by Laurel Snyder; illus. by Emily Hughes
48 pages; ages 6-9
Chronicle Books, 2020
Charlie and Mouse are brothers – and if you know anything about brothers then you already know that 1+1 is more than 2. In this fourth book of the series, Charlie and Mouse take a quick hike, defeat a big lion, hide in a small tent, and have a marvelous outdoor adventure.
But first they have to survive a long and boring drive. “Why don’t you make up a story,” says Dad. Charlie tries. But it’s hard, so he looks out the window for inspiration. Then flights of fancy take over and soon he’s got imaginary animals engaged in battle.
What I like about this book: There are four chapters, each focusing on a specific part of Charlie and Mouse’s outdoor adventure. The language is perfect for children ready to move from beginning readers to a book with chapters. And the illustrations are engaging. Plus there’s plenty of room for a kid’s imagination to soar.
by Dori Hillestad Butler; illus. by Nancy Meyers
48 pages; ages 7 - 9
Peachtree Publishing, 2020
What I love about the King & Kayla series is the way they begin. Each book starts, "Hello! My name is King. I'm a dog. This is Kayla. She is my human." And then they are doing something – and no matter what they are doing it is King’s favorite thing! In this book they’re heading out for a W-A-L-K (I’m spelling it out in case you’re reading this aloud and your fur-pup is sitting right there).
Then King learns that his little buddy, Thor is blamed for digging up a neighbor’s garden and getting into the trash. King is on the case!
What I like about this book: King investigates clues. The garbagy mess doesn’t look like the sort of thing Thor would leave, and Cat with No Name warns him to watch out for the new guy. Meanwhile Kayla and her friend are using science and detective logic to solve the mystery. I love that Kayla makes lists of what they know and what they don’t know. This is a fun book for beginning readers who like puzzles.
You can peek at more King & Kayla books at an earlier review here. Review copies provided by the publishers.
I can see how kids would love getting into these chapter books. So relatable. I spent my summer reading quite a few novels, too. So many great books out there!
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