Cloudy With a Chance of Books

From the first sentence I knew what this book would be about.  “Katie Woo’s dog, Goldie, was very old.”

Goldie passes away and the book encompasses Katie’s grieving process.  At first she is very sad and needs her mother.  Then she turns to her friends to remember the happy and silly moments of Goldie’s life.  Finally, she decides to create a scrapbook of memories that celebrate Goldie’s long and happy life.  At the end she kisses a photo of Goldie and promises not to forget her.

It is a simple & familiar story, but a very good treatment of pet death for a kindergarten to 2nd grader.  The language is simple enough for beginning readers to read independently and it will be comforting for children who’ve lost a pet to see someone in their position.  The book may also be a good starting point for children with older pets to begin thinking about pet loss. After the story is over, the book includes a section with discussion questions, writing prompts and a guide to making your own scrapbook.  The Katie Woo series is positioned to be good for groups of kids to discuss.  Adults running book discussions with beginning readers should check out Katie Woo.  32p., 2009.

Cybils nominee for Easy Readers/Short Chapter Books category.

This book about a dog named Aggie and her boy, Ben, is a cheerful treat for new readers. Ben wonders if Aggie is a good dog and if she will ever learn to SIT and STAY when there are squirrels and cats to chase.

The illustrator does a great job of capturing movement and emotion in his pictures. I particularly enjoyed the scene where Aggie gets into a ladies’ hat shop and finds a mirror that shows her three dogs who need to be barked at. On a tear through the store Aggie ends up in a jaunty hat. A dog wearing a ladies hat is very funny.

Ries manages the fine art of storytelling in short sentences and with short words. This book is very friendly to beginning readers. The stories are simple, but filled with action.  The pictures support the story showing the action described in the text which is helpful for readers who may struggle with the words.  The book is divided into 3 chapters (Aggie at School, Aggie in Training, and A Bad Dog) and is just under 50 pages which feels like a good length – long enough to feel substantial without being overwhelming to new readers.  I would recommend this book and its prequel Aggie and Ben to readers who like DiCamillo’s Mercy Watson books. 48p., 2009

I am going to be a judge for the Cybils category of Easy Readers and Early Chapter Book. I trying to read and review as many of the nominated books as possible to get a feel for the genre.  This is the first nominee I’ve read.