What Kids Say - October 2019

Welcome to our second post in this year’s What Kids Say Series. This series is meant to mimic an important part of Geisel Committee members’ experience: observing while kids read Geisel contenders out loud. Unlike some kid lit awards, kid appeal and a successful reading experience are part of the criteria and definitely a part of the discussion for committees. In fact there’s a section in the award manual that encourages committee members to “Take an active role and become immersed in the world of beginning readers” [p.19] followed by a list of possible ways to achieve this goal including, “‘Adopt’ a kindergarten or first grade class and observe how children learn to read” [p.19]. 

This series attempts to achieve a similar goal, but in a blog format. Each month I send a list of three or four contenders to a half dozen of our guest contributors that are caregivers of or regularly work with K-2nd grade students. I do my best to select a variety of levels and topics for readers at different stages of the learning to read process. While each of the titles highlighted in this post will be covered by guest contributors at some point this year, the focus of this series is on the experiences and observations from kid readers and their grown-up contributors. 

Image of two children reading Fox + Chick: The Quiet Boat Ride and Other Stories by Sergio Ruzzier. 

Image courtesy of Jayce Senter. 

This month over 100 kids in Kindergarten through 2nd grade participated nationwide. Most read just one or two titles. Contributors can record feedback in any format, however I do provide them with a couple feedback templates (Bookmark, kid feedback sheet, grown up feedback sheet). A big shout out to Jamie Chowning, DaNae Leu, Samantha Marino, Stacey Rattner, Amma Romero, and Jayce Senter for all their hard work sharing, observing, and collecting feedback from the kids in their lives.  

And now, let’s get to the books and what kids have to say about them! 

I Will Race You Through 

This Book! by Jonathan 

Fenske book cover

I Will Race You Through This Book by Jonathan Fenske 
In her recent post, Kahla Gubanich writes that this book “calls back to both the endearing fable of the tortoise and the hare as well as the rich history of metafictional children’s literature, while still standing strong on its own (speedy) legs.” Let’s see what nearly fifty 1st and 2nd graders who read this title had to say. 

Many kids liked that the rabbit broke the fourth wall to talk directly to the reader. One child said, “It’s like you can talk to him!” The racing element was much discussed by kids. One wrote that they liked, “that the bonee wos raceing [sic}.” and another wrote that they liked “that we won.” Some kids loved the cheating bunny, others weren’t so sure, “I did not like thet the bune chedid [sic].” Most kids loved the “funny bunny”, but one kid just wrote “winey!” when asked what they didn’t like about the book. 

Most found the book interesting and easy to read and follow, but a few found it confusing and uninteresting. Unfortunately, none of them shared any comments about what they thought was lacking. “Through”, “now”, “even”, and “readers” were called out as difficult and one child wasn’t sure how to navigate “Wow” as a verb, but otherwise it seems the rest of the kids breezed through the text. 

One grown up contributor wrote, “In my experience, kids this age really like to feel smarter than the book and enjoy humor that plays off of the characters knowing they're in a book, so this was right in their zone.” 

Will this book win the Geisel race? We’ll have to wait to find out! 

Fox + Chick: The Quiet Boat Ride 

and Other Stories by Sergio 

Ruzzier book cover

Fox + Chick: The Quiet Boat Ride and Other Stories by Sergio Ruzzier 
The second title in Ruzzier’s Fox + Chick series (book one received a 2019 Geisel Honor) was read by twenty 1st and 2nd graders. It really seemed to shine for these kids, who all said they enjoyed the book and would read another in the series. In addition to enjoying the book, the kids found it easy to follow and easy to read. The speech bubbles were a particular hit with a few children. 

A few kids thought the book was long and one kid specifically pointed to the yellow water as something they didn’t like. Most kids only needed help 1-5 times. The following words were called out as difficult by various children: 

• Received 
• Shipwreck 
• Stressful 
• Plunder 
• Captain 
• Still 
• Pirate 
• Quiet 
  

Chick was the most talked about character in this book. Here are a few kid comments (written exactly as kids wrote them): 

• That chick did’in whant to opne the box 
• Wen chic found the choclet cake 
• Wen cick gode on the botride 
• Chik was so silly 
• How chik kepe asking qestens 
  

Overall, it seems that despite some difficult vocabulary, that kids enjoyed the book enough to stick with it. Will that page turning dynamic equal a Geisel nod? 

Harold & Hog Pretend for 

Real! by Dan Santat and

 Mo Willems book cover

Harold & Hog Pretend for Real! by Dan Santat and Mo Willems 
In her review, guest blogger Sylvie Shaffer writes that this book “is the brain-bending story of Gerald and Piggie reading the story of Harold (an elephant who looks quite a bit like Gerald) and Hog (a pig resembling Piggie) pretending to be Gerald and Piggie, who are reading the book Harold and Hog Pretend for Real.” Over eighty 1st and 2nd graders read this title. Let’s see what they had to say. 

