Ready to Read: Sparky and Tidbit

by Kathyrn O. Galbraith

illustrated by Gerald Kelley

SPARKY AND TIDBIT is the story of Sparky, a dog just itching to be a hero. He tries to scare away bone robbers or chase off mean hissy cats, but there are no robbers or mean kitties to be found. Then Sparky bumps into Tidbit, a neighborhood pup with a problem -- he's not as good at reading as the other pups in his class. But when he reads to Sparky, he's no longer embarrassed when he sounds out the words. Soon Ms. Beagle makes Sparky the Official Listener at Little Pooch Puppy School and all the pups practice reading to him. Sparky is a hero after all!

SPARKY AND TIDBIT was inspired by the many great reading programs that include dogs as patient listeners. It's perfect for encouraging confidence in young readers.

My Thoughts:
My kindergartner is just beginning to read. It's such an amazing and exciting time to see her be able to pick out site words and sound bigger words out. We are trying to fill her bookshelf with books from the Ready-To-Read collection. They do such an amazing job of leveling books from just beginning to read with a grownup to reading on your own and understanding more complex plots.

Sparky and Tidbit falls into Level Three, which contains books that are a little longer, have more complex story plot and character development, and have some challenging vocabulary. My daughter is not up to reading Level Three books independently, so this was a great one for us to share together.

She was so into it... looking for site words, making predictions, asking questions! We had a blast going on this adventure with the very helpful Sparky and the totally adorable Tidbit. Plus, there were so many things in this story that my daughter could relate to. sounding out words and learning to read isn't easy, but it can be so much fun and so worth all the hard work! My daughter felt like such a big kid because there are chapters in this book! Wow, a chapter book that she can help read.

Learning to read is such an amazing experience for kids and their parents. I love encouraging and supporting my daughter as she blossoms into a real book worm. I adore the Ready-To-Read series and Sparky and Tidbit is such a fun addition!