Book Review: Budding Reader Book Set 5: Hens by Melinda Thompson with Melissa Ferrell

My son enjoyed the first set in the Budding Reader Book series that I was excited to give this one a try. He had been so proud to read a book with the first set that I was hoping this one would be as successful.

These series are a set of books that starts with just the pictures then with each book gradually adds one or two words till kids are reading full sentences.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as well with this set as it had with the first set. I think part of the problem is that we skipped sets 2, 3, and 4. It also helped that in the first book there were a number of his sight words he was learning. Now then that is not to say that this went badly. It is just it took about a week for us to get through the whole set of books whereas last time it only took two days. He also had a hard time remembering the words so I often had to prompt him.

My son was still really excited to be reading but because he was having a harder time with it we had to take more breaks from it.

I still think this is the best learn to read books I've ever come across! Even though my son struggled he still was engaged and was proud to be reading.

Another 5 out of 5 stars!

Please check out their website http://buddingreader.com/books/ You can download free worksheets and other goodies.

*I received a free copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion
**This book was read with my special needs son who is severely learning disabled. The review reflects not only my opinion but his as well

Book Review: Budding Reader Book Set 1: Cat and Rat by Melinda Thompson with Melissa Ferrell

Ok so I know I've mentioned it many times on my blog but my son has multiple learning disabilities. He is seven years old and while other children his age are starting chapter books he is learning site words. He is not even ready to have chapter books read to him. But he'll gladly sit through picture books. We've done a few early readers and as long as they have pictures on every page he'll let me read them to him.

When I saw the Cat and Rat book set on *Netgalley I'll admit at first I judged it by its cover. This was a HUGE mistake on my part. These book sets are PERFECT for special needs children. Basically it is a set of books that tells the same story. However, it starts with just the pictures then each book adds more and more words till your child is reading a whole story.

Ok I cannot stress enough just how much I love this book set!! I found another set up on Netgalley and immediately swooped in to request it. I also think I'm going to buy the other sets. You might be asking why I'm so excited about these books. Well lets see as we progressed along my son got more and more excited about reading more and more words. He craves positive feedback in a way I can't even begin to describe. These books set up the child to gradually read more and more words and longer and longer sentences. My son was giddy and smiling like crazy as he realized that he was actually reading. And not just reading words he knows but actual sentences. We made it about half way through the books before he had to take a break. But he was so happy and I let him know how proud of him I was. He begged me to write a note to his teacher to let her know. He then said, "Can we call daddy and tell him? I can read it to him over the phone."  I plan on continuing the rest of the set over the weekend.

If you are a parent with a child who is just learning to read, struggling to read or like my son has some form of learning disability you HAVE to check out these books. They are confidence building and really are the best learn to read books I've ever come across. And trust me I've gone through more of them than you can imagine.

I'm giving this 5 out of 5 but really as a mommy who for the first time got to hear her son read a book it is worth more stars than I could ever give.

Oh! I forgot to mention that for every Ebook set that is sold they will donate one set to a child in need. How awesome is that!?!?!


*I received a free copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion
**This book was read with my special needs son who is severely learning disabled. The review reflects not only my opinion but his as well

Book Review: Surf War by Margaret Read

Ok so I know you are not supposed to judge a book by its cover but when I saw this on *Netgalley I fell in love with the cover and knew I wanted to read it. I mean come on how cute does that whale look?

Surf Wars is the story of a sandpiper and whale. The two boast back and forth to each other about who is better and whom there are more of. Soon every whale and seabird cousin shows up. In their fight the other creatures who live there start to struggle to survive. Can sandpiper and whale make up in time to save what was once their beautiful home?

Ok so it goes without saying that my favorite part of this book was the illustrations. They were amazing. The story itself was actually not too bad and in its own way showed the consequences of over crowding and thinking that you can rule over something like the sea without the responsibilities that come with it.