A majority of the kids were able to read the book through without needing help sounding out words, although a handful needed help with 1-5 words, and another handful needed help 6-10 times. “Pretend” and “Real” were difficult words for one child, however the word that seven kids struggled with was “Carefree.” 

The kids who found the book easy to read and follow also found the book interesting. On the flip side, of the dozen kids who found the book a challenge to read also found it to be confusing, uninteresting or both. 

Unsurprisingly, the humor was a big hit with kids. One child wrote, “It is funny. It makes me happy. It is joyful.” The characters were much loved and written about by kids. Notably the characters pretending to be other characters, but also specific moments. Here are a few answers to the question, “What did you like about this book?” (again, written exactly as the kids wrote them): 

• Its when Harold and Hog asked pigi to drive the bus. 
• Harold and Hog looked so realistik. 
• When Harold tride to fly. 

It’s hard to deny the power of Elephant & Piggie. Will they have another brush with the Geisel Award? We shall see… 

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So that’s what kids have to say this month! What are your kids saying about these books? Let us know in the comments. We also invite you to share kid feedback on any of the titles we blog about via the comments.

What Kids Say - October 2018

Welcome to the third What Kids Say post. This series is meant to mimic an important part of Geisel Committee members’ experience: observing while kids read Geisel contenders out loud. You can read more about the inspiration for this series in the inaugural post.

This is how it works. Each month I send a list of four contenders to a half dozen of our guest contributors that are caregivers of or regularly work with K-2nd grade students. I do my best to select a variety of levels and topics for readers at different stages of the learning to read process. Each of the titles highlighted in this post will be covered by guest contributors at some point this year. The focus of this series is on the experiences and observations from kid readers and their grown-up contributors.

A big shout out to Jamie Chowning, DaNae Leu, Samantha Marino, and Stacey Rattner for all their hard work sharing, observing, and collecting feedback from the kids in their lives. This month 61 kids participated nationwide. Most were 2nd graders and they read just one or two titles.

Noodleheads Find
Something Fishy
book cover

Noodleheads Find Something Fishy by Tedd Arnold, Martha Hamilton and Mitch Weiss, illus. by Tedd Arnold
21 kids read the third installment of Noodlehead adventures, which was the longest and most challenging of the books on this month’s list. I wondered if this might deter some readers, but it seems my fears were unfounded. One grown up contributor wrote, “I think the wordplay is at a just-right level--it’s enough of a challenge that they are still thinking about it later, but doesn’t interrupt their reading.”

Most kids found the graphic novel layout easy to follow and nearly all the kids said they enjoyed the book and would read it again. Even a few kids who needed help sounding out 6-10 words enjoyed it and said they would read it a second time. Some words that tripped up readers included, Noodleheads, taught, also, bean. Two readers asked their grown up to bring home more books in the series.

The details in the text and illustrations seemed to have been memorable for many kids: 

• “I like that the fish tricked the noodleheads that she was the biggest when she was just a normal fish.” 
• “I like how they learn a lesen [sic] about fishing.” 
• “We liked how the fish tricked the noodles.” 
• “Liked the part where they took a map.”

One child particularly loved that both characters are named Mac for macaroni and was excited to realize that the only way to tell them apart was shirt color.

Good Dog book cover

Good Dog by Cori Doerrfeld
It cannot be denied that books with cute animals on the covers generally have kid appeal. But I wondered about this title, would the lack of repetition and placement of the text on the page prevent new readers from having a successful reading experience?

26 kids read this title with several written in comments along the lines of, “I like the hole [sic] thing!!!!!!!” On the other hand, there were several kids who seemed less enthused, giving the book only one or two stars out of five. Since most of the kids were in 2nd grade, it seems not many words challenged them. However, a few struggled with 1-5 words and one reader in particular got hung up on hungry, sad, good, Rufus (a person thanked on the dedication page), and Doerrfeld.

It seems the pictures, especially of the cute dog, were super attractive to many kids. Nearly all the comments were about things that happened in the illustrations, such as: 

• “I liked that the dog was super silly and funny.” 
•  “When the dog got the tedy [sic] bear and helped it.” 
• “I liked the pictures.” 
• “Because the dog was cute. I like the pictures.” 
• “Didn’t like the guy that chases the dog away.”

Dog books are abundant this year (or maybe I should say, every year?). Some kids who also read Bark Park for last month’s What Kids Say post seemed initially to prefer that dog-filled book to this one. But in the days following their first read of Good Dog they asked for it multiple times. It would be interesting to present readers with several dog/cute animal contenders at once and see how they react and what they choose to read first.

