by Harriet Ziefert
( Catalog Listing )
A cat turns into a bat, turns into a rat, turns into a hat! Just flip the pages and—presto-change-o!—a different word and picture appear. This bright, bold, friendly book uses phonics to teach word recognition and rhyming patterns. Learning to read has never been so much fun!
This colorful book is on heavy paper substantial enough for many children to enjoy looking at, reading and learning. Children will enjoy the clean, colorful drawings and how easy it is to make a different word by changing one letter. Word families used are “ake,” “oat,” and “ant”. Children learn by flipping a cut-out to change a word, for example, “coat” becomes “boat.” The colorful, humorous drawings will aid children’s memories. Many children will benefit from this phonetic approach to short words when learning to read. Some reading experts may question why Kido included a word with a short vowel with two word families with long vowels. There are directions to the tutor on the first page. At the end of the book there is a page of eight words in the “ake” and “oat” families and six words in the “ant” family. Preschools will want this title to their library and classrooms.