I have a new find to share with you today! The first set of Bob Books for beginning readers was sent to me recently by Scholastic and MotherTalk, and I am just in love with these little books. The drawings are simple and engaging, the stories easy to understand, and the pedagogy that underlies their creation is sound.
Perhaps not surpisingly, it is this last criterion that attracted me first to these little books, but it’s not what keeps us going back to them.
This set of 12 little books retails for $16.99 and provides an introduction to the world of Mat and Sam, Dot and Mit, the vet, and many other one-syllabled characters. The very first book is the simplest, introducing Mat and Sam and simple actions that use the letters M, A, S, and T. The next two books add C, D, and I, and the characters Dot and Mit, who is a cat. The language is simple and the rhymes occasional, but the progression is utterly engaging.
Each book begins with the new letters and a pronounciation guide “H as in Hat” that will be consistent throughout series 1 (with the exception of the letter g, which will be used two ways). The book ends with a guide on how to enjoy the book with your child further. The line drawings are kept intentionally simple, so that preschoolers can draw their own stories about the characters they meet.
All these details — and the fact that they were created by a master teacher – keep me coming back to these intriguing little books. My 3 year old, however, who gets a real kick out of reading so many books before naptime, just thinks they’re fun.
Categories:
