When a cat grabs the rag Pat uses to help her father clean the van and runs away with it, Pat gets very upset. Pat and Nat chase the cat across the vibrant pages and introduce new words that sound alike in this early reader. Context clues guide young readers to experience the story as they learn to correlate sounds with letters or groups of letters and begin to read.

This timeless story about sports, winners, and losers incorporates one-syllable words with similar sounds and introduces words that begin with the letter z. The story is packed with excellent situations for discussing feelings when one loses or wins, situations most children have experienced. Using primary colors to illustrate the soccer game, coupled with the facial reactions of the team, it’s easy to see which team won and which one lost.

Ed and Jill hike in the mountains with their parents and are excited to see a large buck. Careful to follow their parent’s instructions when walking on the rocks in the water, the children enjoy a happy day in this tender early reader. The lush colors of the mountain scenes provide nice context clues as early readers master their new reading skills and slightly longer sentences.

Give a child a pot and a spoon and music beckons. Mom gave Dot a mop to clean the floor and Bob a pot to wash, but they discover there is a lot of banging and hopping to do before they settle to do the jobs. A lifelike, fun story engages early readers with cheerful illustrations and easy-to-master beginning and ending word sounds that encourage a love of reading.