My son enjoyed the story but he couldn't understand the fighting between the two. I think this has more to do with my son than to do with the book itself. This is just one of those little hiccups that comes with his learning disabilities. But overall he liked the book even if he couldn't understand parts of it.

When I asked him how many stars he thought this was he told me 5. I agree this is a 5 out of 5 star book.






*I received a free copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion
**This book was read with my special needs son who is severely learning disabled. The review reflects not only my opinion but his as well

Armchair BEA: Day Two Visual Expressions

Ok so I know today's agenda is really supposed to be about comics/graphic novels...but I have to go with another visual medium. Children's picture books!

My son is seven and has multiple learning disabilities. His main classification is communication impairment. To put it simply my son often has a hard time understanding things that are said to him and he has a hard time saying what he wants. It is all in how is brain is wired. Often times things just don't connect for him. So we often get asked the same question over and over and over again. Not just in the normal child questioning way but in his way of trying to understand things.

Because of his disabilities he is not ready for chapter books or overly wordy books. But picture books are just perfect for him. He gets a story and the pictures help him to understand what is going on. Through the pictures he suddenly sees what is happening and he understands it better.

I've always been a fan of children's books but ever since I started reading them to my son I've grown to love them even more. I LOVE looking at the artwork. I love when the artwork is so good that you don't even have to read the words to know what is happening. Its wonderful when I can had a book to my son and wants to look through it and can tell me what is happening. Whenever I read a book to him I always ask what was his favorite picture.

I just read a book last night (review to come shortly) called Abigail and Her Pet Zombie by Marie F. Crow. I haven't read it to my son yet but am so looking forward to reading it to him tonight. Anyway, the pictures in this book were AMAZING!!! I mean I just could not stop staring at them. That's the kind of picture books I love. The ones that make you keep going back and back again to look at them.

Book Review: Is a Worry Worrying You? by Ferida Wolff and Harriet May Savitz

Ok so I noticed this book a while back on *Netgalley and immediately fell in love with the cover. I mean come on look at how awesome it is. When I showed this book to my son he immediately was "worried" and asked if this was a scary book. I told him let's read it and see.

This book is all about worry...what it is, how it makes us feel, and how to deal with it. It gives examples of worries and shows how you shouldn't worry about everything. It also discusses ways to get over them. All of the examples a silly but yet make their point in a way that is simple and easy for kids to understand

I LOVED the illustrations. They were awesome and really helped set the mood of the book. My son enjoyed the pictures as well though I don't think he appreciated the artwork as much as I did. It was nice to discuss worrying with him afterwards and we came up with some examples of our own. My son is classified as communication impaired so books like these are like gold to me. My son has a hard time understanding things sometimes and even harder time communicating them. Books like this make it so much easier.


Both my son and I really enjoyed this book. I give it 5 out of 5 stars



*I received a free copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion
**This book was read with my special needs son who is severely learning disabled. The review reflects not only my opinion but his as well.

Book Review: My Dog, My Cat by Ashlee Fletcher

So can you tell why I picked up this book from Netgalley*? Yup, any picture book with a cat is a must in this house.

This book was cute and simple. It went into ways that cats and dogs are different. The words were simple and perfect for beginning readers. The fact that many of my son's sight words were in this book meant that my son could "help" me read the book to him. He was so excited by that.

He was delighted to find out that both the dog and the cat love pepperoni pizza. Since that is his favorite kind of pizza he was so happy to love the same food as them. He giggled when it came time to learning where the dog and the cat go to the bathroom. Just like most other children his age (and of course some adults) potty humor is a big one for him

The illustrations are cute and helped my son to guess at some of the words he didn't know. When I asked him his favorite part he told me he loved the whole thing. This will definitely get a couple of rereads in our family. I'm glad to find a book that he can partially read along with.   For older and more advanced readers this book may be too simple. But this is perfect for very young children or those like my son who have learning disabilities.

5 out of 5 stars


*I received a free copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion
**This book was read with my special needs son who is severely learning disabled. The review reflects not only my opinion but his as well.