A soccer ball accidently hits Dan’s cat as Jan and Dan play, which instigates a series of unfortunate events. The angry cat with muddy paws perches on the neighbor’s clean van and upsets him. Dan rushes to get his cat off the van and trips over a bucket, spilling the water. No one is hurt in this advanced easy reader, but the story opens multiple discussion points, including dealing with upset pets and people.

Ben and Jen’s cat scares their hen when she tries to play, sending the hen scurrying to the safety of her chicken pen. This charming story in an advanced easy reader set on a farm opens with a bang of excitement and unfolds with short words and plenty of context clues to create a love of reading. Ben removes his cat from the chicken pen, milks the cow, and gives the milk to the cat. Jen quiets the hen and tells her they love her and all ends well.

A timeless story about teamwork in sports, winners, and losers introduces the advanced early reader to words with similar sounds, words with more than one syllable, and words that begin with the rarely seen letter Z. This little book is packed with excellent situations that are beautifully illustrated and spark discussion about feelings and appropriate behavior whether one loses or wins.

This is a family-friendly fishing expedition for advanced early readers. Rambunctious Bob ignores his father’s cautions about walking on the jetty, takes a big hop on a rock, and falls. Fortunately, he isn’t hurt. The cheerful, bright illustrations encourage young readers to follow the story and explore new word sounds. The story opens discussion points about listening and following instructions.

On a hike in the mountains with their parents, Ed and Jill are excited to see a large buck drinking in the mountain stream. Careful to follow their parents’ instructions when walking on the rocks in the water, the brother and sister enjoy a happy day picnicking and feeding fish in this advanced reader. The lush colors of nature provide a beautiful backdrop as young readers master their new reading skills.