This friendship story is perfect for young readers who are all too familiar with accidents when they are playing. Warned by the other children not to run in the mud to avoid the sharp rocks, Ed ignores them and wades into the mud puddle. When he kicks the ball, he loses his balance and falls on a rock. Crisp illustrations with bright primary colors fill the pages of this lively early reader and offer a good opportunity for parents to discuss listening to others to stay safe.

Ken and his sister, Jen, catch redfish on a happy family fishing trip to the lake. Pastel colors create a summer day mood for this friendly story. Similar beginning and ending word sounds teach word recognition, and slightly longer sentences enhance children’s reading skills.

When a cat with muddy paws makes a mess in this cute beginning reader, Dan rushes to help. The multi-colored illustrations help children to use context clues to follow the story while learning to pronounce beginning and ending phonic sounds.

Everyone knows cats and chickens don’t get along, so when the cat runs after Ben and Jen’s red hen, she hurries to hide in her chicken coop. Ben comes to the rescue and removes the cat from the chicken coop while Jen calms the hen. The lively story unfolds in this easy reader with easy-to-pronounce words to build word recognition. It offers the opportunity to demonstrate how responsible the two children were.