read independently.


Stop! Bot!
by James Yang
This year's Geisel winner is one that I had never even heard of before the awards show.  My colleague was able to locate it at her library so I got a peak at it.  It's cute and clever.  A young boy loses control of his bot (a robot head) and it floats upwards, next to a tall apartment (?) building.  The residents have a variety of ways to try and get the bot, but they keep missing.  With all of these neighbors at the ready, it seems like an occurrence like this has happened before... in fact the savvy reader will notice while the bot is travelling up, up, up, on most pages there is a banana going down, down, down.  The ending is cute and has a great one-liner that will make you laugh out loud.  Don't read through the minimal amount of text too quickly, be sure to find the details in the illustrations.
Probably not my favorite Geisel winner, but definitely a cute story.


Some newly published picture books:


Bug Dipping, Bug Sipping
written by Marilyn Singer
illustrated by Lucy Semple
This rhyming poem will be fun for young readers to read and practice reading their -ing chunks!  Some words will be tricky because the picture clues might not be enough to help readers figure out the word - ceiling, meadow, disguising - but also is full of decodable words.
I love seeing more nonfiction texts for independent readers.


Jack at Bat
written by Mac Barnett
illustrated by Greg Pizzoli
I'll be honest, I'm not a huge fan of this series.  Sometimes having a flawed character makes the story really fun to read.  And while Jack is plenty flawed, I really don't care for him.  I could see kids enjoying his naughtiness, and while I haven't really promoted the series with kids yet, I haven't seen anyone flock to this series.  I need to book talk it soon, I would be interested in seeing what kids think.
Out of the four published books, I guess this one is "my favorite".  Please know I use that term very loosely.  There were parts that made me chuckle - Rex taking off with the ball, Jack being sidetracked by what looks like Cracker Jacks (who wouldn't be sidetracked by that???).  But the rest is questionable.


Jack Goes West
Just.  No.
Too much I don't like and I don't get why it is in a children's book.
White guy being the savior except you know, he's the bad guy.  And he's trying to woo a much older lady.  Because that goes in a children's book.  
And why the old west setting?


The following books are just a bit longer and feature chapters.  Perfect for readers who still need support with picture clues, sight words, decodable text, but are looking to increase stamina with longer reads.
I'm grateful to have these books for readers who still need these supports but want something fun, engaging, and COOL!!!  Love that these books keep readers reading!



Don't Worry, Bee Happy
by Ross Burach
I enjoy Burach's humor and I know readers are going to laugh out loud at some of the funny stories in this early graphic novel.  This is a series I'll be watching and adding to my collection.


Moby Shinobi and Toby Too! Surf's Up!
by Luke Flowers
I have readers who really enjoy the Moby Shinobi pictures books, excited to see this as an early chapter book.  Full of colorful and busy pictures, these rhyming chapters are fun to read and this particular one has a fun setting - the beach!