Willie's Word World The Best Mud Pie I'll Do It Later

K-Gr 1—Each book tells a brief story while teaching a lesson. Word World focuses on being brave and self-aware, Mud Pie is about pride in accomplishment, and I'll Do It Later describes self-control and responsibility. The books are all designed for children just beginning to read on their own. The lessons are far more prominent than the stories, making the texts a bit boring, but easy enough for children to understand. The plots are simplistic, and there is very little character development. The colorful cartoon illustrations fare a bit better. Each book concludes with a useful section that includes vocabulary pages, word banks, songs, fingerplays, and problem-solving activities. It's these pages that make this series stand apart from other easy-reading materials. These books would be good for classroom use, but are supplemental purchases for public libraries.—Lora Van Marel, Orland Park Public Library, IL