Recently, Younger Daughter's been reading Little Critter books, by Mercer Mayer. I recommend them highly. Younger Daughter likes them a lot; she'll read two at a time with great enthusiasm. They're funny, so parents can enjoy them too.
And, in contrast to Whole Language "look at the picture and guess" books, the pictures in Little Critter actually offer a second narrative which is opposed to the text. For instance, where the text is "I teach my puppy how to heel", the picture is the one shown above, where the puppy has wrapped the leash around his young owner. Where the text is "My puppy knows lots of tricks ... how to sit ..." the puppy is shown lying down; "how to play dead ..." the puppy is chasing a butterfly while his owner lies down. You get the idea.
So, if your child is "reading the pictures" instead of the text, Little Critter books would be a good antidote.
What a great review! And it's so true! Another thing I like doing with these books is asking a small child to find the spider that is on each page. :)
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