2 New Early Chapter Books

I bought a few of the Sofia Martinez books earlier this year when I noticed they were a new very easy reader for early 3rd grade. But last week, I order the new book, Sofia Martinez: My Family Adventure, which is more of an early chapter book.  The author, Jacqueline Jules is one I know from her series Zapato Power which I like for 3rd graders. This Sofia Martinez book is 92 pages and is about a character I came to like early in the book. There are several Spanish words embedded throughout the text (glossary in the back) which makes it different from other series chapter books i know. I liked lots about this book and it supports readers in several ways.  There are 3-4 separate stories in this book and each has 3 separate chapters. So for kids new to chapter books, this is a good one because they don't have to hold onto the story for over several days. Each story stands alone but is about Sofia and her family.  I've already had a few kids read and enjoy this.  I love that, like the Katie Woo series, there are easy readers and early chapter books about the same character.  They can grow with them and it also starts classroom conversations about choosing books about characters we love, not because of text difficulty, length, etc.  I am hoping the author writes more in this series.

Buck's Tooth is a book that Katie Dicesare told me about. It is a short early chapter book with a fun

character and a good message.  Buck is a beaver who has one big front tooth and "it ruins everything"  When the town talent show is announced, Buck doesn't know what he is going to do. He doesn't have a talent.  The book is fun and predictable and perfect for K-3 readers. (You might know this author from the Ollie and Moon series:-)

I love both of these books for our 3rd grade classroom, especially early in the school year. They are perfect for transitional readers!