Nobody's Duck book cover

Nobody’s Duck by Mary Sullivan
24 kids read this crowd-pleaser, with most kids saying they’d read it again and/or read a sequel. Several kids wrote on their feedback sheets that they loved “all the quacking.”

Other kid comments included: 

• “It was bomb. 
•  “It’s funny, funniest on earth, the thinking cap is great.” 
• “I liked when the duck went go-karting.” 
• “I lrd Ducks are Crase [sic]” (I’m guessing this means: I learned ducks are crazy)

On the other hand, two kid readers pointed out that the duck was a “liar pants” because the duck said they didn’t belong to anyone, but actually the duck belongs to the alligator.

The cover art was especially attractive, and the illustrations overall were observed to be a strength, “My kids lingered over the sky diving and race track” wrote one grown up contributor.

A grown up contributor noted that the “slightly complicated layout makes this a good choice for a kid who CAN read longer and more difficult books but is in the mood to relax rather than a very new reader.” The same contributor noted that her six-year-old missed the punchline, but her seven-year-old got it right away. However, even though the six-year-old didn’t quite get the humor of the ending, they enjoyed doing different voices for the duck and alligator, a great indicator of reading fluency.

Finally, there weren’t many words that tripped up kid readers, but this may have been because the majority of this month’s kid readers are in second grade. Most kids only needed help sounding out a word 1-5 times. Interestingly, the word “whose” was problematic for a couple readers.

Overall, this title seems to have a ton of kid appeal, in a large part due to the brightly colored, cartoonish illustrations. It would be interesting to try this book with newer readers to see how they interact with it.

Fox is Late book cover

Fox is Late by Corey R. Tabor
The humor of this book really shined for the 25 kids who read it. “It was so funny!” wrote one reader.

None of the kids who read this book needed help sounding out any words. This could be because it’s one of the easier books featured this month or because nearly all kids who read this time around were 2nd graders. However, I also think it’s notable that even though kids read it with ease it gained near universal approval from our readers. One grown up contributor wrote, “My impression is that Fox is Late was a big hit.”

The skateboard tricks were also a big hit with kids: 

• “I liked the flip.” 
• “He did tricks.” 
• “He did cool tricks.” 
• “I liked the part when he did a trick. I did not like when he was late.

Several readers liked the line about arriving just in time for lunch. Other readers liked the animals. Some liked both! 

• “I like it because it has lunch.” 
• “I like it because it has animals.” 
•  “I like that the fox eats and that the book has animals.”

I’d love to see how newer readers feel about this title. Would kindergarten or 1st graders have an equally successful reading experience?

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So that’s what kids have to say this month! What are your kids saying about these books? Let us know in the comments. Also, you can use the comments to let us know if there are any titles you’d like us to cover in future installments of What Kids Say.

What Kids Say - September 2019

I’m happy to say that our popular What Kids Say monthly series is back for its second year! This series is meant to mimic an important part of Geisel Committee members’ experience: observing while kids read Geisel contenders out loud. Unlike some kid lit awards, kid appeal and a successful reading experience are part of the criteria and definitely a part of the discussion for committees. In fact there’s a section in the award manual that encourages committee members to “Take an active role and become immersed in the world of beginning readers” [p.19] followed by a list of possible ways to achieve this goal including, “‘Adopt’ a kindergarten or first grade class and observe how children learn to read” [p.19]. 

This series attempts to achieve a similar goal, but in a blog format. Each month I send a list of three or four contenders to a half dozen of our guest contributors that are caregivers of or regularly work with K-2nd grade students. I do my best to select a variety of levels and topics for readers at different stages of the learning to read process. While each of the titles highlighted in this post will be covered by guest contributors at some point this year, the focus of this series is on the experiences and observations from kid readers and their grown-up contributors. 

Contributors can record feedback in any format, however I do provide them with a couple feedback templates (bookmark, kid feedback sheet, grown up feedback sheet). Many thanks to Jamie Chowning, DaNae Leu, Samantha Marino, and Amma Romero, for all their hard work sharing, observing, and collecting feedback from the kids in their lives.This month over 50 kids in K-2nd grade participated nationwide. Most read just one or two titles. Without further ado, let’s see what kids are saying about this month’s titles! 

King & Kayla and the Case of Found Fred 

by Dori Hillestad Butler, 

illustrated by Nancy Meyers 

book cover

King & Kayla and the Case of Found Fred by Dori Hillestad Butler, illustrated by Nancy Meyers 
This kid-doggy sleuthing duo are back for their fifth adventure. As DaNae Leu wrote in her review earlier this month, “This is the type of format that I see my second-stage readers return to over and over.” 26 kids read this title, and nearly all of them said they would read it again. 100% of them said they’d read a sequel. One child said, “If they made about 23 more, I would read all 23.” 

