I’ve been able to read a few leveled readers lately and wanted to share some reviews. I love this format for new readers because you can find (a) a variety of familiar characters for kids to enjoy while they read, (b) a variety of reading levels, and (c) a great format for fun, engaging nonfiction. Here are some of the early readers I have read lately.
The Chestnut Challenge – [I received a review copy of this from the publisher. All opinions are my own.] This is book 4 in the Nocturnals series starring three friends – Tobin the pangolin, Bismark the sugar glider and Dawn the fox. In this story, the friends are playing a checkers-like game called Chestnuts when they meet a chinchilla named Chandler who says he is a Chestnuts champion. But is Chandler really that good at the game, or is he a cheater? This was a solid story about dealing with cheating among friends. I also liked learning a little about these different animals in the backmatter. Rating: ♥♥♥½
A Sea Otter to the Rescue – Part of the Tails from History series, this tells the story of Toola, a five-year-old sea otter rescued by a California aquarium in 2001. The aquarium also rescued a baby otter. The staff knew pups raised by humans don’t do as well when they are returned to the wild. They introduced the pup to Toola, and she treated him as if he was her own pup. She taught him to swim and eat and groom himself like otters do. And that pup did so well back in the wild, he had a family of his own. Toola ended up raising 12 rescued pups – and other aquariums used the same system to help rescue other pups. Kids can read all about Toola and the impact she had on orphan pups and other environmental issues for otters. This was a delight to read – cute illustrations and an engaging story! Rating: ♥♥♥♥½
If You Love Dolphins/Video Games, You Could Be… – This new nonfiction series introduces readers to careers and fields of study that go with popular interests like dolphins and video games. (Future books will look at fashion and cooking.) Each book digs into three careers and then touches on five more in the backmatter. This is a clever idea and I think these will be great for classrooms and school/public libraries where kids can then dig into those careers even deeper. Rating: ♥♥♥♥