Joan Heilbroner

I recently came across a first-edition collection of “Step-up” books from the 1960s, much to my joy. I’d been looking for these books for years because they were the first real books I read in that long-ago. I must have been in second or third grade when I’d sit on the floor of that little one-room library, and devour the big words and pictures in these wonderful books. Now, after 50 years, I have a set of them in my hands again. Looking at the fantastic illustrations is like show more traveling back in time. I remember many of those images as if I just saw them yesterday. That says something about the artists. I didn’t know what to expect of the writing, but I was thrilled with what I found in this one about George Washington. It was a fun read, and there’s a surprising chunk of information here for a young reader. show less

A good early reader about the sympathetic Robert the Rose Horse. My five year old is sensitive, so I was watching him very carefully for reactions to the harsher elements of the story: separation from your parents, loosing your nice job, coming across bad guy robbers, etc. He held it together although I could tell he was touched by the story. We just made sure to flip the pages quick enough to discover the good outcomes. All in all a good, eventful story with a happy ending. It's a bit long show more for a beginner reader, but there's plenty of repetition and overall it's an easy read. It's a memorable story to read again at some point. show less

This was one of my favorites as a child. I don't know exactly why, as an adult I can see the humor; but I remember it being much better as a child.

This book is cute because as a class, we could all repeat what has happened to Jack while he has lived in that house. Each page adds on to what has happened to Jack. For example, This is jacks house. This is jacks dog that lives in the house. This is the pail that fell on Jack's head while walking his dog, and this is where Jack lives. It will add a step each time so it would be a great assessment to see if my students remember the read.