As might be expected, the canine characters were a hit with many kids. Readers liked that Fred is found and reunited with his owner, but the story element beloved by the most kids was the moment when “King jumped in the wuter [sic]”. Several kids found King’s enthusiasm for everything funny, “He always says that everything is his favorite!” One grown-up contributor pointed to King’s inner monologue as hitting just the right doggy tone, “so exactly what I would imagine a dog wanting to say.” In general, the humor of the book stood out to many readers, as well as grown-up contributors, “As my child’s tastes start to run more toward Avengers and gross-out humor, it was lovely to take some time to sit down together with something a little more prosocial, but still funny.” 

Most kids reading this book were in 2nd grade and were able to successfully read most words. However, several kids cited “detective” as a challenging word, a point further driven home by the fact that they spelled it, “detectiv”, “ditectivs”, “detis”, and “dtective.” Another tough word was “collar.” 

Two King & Kayla titles have garnered Geisel honors (2019, 2018). Will this be the one to take home the top prize? 

We are (Not) Friends by Anna Kang, 

illustrated by Christopher Weyant

book cover

We are (Not) Friends by Anna Kang, illustrated by Christopher Weyant 
The third companion book to the Geisel Award winning You Are (Not) Small (2015), this title about the emotional dynamics of friendship was read by 24 kids with the majority in 2nd grade. In her review of this title, Robbin Friedman writes, “this story of friendship, kindness, and hurt feelings will resonate with most beginning readers, who may also be beginners at cultivating relationships and reacting to other people’s emotions.” 

As with King & Kayla, the humor of the story was notable for many kids. When asked what they liked, quite a few kids shared specific moments, such as “Wen thy played spis [sic]” and “When the new friend wanted to build jeep [sic].” Another child encompassed all those moments by saying, “It had a good emajennashen [sic].” Some kids liked that there was a bit of a moral to the story, “I liked that it tot you that you can be frens with evry one [sic].” But other kids mentioned they didn’t like when the friends weren’t getting along. One child simply wrote, “Thar is to mach drama [sic]”. 

“Duet” and “Scarier” were called out as difficult words. Some kids needed help sounding out words between 1-5 times. Most kids found the story easy to follow, but there were a couple who found it confusing. Regardless, most kids said they would read it again, along with a sequel. 

The Book Hog by Greg Pizzoli

book cover 

The Book Hog by Greg Pizzoli 
Pizzoli is no stranger to the Geisel (The Watermelon Seed took home the medal in 2014 and Good Night Owl was named an honor book in 2017). The Book Hog follows the literacy development of a book-loving pig. In her post from last month, co-host Misti Tidman pointed to the large font and uncluttered backgrounds as strong supportive elements. 

24 kids, mostly 2nd graders, read this title. Several kids mentioned they liked the character’s love of books, “I liked that he liked books, but he cood not read [sic].” Another reader said they liked that the Book Hog “had a sickrit; a big sekrit [sic].” And a third reader gleefully enjoyed the bathroom scene, “the paret were he was in the betheroom [sic].” 

A few kids said the book was easy to read, but not interesting, however, for the most part kids said they’d read it again and would love a sequel. Some difficult words for readers included “several” and “could.” 

Will The Book Hog be Pizzoli’s third brush with the Geisel? We shall see! 

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So that’s what kids have to say this month! What are your kids saying about these books? Let us know in the comments. We also invite you to share kid feedback on any of the titles we blog about via the comments.

What Kids Say - November 2019

Welcome to the third post in this year’s What Kids Say Series. This series is meant to mimic an important part of Geisel Committee members’ experience: observing while kids read Geisel contenders out loud. Unlike some kid lit awards, kid appeal and a successful reading experience are part of the criteria and definitely a part of the discussion for committees. In fact there’s a section in the award manual that encourages committee members to “Take an active role and become immersed in the world of beginning readers” [p.19] followed by a list of possible ways to achieve this goal including, “‘Adopt’ a kindergarten or first grade class and observe how children learn to read” [p.19]. 

This series attempts to achieve a similar goal, but in a blog format. Each month I send a list of three or four contenders to a half dozen of our guest contributors that are caregivers of or regularly work with K-2nd grade students. I do my best to select a variety of levels and topics for readers at different stages of the learning to read process. While each of the titles highlighted in this post will be covered by guest contributors at some point this year, the focus of this series is on the experiences and observations from kid readers and their grown-up contributors. 

Contributors can record feedback in any format, however I do provide them with a couple feedback templates (Bookmark, kid feedback sheet, grown up feedback sheet). A big shout out to Jamie Chowning, DaNae Leu, Samantha Marino, and Stacey Rattner for all their hard work sharing, observing, and collecting feedback from the kids in their lives. 

