April Fool! A Harry & Emily Adventure (A Holiday House Reader, Level 2) (Holiday House Readers Level 2) - Softcover

Karen Gray Ruelle's books for children include "75 Fun Things to Make and Do by Yourself," several board books, and five more Holiday House Readers. She lives in New York City.

Kindergarten-Grade 1-In the first book, Frog is jealous when his best bud, Turtle, is also friendly with Otter, Bird, and Squirrel. However, when Baby Bear threatens Turtle, Frog is the first one to the rescue, followed by the others. After they are safe from danger, Frog realizes that it is OK to have many friends. The colorful animals have facial expressions that show their feelings; otherwise they are illustrated realistically. The simple words and sentence structure along with the lesson learned make this a good choice for beginning-reader collections. In April Fool! Harry and Emily are trying to think of tricks that are safe and fun to play on their parents and one another. When the big day arrives, the kitten siblings are ready to fool each other and also are tricked themselves. The text is a bit choppy and doesn't flow as well as in the first book, but the cartoons of the cat family are amusing. This is an adequate beginner-level book with the often-forgotten holiday as its theme.
Sandra Welzenbach, Villarreal Elementary School, San Antonio, TX
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