Wiley Blevins

The dogs are Birdwell Island are pitted against each other in a race. I wonder how the dog with the legspan of a limousine will do against those a fraction of his size?

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.

At least post-race drug testing should clear up whether or not Emily Elizabeth has been doping Clifford with canine growth hormone all these years.

4.0-4.25 Stars read with an adult,
2.5-2.75 Stars read alone

Trevor Lee is a third-grader trapped in a three-letter world. He has managed to keep his secret from everyone...family, peers, and even teachers are seemingly unaware he is struggling to read. But when his teacher announces that all students have to get up on stage and read out loud during Parent's Night Trevor knows his secret will be out.

Oh my goodness! What was he going to do? He and his best friend Pinky, try to get him out of show more it. Sneaky, not so sneaky, one by one their ideas fail. Now with his secret hanging over him like the anvil about to crush poor Coyote's head in the classic cartoon. He thinks of his beloved Grandmother's words. "Some days are just bad. You gotta hold your head high and keep moving."

Cute without being cutesy and laugh out loud humorous at times. Wiley Blevins' story is populated by realistic characters 7-10-year-old girls and boys can readily identify with and easily relate too. Many children struggle with basic reading skills. It is important to emphasize everyone learns at their own pace and it's okay to be on a different level than your friends. However, we do not want to encourage kids to put forth so much effort to avoid learning. I think Trevor Lee and The Big Uh Oh should be read for the first time with an adult. Because it is important kids get the right message.

Note: I read the book. Then read it with my seven-year-old granddaughter. When finished I asked her what she thought. She immediately asked, "Nana, why couldn't Trevor read? Why didn't his teacher know he couldn't read? Didn't his family read with him every day like we do?" She also thought this would be a good book for her class to read together. Sharing this book with her provided me with an opportunity to discuss responsibility, keeping secrets, asking for help, and the importance of practicing. (Why her Nana always says "practice, practice, practice -- to get better at anything we have to practice!")

Happy Reading,

RJ show less

For a book with a limited page count, it spends an awful lot of real estate on leprechauns. Otherwise, a very nice intro to the UK (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland). Plenty of maps, photos, vital stats, fun facts, a version of the King Arthur tale, and a UK/US "how do you say it?" (truck vs lorry, e.g.).

I'm giving this Clifford phonics book a bonus star for at least throwing in some consolation activities -- a maze, counting, a look and find -- since it wasn't able to actually tell a story.