Pat Schories

Love this easy reader, great for new readers! Repeating words such as "Chuck" and "pie". Very cute illustrations of animals working together to help Chuck get the pie he loves. Maybe not a must have in a primary classroom library but worth having as a fun option!

This is a good way to introduce young children to reading. This book has a straightforward, easy to follow storyline and relatable characters. Different formats of the illustrations (some on a single page, some across both pages, some pages with multiple images, some with borders etc.) keep it from seeming repetitive. Childlike illustrations would appeal to young audiences, as would the notion of making new friends who may appear different. Older readers could analyze the story more deeply show more and conclude that the robot aliens are representative of Jack’s imagination, and he fails to keep one in a glass jar as imagination is not a permanent thing that can be preserved in one state forever. All in all, a sweet little tale. show less

The end pages show a simple maze, with Squeak starting at one end, a block tower, shoe, books, and water bowl on the way, and a pile of seeds at the end. Squeak ventures out into the kitchen of his house. There's a blonde child doing homework at the table, another blonde child playing with blocks on the floor, a dog on the rug, and books, toys, and food scattered about the counters. Squeak investigates the toys, takes a nap in a shoe, gets a drink from the dog's water bowl, checks out a few show more books, and then, when the little girl stumbles with her bowl of cereal, zips out for a tasty snack. He finishes up in his house, showing a mother and two more siblings curled up in a nest and a child peeping through the hole in the baseboard. The end pages at the back show the same maze, but this time the pile of snacks is almost gone and Squeak is going into his hole.

Adults will not be too happy about the idea of a mouse in the house, and it's a bit too good to believe that Squeak doesn't leave any, um, traces as he wanders about, but kids will find this mildly amusing. It's an easy reader at a level C and the simple, pastel illustrations make a nice background for the simple words.

Verdict: While not particularly noteworthy, low-level easy readers are few and far between and this is a pleasant one with a cute mouse that will make a nice addition to your collection.

ISBN: 9780823439430; Published 2018 by Holiday House; Purchased for the library show less

Jack is an adorable orange and white terrier, brimming with personality. One busy morning, his family gets up, feeds the cat, eats breakfast and rushes off to school and work. Sadly, no one remembers to feed Jack. He is completely bewildered by the situation and he does his best to remind them that he is hungry. It is not until they are all out the door that his best pal remembers to feed him.

The Jack series is a great introduction to the wordless picture book genre. Relatively simple show more storylines will be easy for youngsters to understand. As well, the size of the books (7″ wide X 8 1/2″ high) makes them well-suited to small hands. Best for children aged three years and up. show less