Best Friends in the Snow

ISBN 0590522841 - Since I'm going through the Christmas books, this one seemed like a close enough relative to fit well into the group, especially considering those (kind of evil) parents who like to do a bit of homeschooling over Christmas break. In rhyming text, two friends go out in the snow - properly dressed, of course. They build a snowman and a fort and have fun in the snow, on the ice, in the cold, because they're together. The text, by author Angela Shelf Medearis (really, has an author ever had a better middle name?), is nice, if unspectacular. Spectacular, however, isn't really the goal here; this book's intention, like all the books in the Hello Reader! series, is to help you help your child learn to read and that goal is one it reaches. Simple words in a fun story for Level 1 (ages 3 to 6), are bound to engage your child. Illustrator Ken Wilson-Max has created characters that look as if a child had drawn them, and I don't mean that in a bad way. I think kids will like the lack of sophistication in the images. The book begins with some ideas for how to help your child learn to read and notes about the activities in the back and the game cards inside. This is great material for parents and teachers and, best of all, kids will appreciate that reading can be fun. If you buy this used, remember it's not complete without the cards! - AnnaLovesBooks