Scholastic Acorn 2020 Titles

Scholastic Acorn has a number of new series, as well as additional titles to existing series, out this year. Their tagline, “Illustrated early readers that plant a love of reading” lets readers and their grown-ups know that these books are meant to support developing reading skills. All Acorn books use the same 6” x 7.25” trim size. Unfortunately, the stiffness of library bound copies can make it difficult to keep the book open and it’s easy to lose text and illustrations in the gutter. On the flip side, they fit so nicely into readers’ hands. Let’s take a look at the titles eligible for the Geisel this year. 

*Scholastic Acorn titles that are ineligible for the Geisel due to international illustrators are Shadow in the Woods and Other Scary Stories by Max Brallier, illustrated by Letizia Rubegni and The Fairylight Friends series by Jessica Young, illustrated by Marie Vanderbemden. I think both are wonderful, and hope that we’ll be able to highlight them in a post about ineligible titles later this blogging season. 

Book covers for Bumble and Bee series titles: Let's Play Make BEE-lieve; Don't Worry, BEE Happy; Let's BEE Thankful

Bumble and Bee series by Ross Burach 

Bumble, Bee, and their grumpy friend Froggy make their series debut in three titles this year. Each book contains three short stories that feature Froggy expressing disapproval at Bumble and Bee’s ridiculous antics. In Let’s Play Make BEE-lieve the two bees pretend to be farm animals, then pirates, and finally finish up with a game of hide-and-seek that turns into hide-and-sleep. Autumnal activities, including making an apple pie, carving pumpkins, and getting ready for hibernation are the focus of Let’s BEE Thankful. Finally, Don’t Worry, BEE Happy includes stories about best friend picture day, curing Froggy’s epic case of hiccups, and the fun of doing the waggle dance. An easy to read font and color-coded speech bubbles provide strong support for new readers. Unfortunately, sometimes the panel sequencing is confusing and readers may wonder if they’re supposed to read left to right across a full double-page spread, or the left hand page, top to bottom followed by the right hand page, top to bottom. Bolded text is used to convey emphasis, although at times the bolding was distracting more than helpful. Another challenge could be the vocabulary. Some words, such as “pretend” and “treasure” in Let’s Play Make BEE-lieve are introduced and then repeated several times. However, other words, such as “zebra” and “captain” are used just once. This series definitely has a lot of kid appeal, so maybe reading motivation will help readers push through some of the more challenging layouts and vocabulary. 

Book cover for Who Needs a Check Up?

Who Needs a Checkup? by Norm Feuti 

Harry is worried about his doctor’s checkup. He doesn’t want to go at all. Luckily, his best friend Hedgehog pretends to be a doctor to show Harry all the parts of a checkup. From testing reflexes (Harry’s favorite) to getting a shot that feels like a pinch (Harry’s least favorite), Hedgehog provides Harry with a way to process and prepare. Like the first two books in the Hello, Hedgehog series, Who Needs a Checkup? provides a platform for socioemotional learning, as well as supports for new readers. Sequential panels and color-coded speech bubbles make the all-dialogue text easy to follow. The font is especially supportive, with stick-and-ball A’s and straightforward G’s. While there’s a lot to recommend this book when thinking in terms of the Geisel criteria, I wonder will the title and cover really grab kids? Will the predictable plot create enough of a page-turning dynamic? 

Book covers for The Great Bunk Bed Battle and The Biggest Roller Coaster

Fox Tails series by Tina Kügler 

Kügler’s Snail & Worm Again was named a Geisel Honor title in 2018. This new series also features dual protagonists, but this time they’re fox siblings Fritz and Franny. In The Great Bunk Bed Battle the two compete to see whether the top or bottom bunk is best. The Biggest Roller Coaster features a trip to an amusement park and quest to find the tallest, fastest, loudest ride. Both books rely on color-coded speech bubbles, an easy to read font, and word repetition in short, simply constructed sentences. The illustrations are bright and enticing, reminiscent of Marc Brown’s Arthur series, with enough visual context clues to help readers along, but not so many that they’ll be “reading” the pictures instead of the text. I have a slight preference for The Biggest Roller Coaster because amusement parks have such kid appeal, but then again, there’s something magical about bunk beds. 

Book cover for Princess Truly: I Can Build It!

Princess Truly: I Can Build It! by Kelly Greenawalt, illustrated by Amariah Rauscher 

The third book in the Princess Truly series features a young protagonist with brown skin who loves to invent and build bringing a STEM perspective to beginning readers. A bouncy rhyme scheme and very short sentences support new readers, along with a clear, large font. The pastel illustrations are soft and inviting, a departure from the cartoon style of the other titles in this post. The tone is a bit didactic, “I am caring and smart. / I can build anything, / with my big helpful heart.” However, the whimsy and “rainbow power” of Princess Truly’s inventions creates a fun page-turning dynamic. 

Book covers for Frog Meets Dog, Hog on a Log, Goat in a Boat

Frog and Dog series by Janee Trasler 

Clearly meant for very new readers, the books in this series emphasize phonetics and decoding by relying heavily on rhyming words. In addition to Dog, there’s not one, but three frogs who encounter all sorts of misadventures together (the series title is a bit confusing, I must say). In Frog Meets Dog the friends meet for the first time and Dog tries to keep up with the leaping, jumping, and hopping of the amphibians with hilarious results. A greedy pig messes up fun games and fly-topped lunches in Hog on a Log. Finally, Goat in a Boat features a perilous sea journey, as well as a goat in a raincoat with a boat. While the sound repetition is strong, sometimes new words only appear once. Sometimes the plots are a bit chaotic, which could be overwhelming to new readers. If I were to pick a stand out, it would be Goat in a Boat. It has the strongest plot and the lost on a perilous stormy sea scenes add urgency that leads to a truly satisfying conclusion. 

Which Scholastic Acorn series or title is your favorite? Use the comments to let us know!