Hot Springs and Brown Bears

Gr 2–3—Transitional titles between easy readers and beginning chapter books, these stories have about 1000 words, four to five chapters, longer sentence structures mixed with short sentences, short paragraphs, and some challenging vocabulary. In Hot Springs, Sai wins a poetry contest and gets a free vacation. Her family members all suggest a place they'd like to visit, and Sai chooses one that makes them all happy. "Sai showed them where Kamchatka was on a map. But the map didn't reveal much about where they would be going. All it showed was a peninsula in northeastern Russia, near the Pacific Ocean." In Pipeline News, each reporter gives the big scoop on the surfing action on Hawaiian beaches. "Today we had a sandcastle competition. And we also staged the famous Maui Elephant Run. The sandcastles were incredible! So intricate! So clever! And so flattened! Maybe next year they should have the elephant run on a different day than the sandcastle competition!" The plot in Tiddalick is well outlined and predictable. When the frog drinks all the water in the world, the other animals try to make him give it back. A note about this Australian folktale is included. Colorful cartoon illustrations expand the texts in the three stories. The various reading levels and the different plotlines may attract reluctant readers who are ready to be challenged.—Kristine M. Casper, Huntington Public Library, NY