2 New Predictable Books for Young Readers

I hadn't been to Cover to Cover in a while so my visit there yesterday was great (after I met Mary Lee for breakfast, of course!). Beth and Sally had lots of things to show me. I bought a few new pictures books that seemed to be great additions to the predictable picture books I have.


LOOK OUT, SUZY GOOSE by Peter Horacek
Suzy Goose is a fun little character. Someone I can relate to--she is looking for a little peace and quiet! Her family and friends were making far too much noise. So, she goes into the woods looking for some peace and quiet. Even though Suzy is unaware, she has some followers. Some animals who think she would make a great meal. Just like in other cumulative tales, there is lots of repeating as each animal joins the group. There are also sound effects spread across the page that make for fun reading. I love the illustrations. They go from light and bright to dark and a bit eerie as Suzy makes her way into the woods. This one strikes me as a great read aloud and one that kids will go back to on their own over and over.



JACK AND JILL'S TREEHOUSE by Pamela Duncan Edwards is a fun version of THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT. In this version, Jack and Jill are building a treehouse. Just as in the original version, the story is cumulative as each new thing is added. The story starts out with the sentence, "This is the branch that held the treehouse that Jack and Jill built." Each page adds another material that was needed for Jack and Jill to build the treehouse. The text is on the right hand side of each two page spread. The fun part of the text is that is reads almost like a reebus--the picture of each new material is illustrated above the word on each page. The illustrations are nice and soft and readers can follow along with the building of the treehouse. I can definitely see a chart for shared reading with this book. The repeated phrases and picture supports make this great for new readers.