Hooway for Wodney Wat
by Helen Lester, Lynn Munsinger (Illustrator)

From Booklist:
The team responsible for the Tacky the Penguin books and Princess Penelope's Parrot (1996), among others, is in rare form in this picture book, in which a swell little guy proves himself a hero to his tormentors. Wodney Wat has a problem: he can't pronounce the letter r, which makes him the butt of constant jokes and teasing. He's so distressed, in fact, that he routinely buries his head in his jacket--the closest he can come to actually disappearing. He thinks he's really in for it when "big, mean, smart" Camilla Capybara appears in Miss Fuzzleworth's classroom. But the tables are deftly turned when Wodney is tapped to lead a game of Simon Says: when he says "Go West" after a tough round of play, guess who does. Munsinger's well-detailed illustrations are superbly funny, a perfect complement to a comical story that will not only make kids laugh but also hearten those who feel they'll be outsiders forever. Stephanie Zvirin

Mary Marony Hides Out
by Suzy Kline, Blanche Sims (Illustrator)

From Horn Book:
Published spring 1993. Ashamed of her stuttering, second-grader Mary Marony hesitates to dine with her favorite children's author until her compassionate speech therapist and the sympathetic author bolster Mary's confidence. Unaffected drama and humor in a contemporary classroom setting, a plucky female protagonist, and spirited black-and-white line drawings make the brief chapter book a sterling choice for easy readers. -- Copyright © 1994 The Horn Book, Inc. All rights reserved.

A Friend for Growl Bear
by Margot Austin, David McPhail (Illustrator)

From Booklist:
Poor little Growl Bear is caught between a rock and a hard place; because he can only growl, not talk, the woodland creatures who might become his friends are frightened away. When an irritated owl tells them that he's actually no danger at all, they return to jeer, still thinking him a bully. McPhail lets the situation play out in spacious, peaceful looking glades, illustrating Growl Bear's dilemma with pale, sketchy scenes of upright, unclothed animals on or beneath pliant, sometimes looping limbs of huge old trees. Seeing Growl Bear's tears, Owl at last understands, and gathering up the cub's erstwhile tormentors, explains that he's not aggressive, just too young to talk. Growl Bear never wants for friends again. Little kids who haven't yet bloomed will understand Growl Bear's frustration perfectly. John Peters

The Boy Who Ate Words
by Thierry Dedieu, Julie Harris (Translator), Lory Frankel (Translator)

From Kirkus Reviews:
An idiosyncratic tale that creates a gastronomical playground from mere words. Gabby (as his name reveals) is a boy who speaks too much. Exasperated by his endless questions and run-on sentences (``TheballoonisdeflatedbecausetomorrowisWednesday''), Gabby's parents tell him they won't speak to him if he continues to ``swallow his words.'' The analogy turns on a light for Gabby, and the poetry begins. He sees words as edibles: gargoyle is a meaty main dish, while cabinet is a sweet dessert. A doctor puts Gabby on a diet to cure him of a case of indigestion; Gabby rebels and goes on the equivalent of a hunger strike -- silence. Without speech, his senses take over, and he learns to communicate to plants and animals, and to use languages like ``furniture'' to speak to tables and chairs...
Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

The Silent Spillbills
by Tor Seidler

Tor Seidler's THE SILENT SPILLBILLS provides the opportunity for a master storyteller to display her talents. Amid a clash between generations and ecosystems, Christina Moore crafts a myriad of characters subtly and convincingly. The fawning headmistress, the arrogant grandfather, the mother of German decent, the taunting schoolmates and the stuttering heroine, Katerina Farnsworth, come to life with Moore's narration. Seidler's story tells of a new breed of waterfowl that inspires an aircraft design and a family that comes to a deeper understanding of itself. Moore's storytelling keeps the listener involved. The predictability and laboriousness of the tale are lessened by the power of the narration. A.R. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Ben Has Something to Say: A Story About Stuttering
by Laurie Lears, Karen Ritz (Illustrator)

From Horn Book
Ben, who stutters, is reluctant to talk, but he courageously speaks up--stutter and all--to save a friendly but ineffective guard dog from the pound.

Bob Books First! Level A, Set 1
by Bobby Lynn Maslen, John R. Maslen

From the Author
"The first Bob Books were written and published 26 years ago, copyright 1976. I loved and still love writing Bob Books. My goal is to teach reading through carefully selected sounds so that young readers can learn to read and love reading at the same time. John Maslen provides pictures that the kids tell us are very funny."

Bob Books Fun! Level A, Set 2
by Bobby Lynn Maslen, John R. Masllen

With their engaging stories and clever illustrations, the Bob Books have ushered millions of kids into the world of reading. This relaunch of the popular series features a handy new chart on the back of each box that enables parents and educators to easily identify which set is best suited for their child's reading capabilities. Each set is color coded to indicate reading level and each story is carefully crafted to help children at different learning stages master essential reading skills.
What's in the box? 12 books:

1. Fun in the Sun
2. Up, Pup
3. Pip and Pog
4. Bow-wow!
5. The Big Hat
6: Sox the Fox
7. OK, Kids
8. Rub-a-Dub
9. Go, Bus
10. The Red Hen
11. The Sad Cat
12. 0 to 10

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons
by Siegfried Engelmann, Phyllis Haddox, Elaine Bruner

Review From Ingram:
SRA's DISTAR is one of the most successful beginning reading programs available to schools. Research has proven that children taught by the DISTAR method outperform their peers. Now, this program has been adapted for use at home. In only 20 minutes a day, this remarkable step-by-step program teaches your child to read--with the love, care, and joy only a parent and child can share.

Road to the Code: A Phonological Awareness Program for Young Children
by Benita A. Blachman, Eileen Wynne, Ph.D. Ball, Rochella, M.S. Black, Darlene M. Tangel

For kindergartners and first graders who need extra work on their early literacy skills, this proven plan for teaching phonemic awareness and letter-sound correspondence is a teacher's best friend. Expert researchers created this developmentally sequenced, 11-week program in order to give students repeated opportunities to practice and enhance their beginning reading and spelling abilities. Each of the 44, 15 to 20 minute lessons features a "say-it-and-move-it" activity, a letter name and sound instruction exercise, and phonological awareness practice.

Beginning to Read : Thinking and Learning about Print
by Marilyn Jager Adams

"This book is destined to become a classic work on early reading instruction." -- Judith A. Bowey, Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Beginning to Read reconciles the debate that has divided theorists for decades over the "right" way to help children learn to read. Drawing on a rich array of research on the nature and development of reading proficiency, Adams shows educators that they need not remain trapped in the phonics versus teaching-for-meaning dilemma. She proposes that phonics can work together with the whole language approach to teaching reading and provides an integrated treatment of the knowledge and process involved in skillful reading, the issues surrounding their acquisition, and the implications for reading instruction.

Phonemic Awareness in Young Children: A Classroom Curriculum
by Marilyn Jager Adams, Barbara R Foorman., Ph.D., Ingvar Lundberg, Terri Beeler