Reading Response: Beginning and Transitional Books

 Fox the Tiger 

Tabor, Corey. Fox the Tiger. Illustrated by Corey Tabor. Blazer & Bray, 2018. 32 pages. Tr. $4.99. ISBN 9780062398673

Fox the tiger is a level 1 reader book for beginners. This is based on characteristics from Horning's text. The illustrations fill and dominate each page while the writing is simple and almost non-existent. The writing or sentences that are there are simple, short and basic. Each line of the text is about 5-6 words long while the pages contain no more than 1-2 lines. The vocabulary is mostly sight words and one-syllable words. 

A Pig, a Fox and a Box

By Fenske, Jonathan. A Pig, a Fox, and a Box. Illustrated by Jonathan Fenske. Penguin Group, 2015. 143 pages. Tr. $5.99. ISBN 978-0593432648 

This book is a level 2-3 and beginner reader book. This book is between level 1 and 2 because it has characteristics of each. Each line contains about 3-6 words with lines that are 4-14 per page. The words contain one syllables with some being multisyllabic. One some of the pages, the words dominate but on others the illustrations take priority. There are some instances where the words or sentences are longer and a little more complex, while other pages contain simple vocabulary and almost no words. 

Yasmin in Charge

By Farqui, Saadia. Yasmin in Charge. Illustrated by Aly Hatem. Picture Window Books, 2019. 97 pages. Tr. $8.99  ISBN 978-1-5158-4272-9

This is a level 3 book for early readers according to its characteristics. The book has lines that contains less Etna 8 words per line and the lines do not exceed 15. There is greater frequency of loner sentences and more complex sentence structure. The illustrations that are present appear on alternating page and are there more as ornamentation than function. 

The Princess in Black

Hale, Shannon. The Princess in Black. Illustrated by Leuyen Pham. Candlewick Press, 2014. 89 pages. Tr. $10.99. ISBN 9780763665104 

This book is a transitional book for readers. In most of the pages the writing or text outweighs the images. The number of lines per page increases significantly compared to early readers. The typeface allows for an average of about 6-8 words per line, making it larger than what we would see for a beginner. The images are in full color with the occasional double spread. The content is just right in which it holds the child's attention without making it hard to follow. Although this transitional book does not fit Horner's text definition perfectly, it comes close.