Amazon.com Review
For many kids, there's nothing quite so exciting as realizing that the ABCs are more than just a song. In parts 1 and 2 of Betty Miles's very accessible book--written not just for parents, but for beginner readers themselves--she helps children discover how much they already know about reading, and shows them some fun ways to learn to read. By telling young readers some things they already know (that letters are part of writing, they know how to talk--talking is good practice for reading, they know about books, and they know about many of the things they will read about--dogs, cats, the moon, stars, tying shoes, zipping zippers...), Miles encourages kids to take the next steps. She suggests that beginning readers learn to read by getting help from pictures, remembering words, sounding out letters, expecting what comes next, writing words themselves, and trying to figure out if what they're reading makes sense. She uses recognizable examples, with some silly ones thrown in for a giggle. Part 3 consists of 20 pages of short-short stories for kids to read themselves (or with help). Sylvie Wickstrom's cartoonish illustrations of pudgy children and animals are tremendously appealing, without being distracting. This is a reassuring resource for any child on the verge of reading, by an educator and author of 30 books for young readers, including The Secret Life of the Underwear Champ. (Ages 3 to 6) --Emilie Coulter