This month about 100 kids in 1st and 2nd grade participated nationwide. Most read just one or two titles. 

And now, let’s get to the books and what kids have to say about them! 

Charlie & Mouse Even Better 

by Laurel Snyder, illustrated 

by Emily Hughes book cover

Charlie & Mouse Even Better by Laurel Snyder, illus. by Emily Hughes 
The third title in this sibling duo series follows up the Geisel Award-winning Charlie & Mouse and (not honored, but still amazing) Charlie & Mouse & Grumpy. As Taylor Worley writes in her review, this title “is another warm, fuzzy, and lovely entry in the Charlie and Mouse series.” Let’s see what the 34 1st and 2nd graders who read this title had to say about it. 

Nearly all the kids said they liked the book enough to reread it or read a sequel (keep your eyes peeled for Charlie & Mouse Outdoors in 2020!), and found it easy to follow. One grown-up contributor wrote that she was surprised at how much the gentle humor engaged her child, “He laughed out loud a couple of times. I think he really identified with the sibling dynamic--he was doing voices that were just spot-on.” When she asked her child what he thought, he said it was "medium" and that he would "maybe" read another. The grown-up contributor also appreciated the episodic, yet connected nature of the books, as well as Mouse's gentle gender nonconformity. “The high-heeled white boots are a fabulous touch.” 

Speaking of humor, it was a highlight for many kids, along with the delicious pancakes and the cake Charlie and Mouse make for Mom. Nearly half the kids mentioned them in their comments: 

• It was funny, it was interesting, and it had lots of pancakes. 
• That the boys were asking so many things about pancakes. 
• How they asked mom for al the pankacks [sic]. 
• I lacke the cake [sic]. 
• I like when the kid gav the mom the kace [sic]. 

On a similar note, two children made a point to say how much they disliked “wen the kak brnt [sic].” 

Nearly all the 2nd graders sailed through the text with little to no need for help. However, several 1st graders struggled with some of the words, including: 

• What 
• Help 
• Dragon 
• Try 
• Present 
• Decorate 
• Bubble 
• Dollars 
• Jewel 
• Instead 

To me, this indicates that this book hits a sweet spot for more confident developing readers who can decode more complex words, but still benefit from the other supportive elements in this title. Clearly, the real committee has plenty to discuss. 

Chick and Brain: Smell My Foot 

by Cece Bell book cover

Chick and Brain: Smell My Foot by Cece Bell 
17 kids, all 2nd graders, read Bell’s graphic novel style beginning reader starring a bird and a brain with large (and smelly) feet. Bell took home an honor in 2013 for Rabbit & Robot: The Sleepover. Let’s see how her newest book about an unlikely duo fares with our kid readers. 

The hilarity of the story was clearly a hit with many readers. “Funny interesting werd. [sic],” was one child’s summation of this title. Many kids said that the phrase, “smell my foot” along with Chick actually smelling Brain’s foot were their favorite parts of the story. Some kids loved that the dog tries to eat the bird, but other kids didn’t. A couple kids said it was both their most and least favorite parts of the book. One grown up contributor noted that her child enjoyed feeling smart while reading this book. She said, “While feeling smart is always a hit with this age group, I think he enjoyed it even more because Chick was such a know-it-all.” Only two words were called out as being challenging, “wow” and “brain.” 

“I appreciated the goofy play on the social niceties that kids this age are learning,” said one of our grown up contributors. Perhaps the real committee will appreciate that too? Only a few more months until the YMAs when we’ll find out! 

See Me Play by Paul Meisel

See Me Play by Paul Meisel 
28 kids in 1st and 2nd grade read Meisel’s fourth canine-driven adventure. As Ashley Waring writes in her round up of summer Holiday House titles, “Meisel’s ability to tell such an engaging and amusing story with limited words is impressive.” 

As the book with the lowest level of text complexity on this month's list, it’s no surprise that several kids commented on how easy it was to read. One kid, who didn’t need any help with the text, proudly wrote, “I din it mess up [sic].” Although most kids didn’t need help decoding any words at all, “fast”, “wants”, “drops”, and “ball” proved a bit of a challenge for some. 

Dogs, as always, are rich with kid appeal, as noted by several kids in their comments, “I lac the dogs [sic].” And the fact that the dogs don’t get the ball at the end of the story was cited by several kids as their favorite part. One child wrote, “I like wene the bird stels the ball” [sic]. Another wrote, “I like the caritr [character]. I like the ilistrashin [illustration]. I like it all.” Nearly all the kids said the book was enjoyable with only a few saying they wouldn’t read a sequel. 

