Beginning & Transitional Books

Stop! Bot!

Yang, James. Stop! Bot! illus. by James Yang. 40p. 2019. Tr. $17.99. ISBN 9780425288818.

Stop! Bot!, written and illustrated by James Yang, would fall into level one of Kathleen T. Horning's easy reader level evaluation system. This colorful children's story that follows a doorman's mission to retrieve a young boy's runaway robot includes many of the level one indicators. The sentences in Stop! Bot! contain an average of five to seven words, words that primarily contain one or two syllables. The majority of these limited syllable words are also common sight words that early readers are beginning to learn and recognize. No only can these sight words be found on each page, but many of the same words are repeated throughout the book, supporting the reader's recognition and understand of these crucial vocabulary words. Additional, each page is covered in illustrations that support the reader's understanding of the text, as well as give the reader a hint as to what may happen next.  

We Are Growing!

Keller, Laurie., Willems, Mo. We Are Growing!. illus. by Laurie Keller & Mo Willems. 64p. 2016. Tr. $9.99. ISBN 978148726358. 

We Are Growing! is another example of a level one book from the perspective of Kathleen T. Horning's easy reader level evaluation system. Authors Keller and Willems use large point font to emphasize the characters' range of emotions throughout the story, as well as match the tone of each page. Each sentence contains an average of four single or double syllable words. Similarly to Stop! Bot!, the words used throughout We Are Growing! are primarily sight vocabulary words. "I," "we," "you," and "are" are repeated consistently throughout the story. Focusing on the illustrations, the pictures in We Are Growing! not only contain clues that emerging readers can use to make educated predictions, but they contrast well against the white backdrop fond on most pages. Finally, as outlined in Horning's description of level one books, the text is set in a large point type, making the words clear to identify and decode. 

Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking, and Other Natural Disasters

Look, Lenore. Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking, and Other Natural Disasters. illus. by LeUyen Pham. 192p. 2010. Tr. $7.99. ISBN 9780375857508.

Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking, and Other Natural Disasters by Lenore Look falls into the transitional books of Kathleen T. Horning's easy reader level evaluation system. This humorous tale of a boy who can find the danger or fear in anything who must survive a camping trip with his family, is broken into eighteen short and episodic chapters. Each chapter consists of full and complete sentences made of words and dialogue that are is too complex for readers to decode or understand. The content of Look's addition to her Alvin Ho series is fun, engaging, and sure to hold a child's interest. 

LeUyen Pham's illustrations are included every couple of pages to elevate the text. The majority of the illustrations share page space with the text, rather than consisting of full page spreads. Both the text and illustrations leave generous space on the left and right margins of the page. Finally, Look's text is printed in a larger type point to assist transitional readers.