Holiday House Spring 2019 Titles

Photo of Jamie Chowning.
Courtesy of Jamie Chowning

Today's post was written by Jamie Chowning, a children's and adult librarian at the Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales branch of Denver Public Library. In 2018, she helped develop DPL’s “core collection” list of beginning readers. 


Holiday House added three new titles in the beginning reader category during the first half of this year: one standalone title with slightly different packaging and two entries for its I Like to Read series, with Fountas & Pinnell levels. On the whole, these are weaker offerings than those of the last year or two (Take a look back at Fall 2017, Spring 2018, and Fall 2018). 

I Like My Bike by AG Ferrari book cover

I Like My Bike is the lowest reading level, at level A. As with all the very earliest readers, it repeats a phrase (in this case, “I like my”) and only the last word changes from page to page, supported by an illustration. 

Image of a blue limo with a shark inside from I Like My Bike by AG Ferrari

While it is difficult to develop a plot with such a very limited vocabulary, the best readers at this level do manage to create a sense of sequence or even dramatic tension. The order here feels random. The original girl on a bicycle appears on every page, but there is no trajectory--she’s not going anywhere. The choice to repeat entire sentences (“I like my truck,” for instance, appears on two consecutive pages with different illustrations) also feels odd. Children will probably enjoy the novelty of the illustrations, such as what appear to be two pickles driving a flower truck. Most of the characters portrayed are animals, but there are a few people, one of whom is visibly a person of color. 

As a librarian, I wouldn’t hesitate to send this one home with a kindergartner or a preschooler who’s just getting started with reading--but first I would look to see if the stronger level A readers from this series were on the shelf. 

I Dig by Joe Cepeda book cover

On the other hand, I would hesitate to recommend I Dig. Digging sand tunnels is very dangerous (you can read more here and here)! While the book doesn’t seem to be intended as realistic, I am troubled by normalizing a traditional but potentially deadly activity. 

Image of a child and a dog crawling through a sand tunnel from I Dig by Joe Cepeda

Another concern with I Dig is the awkward sentences. Some awkwardness is probably inevitable in books for very early readers, but this one stuck out as more stilted than most, with “Look” on three consecutive pages and pages reading “I go” and “He is up,” which are simply not natural. Taken together, that’s a fairly high percentage of the pages that just seem “off.” 

I Am Just Right by David McPhail book cover

While prolific author David McPhail has several entries in the I Like To Read series already, Holiday House chose to publish I Am Just Right as a standalone title. Although also for very young readers, it is more complex than the leveled ILTR readers while still being strongly supportive. Heavy repetition early in the book lets kids get comfortable and feel confident before they tackle more difficult later pages. Along with some longer sentences, these include repeated practice of the hard-to-learn sight word “right.” 

Image of a young bunny being picked up and hugged by a grandpa bunny
from I Am Just Right by David McPhail

The story is sweet and simple as a bunny explores beloved items he has outgrown as well as those for which he is “just right.” (Although the bunny is not referred to by any personal pronouns, in the illustrations he presents as male.) Young readers are likely to identify with the bittersweetness of outgrowing things--especially being picked up--and learning to accept a new, bigger place in the world. Though not an exciting tale, it has enough “kid appeal” that I can see it working as a bedtime story for a child and caregiver to share. 

These are individually and collectively “just okay.” Unfortunately, the awkwardness of the first two titles may not invite repeated readings, and the strongest offering isn’t even included in the series. At my library, all the ILTR titles are shelved together, so I Am Just Right will be shelved separately and I might not think of reaching for it. I keep hoping that Holiday House will match its success of fall 2017, when it released almost a full slate of engaging, supportive titles, and I was on the whole disappointed in this batch.