Beginning/Transitional Books: We are Growing!, The Cat on the Mat is Flat, Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking, and Other Natural Disasters

We are Growing!, Mo Willems. Hyperion Books for Children, Sept 2016. 64 pages, $9.99, 9781484726358.

   

    We are Growing! is part of the Elephant & Piggie series. The story begins with Elephant and Piggie introducing a book on watching grass grow. Readers can follow along with Elephant and Piggie as they learn about Walt and his grass friends. These blades of grass grow a unique characteristic that makes them “something-est”. Some of his friends are the tallest, crunchiest, curliest, or silliest. However, Walt is left wondering what his “something-est” is. When the lawn mower comes around to cut them down to the same size, they all realize they can be similar while still being the “-est” at something. This enjoyable book is for children trying to figure out their individuality within a group. There is always something special about them. 

    We are Growing! is a Level 1 book. The narrative has a large, bold 17-20 point type, at most four words per line, three-six words per sentence, and usually two-seven words per line. The text has slight vocabulary words with one-syllable words of five letters or fewer. The story is easy to follow because speech bubbles allow readers to differentiate between dialogue and text. The text is simple, while the illustrations are bold and humorous. The book acts like a picture book. The illustrations bring the blades of grass to life and allow the readers to interpret the story visually. Illustration and white spaces take up most of the page.

The Cat on the Mat is Flat, Andy Griffiths. Square Fish, Sept 2009. 192 pages, $7.99, 9780312535841.

    The Cat on the Mat is Flat is a collection of nine short stories, including adventures of the rat and the flat cat, a frog on a log, ducks Chuck and Buck, and Ed and the dog Fred. The Cat on the Mat is Flat is a Level 2 beginning reader with 179 pages. It is perfect for early readers who want to feel like they are reading a big chapter book. The storytelling is efficient with controlled vocabulary, rhyming, short words, and some multisyllabic words. There are about three-seven words per line and mostly three-seven lines of text. Some more advanced stories have seven-fifteen lines, but the amount of words on each line is small. All of this would help with fluency, decoding, and phonics. Plus, the stories are funny. The frenzied line drawings on each page complement the text well, adding to the playful and hilarious nature of the text. These line drawings do not act like decorations but instead balance well with the text. There are plenty of white spaces.

Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking, and Other Natural Disasters, Lenore Look. Yearling; Reprint edition, May 2010. 192 pages, $7.99, 9780375857508.

 Alvin Ho is afraid of everything, including the outdoors and the upcoming father-and-son camping trip. The story begins with Alivin Ho getting himself stuck with a Houdini kit. His dad comes around to save him and brings up the idea of camping. Or course, Alvin is less than thrilled. His friends try to calm his nerves by playing camp at recess, but things do not end well. Now Alvin is more scared of camping than anything. His uncle Denis comes around to offer his Batman ring and some camping tips that are both practical and ridiculous. On the day of camping, Alvin is still scared to go. His sister comes along for the adventure, and they make a new friend. Turns out, camping is not so bad after all.

    Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking, and Other Natural Disasters is a transitional book perfect for children ready for chapter books but still appreciate some illustrations on multiple pages. The right-hand margins are justified, and there is plenty of white space with generous margins on each page. The typeface is relatively large. The author makes use of typeface to showcase emotion. Bolded capital letters reflect screaming, while the small typeface reflects shy and hesitant feelings. The energetic, quick, and vivid narrative reflects Alvin’s chaotic and nervous emotions. The sentences are not broken into shorter lines. The sentences are short, direct, and sound like what a child would say. The chapters are short and episodic. There are some small illustrations on the pages and a few full-page spreads. The small ink illustrations help retain readers’ attention through their funny nature. The content is compelling enough to hold a child’s interest but not so complicated that it is hard to follow. The situations are funny and show readers that they can overcome their fears.