She Can Read!

I've been pointing to words as I read to my almost-five-year-old, asking her to sound them out.  At first she was very resistant, so I didn't push it.  If she wanted to try, great, if not, not.  But lately she has become more receptive, even volunteering to read and I've noticed that she was able to sound out more and more words with more ease as well as read some words by sight.

However, I have found it hard to find books for the very earliest of readers.  Either they are too hard or have so little content that they are deathly boring.

So last night I wrote two very short "stories" on our whiteboard.  They weren't too thrilling either but this way I could come up with a mix of words I knew she knew by sight, words I knew she could sound out, and words that would be a little challenging.  My funny husband added his own unique touch at the bottom. 

And she did it!  She can read!

Do you have any book recommendations for the just-barely-starting-to-read reader?

B.P.: Before Pink

Before pink, there was red.  Red used to be a "girl color" and I've got the books to prove it.  Ann Likes Red by Dorothy Z. Seymour follows a determined little girl on a shopping trip.  She turns down every suggestion for clothes other than red and ends up with an all-red outfit - and a very nice one, I might add!  Written as an early reader and as an alternative to Dick-and-Jane type books, I have to confess that I find this book a tad boring, although my girls love it.  Its five-star rating on Amazon appears to be due more to nostalgia than quality, with reviewer after reviewer reminiscing about how this book helped her learn to read.

Even better is Red is Best by Kathy Stinson.  Here the protagonist is an equally stubborn girl, a few years younger.  She, however, provides hysterical justifications for why her red mittens are better than her brown ones (they make better snowballs), the red cup is better than the green (juice tastes better in it - of course!) and so on.  What I love about this book is that it works on multiple levels.  My 4-year-old thinks the juice really does taste better in the green cup, but my 6-year-old sees the humor and ridiculousness and gets a kick out of the book as well.  There aren't too many easy picture books that my older daughter still enjoys, but this is one of them. 

Meanwhile, as a red-lover myself, I have been bemoaning the lack of red clothes for girls since my first daughter was born.  I think red's ready for a comeback!

Is there a book about your or your child's favorite color?