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.

When a cat grabs the rag Pat uses to help her father clean the van and runs away with it, Pat gets very upset. Pat and Nat chase the cat across the vibrant pages and introduce new words that sound alike in this early reader. Context clues guide young readers to experience the story as they learn to correlate sounds with letters or groups of letters and begin to read.

Ed and Jill hike in the mountains with their parents and are excited to see a large buck. Careful to follow their parent’s instructions when walking on the rocks in the water, the children enjoy a happy day in this tender early reader. The lush colors of the mountain scenes provide nice context clues as early readers master their new reading skills and slightly longer sentences.

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.