Elspeth Rae

What a blessing this book is for children with dyslexia. My son is 11 and we have been working on his reading for years. It’s been a daily struggle. This year has been a breakthrough year and when we received this book to review he was actually thrilled to try it. He loved that I was reading alongside him and that he got the graphic novel side. I loved how it helped reinforce the special sounds that we were currently working on. He got through the first chapter with ease and it gave him show more great confidence. It is rare for him to be willing to pick up a book on his own but this time he asked me when we could read chapter 2. As a homeschool mom and a former Special Education teacher, I am thrilled that this “Orca Two Read” series was created and I am eager to see the next books in the series. These will be on my shelves for years to come. show less

The authors have created a beginner's reading book featuring a two-read approach. Each page has a buddy-text for the advanced reader paired with a graphics page for the beginner or struggling reader. There are four short stories in which adventure builds on the previous theme with the addition of a new letter combination. The pairing allows the child to lose any sense of overwhelming difficulty and teaches several basic consonant combinations: ck, sh, ch, th.

The stories are engaging for show more children who enjoy the out of doors in an urban park-type setting and relate to animals as pets. In that regard, such a background could present an unfamiliar environment for inner city kids. How widely would the tales be relevant for children who may live in such a different world?

Personally, I found the themes slightly contrived, but that may pass over the child's head. I also wondered if there would be problems with the busy graphics, rather than the storylines. The graphics felt very dominating in stark black, greys and white. Without having access to trying out the stories with a 6 to 9 year-old child, I couldn't evaluate how effective the presentation might be. The activities in each section were great, however. A very engaging aspect to encourage reading.

The idea of paired reading was a good thought. It may have been more effective had the simpler text been interleaved with the adult's portion, so that the story flowed smoothly. Perhaps having the beginner's sentences in a different colour might make it easier to switch back and forth with the black text for the buddy-reader. I would have chosen the picture page to have some labels but no conversation bubbles.

Granted I am not an expert in teaching or in the business of writing children's educational material. However, I did wonder how much the narratives would go over successfully in classrooms beyond the limits shown in the book. I live in a city where these stories would leave many of our 6 to 9 y.o inner-city kids gazing out the windows, waiting for recess. That particular audience desperately needs engagement in reading, if that was the authors' objective. show less

Although this might be too easy for children who are already reading well, they might still enjoy the comic-book style stories. For children who are still learning or who are having difficulty, it will provide invaluable help with those tricky letter combinations such as ck, sh, ch and th. Pairing the lesson with a partner as the book suggests, makes learning to read fun, an important component of any lesson. While the stories are intended for 6 to 9 year olds, they are not too childish so show more that an older ESL student might find them of use. show less

With fun stories, tons of illustrations and animal adventures, this book helps readers with language-based learning difficulties find their way to master some words.

This is a book with a purpose—to help kids with dyslexia and other reading difficulties learn to read. Focusing on words with 'ck', 'sh', 'ch', and 'th', each story presents words with these sounds in a fashion, which should make it easier for these types of readers to learn.

The book starts out with a foreword, addressing how show more each story is to be read. The four stories are based on a two-reader system, with the adult/buddy reader taking the left side of the page (which holds heavier text and words), leaving the fun, graphic novel form on the right side for the child to read. Both sides have the focused on words in large, black font. The spacing of the words, coloring and such take a form, which is centered around making reading easier for kids with these difficulties. Each story is divided into chapters, making it simple to do the reading in small sections. At the end of each story, are several activities, which help readers to revisit the words and work with them. At the end of the book, there is more information surrounding the methodology and useage of this system.

As to the stories, they center around a brother and sister (Meg and Greg), who come across as very natural kids. They run across various animals, are always helpful, and run into some sticky situations...all which are gentle in nature while still holding a little bit of excitement. There's even a smidgen of humor built in, which creates an enjoyable read. There are twists and turns, which make it hard to guess where the tale is headed, and this also guarantees that readers will be curious enough to want to read the stories to the end.

The graphic novel like set-up is something I can only give a thumbs-up to. This form is very popular among young readers and allows the idea of reading a story come across more gently, than chucking a book at these kids. The illustrations support the text and keep it broken up enough to steer clear of becoming overwhelming. And the two-reader system insures that kids don't have to tackle this alone.

Summed up, this is a lovely way to approach young readers with reading problems without scaring them off. It offers support, fun, and practice with a duo, which readers are sure to connect to. And those who love animals are going to enjoy this one even more.

I received an ARC and was surprised at how well this is done. show less