Best Friends for Emerging Readers
Learning to read is a rite of passage that can be both challenging and undeniably exhilarating, and no budding bookworm should have to go at it alone. There is nothing wrong with having a handful of fictional besties… I for one have too many to count. So, let’s get your emerging reader started young by introducing them to bookish BFFs they’ll return to again and again!
Here they come! It’s Peach and Plum!
Welcome to Fruitdale! School is out and work is done. Now it’s time for summer fun. Peach and Plum have lots to do. Beach day, bikes, and basketball, too. Will they wind up stuck indoors with a pesky list of chores? True adventure never ends for this pair of sweet best friends.
Poppy LOVES scary movies. Cornbread does not. Poppy ADORES runny cheese. Cornbread does not. Poppy can’t WAIT to try a roller coaster. Cornbread…can. But Cornbread and Poppy are the best of friends, so when the Carnival rolls into town, Cornbread agrees to check it out. Their day promises to include fun games, yummy snacks, and big, big rides. What new things will these mice try? Celebrating both partnership and the value of what makes us individuals, young readers will find this classic odd couple irresistible as they encounter relatable issues with humor and heart.
It’s time to visit Gramps and Grammers and that means Waffles, Pancake, and Mom-Cat are taking a very early flight to get to maximize the fun-times! This is the kittens’ first airplane ride and while Pancake is excited to get on board, Waffles is a little more nervous: an airplane has wings, but airplane wings don’t flap! How does it stay up in the air?
With a little bit of science and a whole lot of imagination, the kittens are able to understand the mechanics of flight and enjoy the ride. Come fly the feline skies!
Baloney and friends are reaching for the stars—but not without some funny obstacles along the way! Whether they’re creating a masterpiece, destroying a birthday cake, or debating online comments about themselves, these lovable characters know how to dream big! This new collection of mini-tales and three mini-comics will have you cheering and rooting for Baloney the pig, Bizz the bumblebee, Peanut the horse, and everyone’s favorite grumpy rabbit, Krabbit! And at the end, readers will learn how to make their own minibook by following clear step-by-step instructions.
Pepper and Boo are two dogs who like to have fun. The Cat likes to have fun, too, but cat fun is very different from dog fun. Cats can have fun with a newspaper, a bottle cap, an ice cube, and some boxes. Dogs like to have fun by chasing leaves, biting sticks, and licking the grass.
That’s not the only way cats and dogs are different. The Cat explains while Pepper and Boo try to find coats so they can go outside on a rainy day. With the perfect coat, cats and dogs can all have fun outside together.
Kondo is big. Kezumi is little. They used to live on an island with fruit trees and berry bushes and flitter-birds and fluffle-bunnies. Since the surprise bottle washed ashore with a map containing the mysterious message: WE ARE NOT ALONE, Kondo and Kezumi have been traveling the seas, making new friends, and discovering more about themselves and their place in the world.
But now it’s time for Kondo and Kezumi to head home. Except there’s still time to see Tiny Island, make a pit stop at Dairy Isle, or even Donut island. And when Kondo and Kezumi arrive on their familiar shore, they are greeted with another boat anchored in their waters. Who could it be? Will Kondo and Kezumi be ready for a new guest on their island or is home finally changed for good?