I am always on the look out for a Read Together Book. A Read Together Book is one that a new reader can read almost independently. Snuggled up with a grown up (or big sister!), Katherine can read these type of books and feel so proud of herself as a reader when she is done.

When I glanced quickly at Eve Bunting’s Hurry! Hurry! I lthought I had a winner.

I ran through my check list:

Few words per page- check.

Big font- check.

These were the obvious things I saw at the libary. After Katherine and I had started to read, I wished I had taken the time to finish my check list before telling her excitedly that I had found another book she could help me read. As we moved through, I realized that my complete checklist would not have supported this book as a read together.  

Pictures provide clues for decoding the words- no check.

Strong repetition of text- no check.

Some easily decodable words- no check.

Fortunately, Eve Bunting, being the excellent author that she is, swooped in to save the day. Katherine barely noticed that she wasn’t the one reading as I took over the tale. With often as few as two words on each page, Katherine was captivated. There were actual ‘oos’ and ‘ahs’ and exclamations of ‘Oh my goodness Mommy! What’s going to happen?’

With only two words per page, Eve Bunting did not create a Read Together Book. But she did create a Read Aloud Book. So there were no complaints here…