Snug Bug – Puffin Young Readers – Level 2

Author: Cathy East Dubowski and Mark Dubowski

Year: 1995

Publisher: Puffin Young Readers, USA

Age: 4 and above

No. of Pages: 32

ISBN: 978-0-448-45817-5

This book is quite a clever little reading book for young readers from the Puffin Young Readers series. 

It’s about Snug Bug and his bedtime. It’s a tiny bug who lives in a little boy’s room. So, his tub is a tiny indentation in a bar of soap and his bed is the box of tissues by the boy’s bedside. The clever illustrations add so much more meaning to the story.

Excerpt

Mama Bug knows.

She tugs at the rug.

“There you are, my little snug bug!”

Into the tub.

Scrub, scrub, scrub.

“Whee! Look at me!”

Mama Bug say, “Your bath is done.”

Other titles in this series

• Level - 1: A new friend
• Level - 1: At the beach 
• Level - 1: Ice Cream Soup
• Level - 1: Max has a Fish
• Level - 1: Nicky Upstairs and Down 
• Level - 1: Play with Blue
• Level - 1: Tiny goes camping 
• Level - 1: Tiny the Birthday Dog 
• Level - 1: Tiny the Snow Dog 

• Level - 2: Cowboy Roy
• Level - 2: Red, White and Blue
• Level - 2: Shape Spotters
• Level - 2: The Garden that we grew  
• Level - 2: The very lonely firefly
• Level - 2: Who stole the cookies?

• Level - 3: Agapanthus Hum and the Eyeglasses
• Level - 3: Amanda Pig on her own
• Level - 3: Why do birds sing?

The Listening Walk (Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch Friends)

By David Kirk

Year: 2005

Publisher: Callaway and Kirk Company

Age: 8 and above

No. of Pages: 34

ISBN:  978 0 44843 999 9

I love the bright colors and illustrations that characterize Miss Spider books.

Little Wiggle can’t go to sleep because he hears scary noises. So his mom take him on a jungle tour where he realizes that the whooshing sound was just Louie Luna the moth, the creaking sound was Spindella the spider, and the clack-clack was only Eunice Earwig crunching on a snack.

There are a few difficult words to this bedtime tale and, at least, for the first time, a parent will have to read the book with the child.

Excerpt

“I do believe in monsters!” Wiggle croaked. “Don’t eat me, please!”

“They’re only fireflies!” laughed his mom. “We've come along this way

To get our chance to see them dance the firefly ballet.” 

Digger Man

By Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha  

For Ages: 4 and above

No. of Pages: 32

Publisher: Henry Holt and Company, New York

Year: 2003

ISBN: 978-0-8050-8203-6

This has to be the dream book for children who love diggers. Our little ones loved it!

Digger Man has vibrant, detailed, full-page illustrations that will appeal to even tiny toddlers.

The book is about a little boy who dreams of owning a digger and doing all that a digger gets to do – scoop rocks, push mud and eventually, get his little brother on board too.

Excerpt

Sometimes my mom and dad can bring my brother to see me.

Maybe I can give my brother a ride in the digger.

I’ll honk the horn and flash the lights for him.

One day I will dig a big hole to make a pond. 

Oscar and Arabelle

By Neal Layton

Year: 2002

Publisher: Hodder Children’s Books, London

Age:  4 and above

No. of Pages: 32

ISBN:  978 0 34097 002 7

I must admit I've never read a book before of a woolly mammoth. Sure, I've seen Ice Age, but a woolly mammoth book for little ones – this is a first for me. :-)

And it’s a very good one too! The kids and I smiled a lot while reading this book.

Meet Oscar and Arabella, fun-loving and adventurous woolly mammoths who spend their days painting pictures and outwitting a dangerous, two-legged ‘wild and dangerous animal’.  Hint! Hint! :-)

This book makes for witty reading. Even if the younger ones don’t get the humor with their first reading, they’ll enjoy it the second time around.

Excerpt

They liked making friends, but not with wild and dangerous animals.

They liked to keep fit especially when their lives depended on it.

They liked sliding on the ice, as long as they didn't fall over.

A Head Full of Stories

Author: Su Swallow

Illustrator: Tim Archbold

For Ages: 4 and above

No. of Pages: 32

Publisher: Evans Brothers, London

Year: 2005

ISBN: 0-237-53069-4

Little Jack’s head is full of stories. When his mum starts to read a bedtime story to him, he decides he can’t take another story. So she asks him to tell her a story. He does so and, one by one, all the members of his family, his cat included, get to hear a story each. Finally, when his head is empty and he’s ready for his mum to read to him, he finds that everyone’s asleep.

Excerpt

“You tell me a story then.”

So Jack told mom about Cinderella.

He told Dad a story too.

And Grandma …

And Grandad …

And his brother …

Charlie and the chocolate factory – Penguin Young Readers

Author: Roald Dahl

Illustrator: Quentin Blake

Year: 2001 (this edition)

Publisher: Pearson Educational Limited, England

Age: 7 and above

No. of Pages: 32

ISBN: 978 0 58245 618 5

This near-fairy tale is made of stuff that children dream of – a world made of sugar, a chocolate river, plenty of magic sweets. It’s no wonder Hollywood immortalized it.

Charlie Bucket comes from a poor family. They're so poor that his parents can afford to buy him only one chocolate bar a year and that's on his birthday. By a quirk of fate, Charlie gets to visit the neighborhood chocolate factory and the rest of the tale is a dream come true for him and ends with a big surprise for all of his family. 

This is also a story of hope, triumph and happiness. Just the perfect book for a child. :-)

Excerpt

It was time to sail down the chocolate river. Charlie looked around. Everything in this amazing world was made of sugar. The pink boat was sugar!

Where Does Pepper Come From? And other fun facts

Author: Brigitte Raab

Illustrator: Manuela Olten

For Ages: 4 and above

No. of Pages: 40

Publisher: North-South Books Inc., USA

Year: 2005

ISBN: 978-0-7358-2218-4

Now here’s a fun book of facts.

Every parent is peppered with unusual questions from their little ones. This book answers some of those questions with a humorous twist. Check out the excerpt.

Where does pepper come from? Why do sheep have curly wool? Why is the sea salty? Why are flamingos pink? And some more questions.

I liked this book for the cute humor, the quirky illustrations and the choice of questions.

Excerpt

Why do snails carry houses on their backs?

Because they love to go camping!

NO!

The shell of a snail protects it from predators and from the hot sun. 

Red Tractor – Level 1 Reading Book (Gold Stars)

Author: Sue Graves

Illustrator: Daniel Haworth

Year: 2003

Publisher: Parragon Books, UK

Age: 4

No. of Pages: 30

ISBN: 978 1 40540 049 8

This is a Gold Stars Level -1 book for children who are ready to begin reading.

This simple text about a red tractor that helps the farmer in the farm offers several repetitive words to bolster a beginner’s confidence in reading.

The book also comes with Gold Stars to help motivate a child to continue reading.

Excerpt

One day, the cow got stuck.

She got stuck in the mud.

Red Tractor pulled her out.

It pulled her out of the mud.