Meisel took home Geisel honors for I See a Cat (2018) and See Me Run (2012). Will See Me Play snag another honor or even the medal? 

Motor Mouse by Cynthia Rylant, 

illustrated by Arthur Howard

 book cover

Motor Mouse by Cynthia Rylant, illus. by Arthur Howard 
Rylant and Howard are no strangers to the Geisel, having won the very first medal in 2006 for Henry and Mudge and the Great Grandpas, along with an honor in 2015 for Mr. Putter & Tabby Turn the Page. Let’s see what our 48 readers, mostly 1st graders and a few 2nd graders, thought of Motor Mouse. 

The kids had a lot to say about the characters and the food (are we sensing a theme this month?): 

• I lik it when they tride pie [sic]. 
• I like wen he makes the cake [sic]. 
• Telly standing on his head. 
• I liked the last page with the friends. 
• I liked when they learned how to share. 

About 25% of the kids needed help 1-10 times while reading this book. The large vocabulary also proved a bit daunting for some with the following words called out as difficult to sound out: 

• Cabbie 
• Valentino 
• Trimmed 
• Well 
• Way 
• Tune 
• Thought 
• Deliveries 
• Invited 
• Shouted 
• South 
• Beside 
• Arrived 
• Waking 
• Point 
• Nearby 
• Sign 
• Handkerchief 
  

Along with a large vocabulary, this title didn’t seem to have the same kid appeal as other titles on this list with 15 kids saying they either didn’t enjoy the book or wouldn’t read a sequel or both. How will this year’s Rylant and Howard collaboration fare with the real committee? We’ll just have to wait and see! 

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So that’s what kids have to say this month! What are your kids saying about these books? Let us know in the comments. We also invite you to share kid feedback on any of the titles we blog about via the comments.

What Kids Say - November 2018

Welcome to this year’s penultimate What Kids Say post. This series is meant to mimic an important part of Geisel Committee members’ experience: observing while kids read Geisel contenders out loud. You can read more about the inspiration for this series in the series’ inaugural post. 

This is how it works. Each month I send a list of four contenders to a half dozen of our guest contributors that are caregivers of or regularly work with K-2nd grade students. I do my best to select a variety of levels and topics for readers at different stages of the learning to read process. All the titles covered in this month’s post have already been covered by guest contributors and links can be found below. The focus of this series is on the experiences and observations from kid readers and their grown-up contributors. 

Many thanks to Jamie Chowning, DaNae Leu, and Samantha Marino for all their hard work sharing, observing, and collecting feedback from the kids in their lives. This time approximately 80 first and second graders participated. About 20 kids read each title and most kids read just one of the titles. 

Kick It, Mo! book cover

Kick It, Mo! by David A. Adler, illus. by Sam Ricks 
Mo Jackson, still the youngest and smallest, is back for a sports story all about soccer. Adler and Ricks’ first book about Mo (Don’t Throw It to Mo!) was the Geisel winner the year Amanda, Misti, and I were on the committee. Pass the Ball, Mo! by the same creators also came out this year, but to me Kick It, Mo! is the stronger of the two. Additionally, the kids in my community can take or leave basketball, but they’re absolutely gaga about soccer. We simply never have enough soccer books to satisfy their obsession. For more on both Mo titles published in 2018, read Jackie’s post from last month.

Looking at the feedback, it seems the kids in my community have a lot in common with our kid readers this month because nearly all comments were about soccer. 

• “I love soccer” 
• “He made a skor” [sic] 
• “It was a good book about it was about soccer.” 
• “That Mo winse the game.” [sic] 
• “Mo does not give up at all.” 
• “Mo kicked it.” 

Kids were also specific about the things they didn’t like so much. 

• “The teams they wer weerd.” [sic] 
• “He woldint realy kick it on the ground” [sic] 
• “He mist one time when he trid to wine” [sic] 
• “It was soccer and he couldn’t kick the ball and he was tiny and his team sucks.” 

Less than half of the kids said the book was interesting, although most said they would read the book again. Not many words were called out as challenging, although one first grader said players was a difficult word for them. Six out of 20 found the book confusing. Those six kids said they enjoyed the book, but wouldn’t read it again. One grown up contributor wrote, “Sometimes you have a book that you think the reader (adult or child) in front of you will like. It has everything they like! And they don’t like it. The Mo books are great--they just didn’t resonate [with my kids] for whatever reason.” 

Given the feedback, it’s clear that kids are excited to read about soccer, but I wonder if the fact that so many of them said the book was confusing will keep this title from rising to the top. 

