This season’s collection of early reader series is small but mighty, much like the slim but valuable titles it includes. Old friends and new skills take center stage in these bright books that kids will be thrilled to encounter on the road to independent reading.
 

Elementary

Dean, James & Kimberly Dean. Pete the Cat and the Bad Banana. ISBN 9781098255091.
––––. Pete the Cat and the Cool Caterpillar. ISBN 9781098255107.
––––. Pete the Cat and the Lost Tooth. ISBN 9781098255114.
––––. Pete the Cat and the Tip-Top Tree House. ISBN 9781098255121.
––––. Pete the Cat Goes Camping. ISBN 9781098255138.
––––. Pete the Cat Saves Up. ISBN 9781098255145.
––––. Pete the Cat: Pete’s Big Lunch. ISBN 9781098255053.
––––. Pete the Cat: Play Ball!ISBN 9781098255060.
––––. Pete the Cat: Sir Pete the Brave. ISBN 9781098255077.
––––. Pete the Cat: Too Cool for School. ISBN 9781098255084.
––––. Pete the Cat’s Groovy Bake Sale. ISBN 9781098255152.
––––. Pete the Cat’s Train Trip. ISBN 9781098255169.
ea vol: illus. by James Dean. 32p. (Pete the Cat). ABDO. Jan. 2025. Tr. $34.22.
PreS-Gr 2–Pete the Cat is already the star of various picture books and early readers, but this new set of a dozen slim volumes ensures that Pete and his groovy pals will be helping young readers grow for quite a while. These installments in the voluminous “I Can Read!” collection are great to share with an emerging reader, or for a beginning reader to navigate. Some stories have complex text, including dialogue, but the images align with the text to provide valuable context clues. Pete’s hippie charm is evident on each page of these lovingly illustrated and creative tales. Each book ends with a lesson. For example, one encourages readers to use creativity to salvage mistakes. Another humorously ends with the fact that platypuses don’t have teeth. Common themes include sharing, sportsmanship, and bravery, with a mix of dry humor to engage adults who are along for the ride. VERDICT You can’t go wrong adding this whole series to your shelves.

Frost, Maddie. Chip Gets Swimmer Shivers. illus. by Maddie Frost. 32p. (Chip!). HarperAlley. Jun. 2025. pap. $5.99. ISBN 9780063306509.
K-Gr 2–Chip is a penguin who absolutely does not want to go to swim lessons, so he fakes a very serious illness—fin flop—to get out of it. But maybe the lessons are fun after all? Most of the text in these comic-style readers is dialogue, and all characters use the same word bubbles. However, different bubble styles convey various methods of communication: speech, whisper, thought, and shout. The opening pages include a helpful guide to reading comics, including the vocabulary of the art form. This wordy intro may better fit grown-ups guiding readers through the story. Maddie Frost’s artwork has bright colors, bold lines, and vivid expressions from its cast of characters. Even though the characters are animals, children may relate to (or get ideas from) Chip’s fake illness. They will also see that it’s best to try the water before deciding not to swim. VERDICT Add to your growing early comics collection.

Mack, Jeff. Dance Pants!: Ready-to-Read Graphics Level 1. illus. by Jeff Mack. 64p. (The Dog and Pony Show). S. & S./Simon Spotlight. Aug. 2025. pap. $7.99. ISBN 9781665979672.
K-Gr 2–Jeff Mack’s exceptional skills are well-utilized in this new series for early graphic novel readers. In this installment, Dog (a yellow dog) convinces Pony (a brown pony) to try on multiple pairs of trousers. Why? Because Pony is a terrible dancer, and Dog thinks new pants will help. What follows is a delightful, zany tale. Each two-page spread has up to four easy-to-understand panels. All text is dialogue or onomatopoeia. Color-coded dialogue matches which one of the two characters is speaking. The first pages feature a spread in which the main character explains how to read the book. VERDICT This silly book is sure to please emerging or beginner comic fans.

Rodriguez, Alicia. AR in the Dark. ISBN 9781039864726.
––––. ER in the Water. ISBN 9781039864733.
––––. IR at the Circus. ISBN 9781039864740.
––––. OR on the Shore. ISBN 9781039864757.
––––. UR on the Turf. ISBN 9781039864764.
ea vol: illus. by Meghan Cade. 16p. (Phonics Explorers - Level 1). Crabtree/Crabtree Blossoms. Jan. 2025. Tr. $26.
PreS-Gr 1–The Phonics Explorers are two children with a monkey sidekick—not to be confused with the other famous child explorer with a monkey sidekick, who would fit perfectly in the OR volume. They seek animals, objects, and at least one intangible concept (like NORTH or START) that feature the title phonics sound. The backgrounds are colorful, and three adventures feature a water theme, a consistency that borders on redundancy. The human characters are nameless and unmemorable, but their toothy monkey sidekick is packed with personality. At least one spread per book contains multiple bonus images featuring the corresponding phonics sound. Pre-reading questions and discussion questions are included, but every book has the same questions. VERDICT A secondary purchase.

Van Oosbree, Ruthie. Blossom and the Daisies. illus. by Lisa Hunt. ISBN 9798765647660.
––––. Composting Pie. illus. by Lisa Hunt. ISBN 9798765647677.
––––. Ernie the Earthworm. illus. by Tom Heard. ISBN 9798765647684.
––––. Grandpa’s Trees. illus. by Lisa Hunt. ISBN 9798765647721.
––––. Growing Upward. illus. by Tom Heard. ISBN 9798765647714.
––––. Our Garden. illus. by Lisa Hunt. ISBN 9798765647691.
––––. Sidney’s Seeds. illus. by Tom Heard. ISBN 9798765647707.
ea vol: 16p. (In the Garden). Lerner. Jan. 2025. Tr. $27.99.
PreS-Gr 1–Created with the help of a certified literacy specialist, the short stories in this series involve different tasks that can be done in a garden by humans and animals. The books have repetitive text, short dialogues, and simple plot structures for emerging readers. The book has a rudimentary table of contents and an index to aid in print awareness. Human protagonists have a variety of skin tones. All the books have the same author, creating a pleasing consistency across the series. The artwork varies. Lisa Hunt’s illustrations are finely detailed with bright colors, bold expressions, and smooth shading. Tom Heard’s illustrations lack the same richness and are overall less engaging. Each fiction title has a nonfiction book to pair it with. VERDICT Inconsistent, but still a worthy addition to an emerging reader collection.