Lost in the Leaf Pile

November 1, 2013

K-Gr 2-These easy-to-read titles are written with repetitive text and controlled vocabulary, much like most leveled readers. Each story begins with Saturday-morning breakfast as triplets Ana, Bella, and Carlos decide what to do for the day. They play and work together, solving problems as they arise, while enjoying one another's company. In the first book, the triplets can not find their cat after working together to rake a big pile of leaves. They guess that Boo is in the leaves and look for him, but find him in the nearest tree instead. In the second book, they each want to do something different at the Pumpkin Fair. Their parents instruct them to stay together, but Ana wants to go on a ride, Bella wants to find the horses, and Carlos wants to listen to music. Luckily, they find the perfect compromise on the merry-go-round. In the third book, the kids play school at home and carry their joy for learning to the classroom on Monday. Soft cartoon illustrations might help young readers become more independent as the visual cues closely align with the texts. The stories are logical and thoughtful and will appeal to a wide range of youngsters.-Lindsay Persohn, University of South Florida, Tampa

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