A Parade of Elephants book cover

A Parade of Elephants by Kevin Henkes 
Henkes has been honored twice by the Geisel Committee (Waiting and Penny and Her Marble), so I wanted to see how his newest picture book offering would be received by kids. I wondered if the pastel color palette and the simple story would be enough to engage first and second graders. On a side note, after reading this book I learned there are three collective nouns for a group of elephants: a parade, a herd, a memory. 

Overall, most kids found the book interesting and would read a sequel, although a handful said they’d do neither. Additionally, nearly all the kids found the design of the book easy to follow. Marching elephants seemed to be a big hit with lots of kids mentioning that specifically in their feedback, although one kid emphatically disliked, “wen thay march” [sic]. Several kids called out the stars, the colors, the moon, and the ending as things they enjoyed about the book. 

Positive feedback included: 

• “The stars surprise at the end!” 
• “It shode their butt’s” [sic] 
• “Wen they wet to sleep” [sic] 

About half the kids read the entire text with ease. The other half needed help with 1-5 words. Only one child, a first grader who found the book confusing, needed help over 10 times. Words that tripped up readers: yawns, stretch, parade, elephants, round, across. Marching and scattering seemed to be the most difficult words for multiple kids. For more on this title, read Kahla’s post from last month. 

Take a Hike, Miles and Spike!
book cover

Take a Hike, Miles and Spike! by Ethan Long 
Having won the Geisel in 2013 for Up, Tall and High!, I was curious to see if Long’s humorous picture book about an outdoorsy pair of dogs would have the same page turning dynamic. For more on this title, take a gander at Sylvie’s post from September.
  
It seems kids either read this title with ease or were tripped up by quite a few words, including: rainbow, everyone, join, marmoset, gazelle, otter, trout, vamoose, acted, again. Enjoyment of the book was also mixed; some kids struggled to read this book, but still wanted to read it again, while other kids who read it with ease gave it two or three stars out of five. About a third of the kids found the book confusing. 

Another fascinating observation is that only a handful of kids included specific feedback for this title (For the other three titles covered this month the kids were quite vocal in their likes and dislikes). Two kids liked “when all the animals yelled at Miles and Spike!” and another especially loved the moose. On the flip side, one kid found the book boring and another disliked, “when they were rood to the animals” [sic]. 

All in all, it seems this title didn’t seem to engage readers as much as other titles and the vocabulary presented some challenges for readers. 

Mr. Monkey Bakes a Cake
book cover

Mr. Monkey Bakes a Cake by Jeff Mack 
The first book in Mack’s new Mr. Monkey series, this is the longest book this month coming in at 64 pages, twice the length of Kick It, Mo! (32 pages). As Jenna pointed out in her post, there are some very visually busy pages, as well as the use of several fonts. Would these elements deter readers from having a successful reading experience? 

The page design and multiple fonts didn’t seem to stop any kids from enjoying the book, as nearly all the kids said they enjoyed reading it. One grown up contributor wrote, “There is a lot to like here. Monkeys, bananas, and slapstick are all kid-pleasers...The humans shown are diverse and there’s a lot of inviting visual comedy.” Indeed, much of the praise from kids focused on the visual humor of the story. 

• “At the end of the story he triped and fel and his head went into the cake.” [sic] 
• “Everyone enterd for the cake show.” [sic] 
• “At least he got to eat the frosting.” 
• “His butt has a ribbon on it!” 

The cake itself was a pretty big hit for many kids: 

• “All those guys baked really big cakes and Mr. Monkey made the smallest cake.” 
• “When the monkey makes a cake” 
•  “It had a cake in it.” 

One reader especially loved the part “when the monkey gave the banana to the gorilla.” And another loved that “At the end he made a frand.” [sic] 

Although most kids loved this title, a few kids struggled to sound out words, including Mr. Monkey and bananas. Notably, idea was an especially challenging word for several kids. Several kids mentioned that they didn’t like “that he kept saying ooh!!” Additionally, a grown up contributor wrote, “It does seem, though, like a larger font would have been more supportive of newer readers."  

The same contributor wrote, "My little guy initially balked at the length of the book, but realized it was a quick read--as a longer book with strong repetition, it works as a challenge for a newer reader or a comfortable confidence- and fluency-building read for a more confident one." 

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So that’s what kids have to say this month! What are your kids saying about these books? Let us know in the comments. Also, you can use the comments to let us know if there are any titles you’d like us to cover in future installments of What Kids Say.

What Kids Say Series - July, 2018

Welcome to the first post in the new monthly What Kids Say series meant to mimic a major part of the Geisel Committee experience. Unlike some kid lit awards, kid appeal and a successful reading experience are part of the criteria and definitely a part of the discussion for committees. In fact there’s a section in the award manual that encourages committee members to “Take an active role and become immersed in the world of beginning readers” [p.19] followed by a list of possible ways to achieve this goal including, “‘Adopt’ a kindergarten or first grade class and observe how children learn to read” [p.19]. 

