Joe Cepeda

These are two of the latest titles from Holiday House's I like to read imprint. It's difficult to find the very beginning pre-reader levels, and Holiday House is, as far as I know, the only publisher to supply them in hardcover book form rather than packs of little paperbacks like BOB books (although I do buy those too).

I like my bike was published in January. The kid on the cover has shoulder-length black hair, white skin with spots of color on their cheeks. Their helmet is decorated with a show more dash of yellow, their pants are blue, their shirt white with blue stripes. Tucked into the basket of their red bike is a small dog, ball, and what looks like a parcel with green ribbon.

The opening pages show the kid packing up their bike and setting out into the city. Each page shows a different vehicle, each driven by a different anthropomorphic animal or human, with the sentence "I like my..." A red car with a mouth in its front bumper driven by a long-nosed dog-like creature is the first. Through each fanciful vehicle, the kid on the bike is seen in the distance, riding steadily along. Sometimes they cram onto a packed three-level bus, zip across hills, or are dwarfed by a giant cheese-truck driven by a mouse. A last picture of the kid zooming on their bike, then they arrive at their destination - a party in the park. The pictures are simple sketches and the words even simpler, but the kooky creatures and vehicles will repay multiple readings and viewings since kids are sure to notice new details each time they visit the book.

I dig was published in May. It's the second book featuring Joe Cepeda's imaginative set of brothers. Brown-haired and with light brown skin, the smaller boy excitedly points out features of the beach, ending with a shovel. He sets out to dig, encountering shells, sea stars and their dog in his sandy tunnel. Finally, he re-emerges and the two watch the stars come out together on the beach. Simple but funny, Cepeda's thick, digital colors aren't my personal favorites, but they're a nice complement to the simple text and lightly humorous underground discoveries at the beach.

Verdict: Kids at the beginning of their reading journey need a wide range of titles and these fill a needed gap, even if they may not be "great literature". They're certainly a step above Dick and Jane and offer a fun variety of art styles and gentle humor. Add these to keep your collection balanced with plenty of fun, lower-level titles for beginners.

I like my bike
ISBN: 9780823440979

I Dig
ISBN: 9780823439751

Published 2019 by Holiday House; Purchased for the library show less

Author and illustrator joe Cepeda has another reader with the same characters as his book “up” and “I dig”. This is also an easy reader in the “I like to read“ series. Text is very simple and large for the early and beginning readers. Illustrations are colorful and very expressive. Two boys are exploring the attic and the youngest one finds a magnifying glass. He ventures outside with it to look at very small bugs like ants, butterflies, and snails. He also sees eggs in a nest show more hatching on the next page. Many pages have just the words “I see” on them.
The reviewer had a hardback copy which was larger than your average reader. The publisher uses a letter system for its reading level and has it at level B fit for middle of kindergarten according to the publisher.
Written
AD+
Pre Kindergarten through 1st grade show less

A young boy finds a po-go stick at a garage sale and goes on adventures hopping through town.

This book is designed for the earliest of readers who are just learning sight words. Each page spread is just one simple sentence, such as “I hop.” or “I see apples.” or “I pay.” This is all well and good but it’s dull. Also, the book doesn’t follow its own structure, with “I pay.” only used one of the times, making it seem like the child doesn’t acquire the other items, which show more he does.

The illustrations are fine but overall the book is pretty lackluster; it’s really only good for the most basic readers who need sight words practice and I guess this is slightly better than just rote memorization. show less

I enjoyed this book for several reasons. The first reason was for the characters. For the most part, they were the classic tortoise and hare from the age old story. These characters, however, surprise the reader at the end by both attaining the outcome they desired from the race. I also enjoyed the illustrations a lot. Their painted style was vibrant, and really lent themselves to the story. This books big picture was of friendship. In the end, it didn't matter who won the race, only that show more both the tortoise and the hare had gained a friend. show less