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.

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.

Friends enjoy an exciting game of baseball and Jan proves she can hit a ball well. The simple words with similar sounds help children recognize beginning and ending sounds. Rich colors illuminate the outdoor scenes and encourage new readers to use the picture and context clues to read the story.

Children are fascinated with large vehicles, and in this charming sibling story, Jill and Rick stop with their father to watch a big rig digging and get a big surprise. Big Jim offers to let them sit up high in the cab with him. Bold colors and nice detail illustrate this early reader adventure story. It’s a good choice for repetitive phonic sounds that enrich a child’s vocabulary and inspire a love of reading.