Author Description

This is a picture book created to help children learn to read. The major strategy used in this series is "onset-rime." Onset-rime is a research based strategy for teaching reading. The onset is the initial consonant or consonant blend in a syllable. The rime begins with the first vowel. For example in the word "cat," c is the onset and at is the rime. Studies show that poor readers can read some sight words but can not apply their knowledge to similar word patterns, for example the "ab" pattern for this book. It is an easier process for children to learn word parts than to decode every individual sound in a word. Children have an early sensitivity to rhymes; cab, tab, slab, etc. While onset-rime is the primary strategy emphasized in this series, these books embrace the best of many others as well. Whole language is represented by pairing words with appropriate illustrations, phonics is implied because a basic understanding of sounds and symbols, along with vowel patterns is necessary. Finally, these books are meant to be read with a parent or other significant member of a child's life. Research show that reading with our children fosters their language development and ability to gain understanding from the written word.