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at the start of their independent reading journey.
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I cannot say enough positives about Scholastic's new Acorn line. Following in the tradition of the Branches line, Acorn is providing early readers with a line of series that are extremely engaging, have memorable characters, and with its neat and trim size, very accessible for young hands to hold!
As an educator, I can tell you first hand the positives of these books. This line is intended for readers who are reading at an approximate H-J Fountas and Pinnell guided reading level. Readers at these levels are looking for books that they can not only read independently, but they also want books that are fun for all kids to read. Too often books at this level are monotonous, don't have fun characters, and well... are kind of a bore to read. Not this series. They are engaging and have characters that you either want to be friends with or laugh along with. The Acorn line have chapters, which for a young reader, it is a "status" thing to say you are reading chapter books!
I am excited to see there are more Acorn books coming. Yay for our young readers!
Here are some of the new additions to the line:
Let's Play, Crabby!
by Jonathan Fenske
Crabby is definitely one of my favorite characters - he's snarky and is unapologetic about it! Crabby's snark and fellow ocean dweller, Plankton's happy-go-lucky attitude are the perfect combination for a fun read. In this second book of the series, Plankton does his best to convince Crabby to play some games. It goes about how you expect it to go....
Let's Have a Sleepover!
by Norm Feuti
Hedgehog and Harry are having a sleepover. Harry has dilemma after dilemma - should he bring a favorite stuffed animal? What happens when Hedgehog wants to sleep outside in a tent? That is outside Harry's comfort zone! Luckily Hedgehog is a good friend and can figure out a compromise.
Princess Truly: I Am a Super Girl!
written by Kelly Greenawalt
illustrated by Amariah Rauscher
You may have met Princess Truly in her picture book series, now told in chapters and fitting in this trim size, Princess Truly fits right into the Acorn line.
I love that this character is a girl princess and a super hero!
Poppleton
written by Cynthia Rylant
illustrated by Mark Teague
Another series that has been remarketed for Acorn - kids will like the short episodic stories of this pig and his friends.
Dragon's Fat Cat
by Dav Pilkey
The second book in this remarketed series is even better than the first! Dragon finds a cat outside of his home and brings her in and they become fast friends - through stinkiness and a surprise!
Unicorn and Yeti: A Good Team
written by Heather Ayris Burnell
illustrated by Hazel Quintanilla
The first book in this series was a huge hit for my readers. My reading intervention students who are in second grade were so happy with this series - it was a longer book, broken into chapters, and a graphic novel. Perfect! In this second book Unicorn and Yeti find ways to think creatively to play games together.
Mister Shivers: Beneath the Bed and Other Scary Stories
written by Max Brallier
illustrated by Letizia Rubegni
A book that is very reminiscent of the book In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories by Alvin Schwartz - episodic, creepy stories that have decodable and controlled text but are CREEPY! There are a couple of stories in here that gave me the shivers! I think this is going to be a very well read series!
And don't miss the end of each book where there are step by step directions for drawing a character!
I'm glad to see that all of these series have more books coming. They are all well loved by readers. Perfect for 1st-3rd graders!
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