Tuesday, August 8, 2017

#road2reading Challenge - new transitional chapter books from Scholastic 8.08.17


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 reading journey.
Join in the conversation at #road2reading.

A publisher that I always look to for fun transitional chapter books is Scholastic.  They do a great job of publishing books that kids want to read.  Their Branches collection is fantastic - books from this label are always checked out by my students.  This spring/early summer they published several new transitional chapter books that you might want to add for this school year.

Remy Sneakers vs. the Robo-Rats (Remy Sneakers #1)
Remy Sneakers vs. the Robo-Rats
by Kevin Sherry
This first in a series introduces us to Remy Sneakers - a sneaker and fanny pack wearing raccoon.  In this first book he is being framed for stealing goods from a museum.  With some help from his city dwelling friends, Remy may outwit the bad guys... or is it bad robots?

Toby Goes Bananas by Franck Girard
Toby Goes Bananas
by Franck Girard 
illustrated by Serge Bloch
This is one of those books that you know kids will love because of the ridiculous humor.  It might not make adults laugh, probably roll their eyes, but kids are going to have the giggles while reading this book.
We learn about Toby, his family, friends, and how a typical day of school goes for him.  Told in both print and in comic frames, young readers are going to love the mixed formats and silly jokes.

Ugly Cat & Pablo
Ugly Cat and Pablo
by Isabel Quintero
illustrated by Tom Knight
The first book in a series, we are introduced to Pablo the mouse, Ugly Cat the, uh... cat, and Big Mike, the bulldog.  The three unlikely friends seem to get into silly trouble that you can spot coming a mile away.  Lots of Spanish words are throughout the book, however I wish there had been a list of the words and their translations.  Most you can figure out through context, but there were even a few I had to guess at.  
When the friends speak the font changes which makes it easier for young readers to know it switched to a new character speaking.

Let's Do A Thing! (Victor Shmud, Total Expert #1)
Victor Shmud Total Expert: Let's Do a Thing!
by Jim Benton
This is one of those books that I will have to kid test because I am definitely not the targeted audience.  Full of silly humor, some of it the kind only appreciated by a child, I can see kids giggling over it.  
Victor Shmud is full of ideas, some good, some inventive, some a bit out there.  In this first book, he is kidnapped by aliens because they think (because of his "skills" in video gaming) he is an expert in interspace battle strategy.  Victor will have to use all of his ideas to figure out this predicament! 
The only concern I have with this book is how the author chose to illustrate the teacher.  It's a bit disturbing to me.  I'm not sure if kids will pick up on it or not.  Probably not, but it does concern me a bit.


Don't miss Alyson's post about some graphic novel format books for the early reader.

Want to talk about books for readers who are on the #road2reading?  Link up here!

No comments:

Post a Comment