Saturday, October 20, 2018

Review: Monster Molly's Big Day Out by Dee Reid


MONSTER MOLLY'S BIG DAY OUT
The Busy Monsters
by Dee Reid
Ruby Tuesday Books
Picture Book
ages 4 to 7
24 pages


Monster Molly is feeling sad. But when her best friend Max suggests a trip to the park, Molly is very happy. From riding up and down on the see-saw, to splashing in big and little puddles, join the monsters on their BIG day out. Meet Molly, Max, Megan, and Mo--The Busy Monsters. This new series of fun stories from Ruby Tuesday Books has been carefully crafted to help young children learn to read. To build reading confidence, each book combines repetitive, predictable text with high-frequency and familiar sight words. Illustrated with bold, quirky, collage-style artwork, this title helps young readers practice opposites as they enjoy the fun monster story.



MY TIDBITS

With first readers in mind, this story heads into a simple adventure with monsters who are more cuddle-worthy than scary.

Monster Molly is so sad, but Monster Max has an idea. It's time to go to the park! Molly's excited to get outside and explore. She sees different things, often the opposite of what Max experiences. And it turns into a fun day.

This book was written for those very beginning readers, who want to hit their own books but aren't ready for difficult vocabulary words or longer texts. On the inside of the cover, there is a list of tips for guardians, parents or grandparents who are about to embark on a reading journey with someone who is just getting a handle on words. Each page only has a short text—five-six words at most. The meaning is clear and emphasized again in the bright and super cute illustrations. It's great for beginning readers in so far that there isn't an overwhelming amount of text to be frustrated with, and the illustrations help them to guess what the words and meaning might be. 

The tale also builds in the basic of opposites. Hot to cold, in and on, as well as other variations are demonstrated during the tale. But it's never done in an overly obvious, teaching way. Rather, the differences flow right along with the story. At the end of the book, there's a two-page spread with word opposites, each shown with the monster so it remains simple and fun. There's a short list of simple questions, which help kids think back to what they read and what happened in the story. Then, there's a very short list of words for children to read one more time and feel like they accomplished something.

While this isn't an engaging book on the story end with depth and surprises, it works very nicely for kids trying to read their first book on their own. And that's it's purpose. The monsters add a lot of fun and make it a lively read too.


Meet Molly, Max, Megan, and Mo--The Busy Monsters. Young readers will love joining the family of friendly monsters as they take part in familiar activities, such as going to the park, cleaning up the house, and planning a birthday party. This new series of fun stories from Ruby Tuesday Books has been carefully crafted to help young children learn to read. To build reading confidence, each book combines repetitive, predictable text with high-frequency and familiar sight words. The books are illustrated with bold, quirky, collage-style artwork. Each monster story explores a different early learning concept including: Colors; Numbers; Opposites; Shapes. To assist educators, each title also includes a "Teaching Tips" and activities section.

You can find the other titles and more information about the series HERE!

There are four titles in this series:

Monster Molly's Big Day Out
Monster Max's Big Breakfast
Monster Megan's Big Cleanup
Monster Mo's Big Party



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