(4) K-3 Step into Reading series. Illustrated by Patrick Joseph & Patrick Joseph. A dozen easy-to-read rhymes demonstrate how small words can "hide" inside larger ones. "Mouse wants to stop. / But he hikes to the top." "Mouse waters his plants... / with help from ants." "Mouse starts to trip. / Oops! His pants rip!" Although there is no story here, the exercise is pleasant enough with the simple illustrations, featuring a mouse in overalls, providing visual clues.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(4) K-3 Step into Reading series. Illustrated by Patrick Joseph. "Find the word HAT. Off goes the H. Cart in the C. Yikes! Now it is CAT!" Mouse carries letters around, changing the first letters of three-letter words to make new ones. Each word is paired with a visual clue to help newly emergent readers. The rhyming text and cartoony illustrations are uninspired, but the book's simplicity offers encouragement for this phonics lesson.

Reviewer: Erin Dionne

(4) K-3 Step into Reading series. Illustrated by Patrick Joseph. "Mouse finds words and makes them new--with magic vowels a, e, i, o, u." Equipped with a cape, hat, and wand, Mouse changes a vowel in words, "magically" transforming both word and meaning, while bold, flat illustrations lend pictorial clues to the simple text. Despite the absence of story, emergent readers may enjoy this exercise.

Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale