04/01/2022
PreS-Gr 1—Simple, patterned text introduces insects to new readers. One sentence per page, each with a repeated structure, highlights different animal qualities or activities: "I see a walking stick hiding…I see a green walking stick." (Walking Sticks). Accompanying full-page photographs match the words with well-chosen images that alleviate the sameness of the text. These are visually engaging and often provide intriguing examples of the insects' behaviors. For example, a "playing" dragonfly perches on a frog's head in Dragonflies, while "helping" ants work together to form a bridge between leaves in Ants. The photos also support comprehension, since some of the vocabulary words, such as "camouflaging" and "exploring," are challenging for beginning readers. A word list at the end and a text-only repetition of all 12 sentences support the books' roles as early reading texts. VERDICT Visually appealing additions to beginning nonfiction shelves.