This series attempts to achieve a similar goal. Each month I send a list of four contenders to a half dozen of our guest contributors that are caregivers of or regularly work with K-2nd grade students in a school setting. Why four titles? That allows me to choose a variety of levels and topics for readers at different stages of the learning to read process. Disclaimer: This month you’ll see only three titles covered in this post. I didn’t realize until after the fact that one of the titles wasn’t eligible because the illustrator was born and currently resides in Europe. 

Contributors can record feedback in any format, however I do provide them with a grown-up contributor feedback sheet, as well as a kid version adapted by school librarian Stacey Rattner for kids to fill out themselves (Thanks, Stacey!). Thanks to Jamie Holcomb, Sarah Lee, Benji Martin, and Stacey Rattner for sharing and observing with the kids in your lives. Thanks you to this month twenty kids across the United States participated. Some read all the titles, others just one or two. 

Guest contributors will be reviewing each of these titles later this year, so this series focuses on the experiences and observations from kid readers and their grown-up contributors. 

Without further ado, let’s jump into our first title! 

Pig and Cat are Pals by Douglas Florian 
I’m a big fan of Holiday House’s I Like to Read titles, especially for the very newest reader. But I wondered how the artwork and text of this very simple and well-worn story about a duo of friends expanding to a trio would work for readers. 

Several adults have mentioned to me that they struggle with Florian’s artwork in this book. The images seem blurry at times and pages, filled to bursting with crayon marks, can be overwhelming at first glance. One grown-up contributor wrote, “the dog didn’t look like a dog.” 

Kid readers, on the other hand, had no such qualms. Most kids liked or loved the book and found it easy to follow. One grown-up contributor mentioned that her kids liked the artwork with one child saying to other that they could draw pictures like the art in the book. Several kid readers found the kites especially wonderful with the octopus and bumblebee kites getting specific shout outs. 

This is definitely a book for the very newest of readers and those were the kids who enjoyed it most. For one child, this was one of the first books they read completely by themselves and they read it every night before bed. More advanced readers found the story a little boring and said they probably wouldn’t read it again. 

Oddly enough, the most difficult word for 50% of the readers was “pals.” The only other word that required help for one child was “read.” 

Please, No More Nuts! by Jonathan Fenske 
In this companion book to last year’s We Need More Nuts, two squirrels try to give all their acorns to the reader because they just can’t stand to eat them anymore. I chose this title because I wanted to see how kid readers responded to the layout of panels and speech bubbles, as well as the slapstick humor in the illustrations and rhyming text. 

Notably, only two kids choose to read this book, which makes me wonder about the cover appeal. Neither child said they would read it again, although both read it with a minimum of difficulty. Both struggled with the word “adored.” Other tough words were “hoard” and “supper.” 

One kid lamented the lack of plot saying “And all it was about was two squirrels and some nuts.” The child’s grown-up agreed, “there is not enough substance to keep kids coming back.” However, the second kid reader said, “It was kind of weird, but I liked it.” From a layout perspective one grown-up contributor found the change in speech bubble color, rather than staying consistent to each character, was “unnecessarily confusing.” I'd love to have more kids read this title and see how they respond. Was it just not a good fit for the two kids who read it? Would it be more engaging to kids who have read the first title?

Fox and Chick: The Party and Other Stories by Sergio Ruzzier 
I’ll be honest, as a grown-up I found this graphic novel featuring three friendship stories about a well-meaning fox and a slyly clever bird hilarious. But I wondered, would kid readers grasp the humor or would it sail over their heads leaving them confused? 

I needn’t have worried, all the kids who read this book said they loved it, would read it again, and would happily read a sequel. Many of them wrote about their favorite funny moment. “Weh thay said can I you’s your bathroom [sic]” wrote one six-year old. One grown-up contributor appreciated that the humor was a good match for the reading level. They pointed out that the bathroom joke was a particular hit, but not gross. All readers found the layout of panels, speech bubbles, and other design elements easy to follow. 

Based on kid feedback, this title seemed to be attractive and successful for more confident readers (around 1st and 2nd grade). Most kids were able to read most words without needing help, however the following words were cited as difficult for one kid or another (but no two kids got stumped on the same words): wonder, grasshoppers, guys, sometimes, supposed, moles, parsley. Upon rereading this book I noticed that nearly all of those words are introduced and repeated several times. There wasn’t enough information from the feedback forms to know if readers were able to learn and retain these words once introduced. 

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That’s what kids have to say this month! What are your kids saying about these books? Let us know in the comments. Also, you can use the comments to let us know if there are any titles you’d like us to cover in future installments of What Kids Say.