Wonders Of America - Ready to Read
It is such a fun time when kids transition to learning to read. I love to read picture book still but the number of words can be overwhelming for new readers. That is why I really love Ready to Read books or leveled readers. They allow us parents to slowly increase the number of words without being a huge jump.
I still remember what level reader D read for the first time by herself, it was Callie Asks for Help from the Sherrif Callie cartoon on Disney Jr. D was obsessed at the time with Sherriff Callie and was SO proud of herself when she finished the book. It was a proud Mom moment for sure!
As a homeschool parent, I like to have a wide variety of books including nonfiction. That is why when I saw this set about amazing places in the United States.
I bought the box set that included six books, The Grand Canyon, The Statue of Liberty, Niagra Falls, Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone. I have since seen one in the same series about Yosemite! These are level one books so they are a great choice for new readers.
Each of the pages have one or two sentences with full color illustrations. The text is very simple with some basic information. For example, in Yellowstone, it mentions that Yellowstone is the first national park as well as that some fires help to keep the park healthy. I really like that it can spark conversation between the kids and parents like why the fires can be beneficial to the plants and land. That can lead to what starts the fires and how can we prevent them from happening (and introduce Smokey the Bear! Because he is awesome!).
In the back of each book, there is also a page about interesting facts from each of the locations. These definitely need to be read by the adult as the words and sentences are harder to read. You can get the individual books to go along with a trip you are planning or get the box set to add to your studies of the United States. Either way, be sure to check out this series!
